The Becker Farm Railroad (also known as the Centerville and Southwestern Railroad) was located on the Becker dairy farm in Roseland, New Jersey, US. This 2-inch scale, gauge miniature railway, which featured a live steam locomotive, small-scale diesel locomotives, and small-scale passenger cars, was the brainchild of Eugene Becker. The railroad dated back to 1938, with the first revenue trips taking place ten years later.
The railroad was modeled after the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Sussex Branch, on which Becker had a creamery at Straders, New Jersey, near the end of the line at Branchville, NJ (about away from Roseland as the crow flies). After World War II, the C&S RR was extended to Peachtree Jct., approximately one mile from Centerville Station. Peachtree Jct. was not initially built as a continuous track, but rather as a wye track (Y-shaped configuration) that allowed the engine to be moved from the front to the rear of the train for the return trip. By 1949, the track had been extended to the edge of the Becker property in a loop that eliminated the need for using the wye track. A total of of track had been laid.
Operations
At full operation, the railroad ran on Saturdays until 5 pm between the beginning of May and the end of October, including Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day. It also operated on Wednesdays during July and August until dusk. It provided a two-mile (3 km) round-trip ride between Centerville and Peachtree Jct. Originally, a round-trip ticket cost 20 cents for children and 40 cents for adults (later raised to 24 and 48 cents, respectively, during the early 1960s, and to 25 and 50 cents, respectively, by the late 1960s). Typically, #1501, a 4-8-4 live steam locomotive, would pull a train on the hour (10 am, 11 am, noon, etc.) and #1502 or #1503 (miniature diesel locomotives) would run on the half-hour (10:30 am, 11:30 am, etc.). Six to eight passengers could ride per car, and trains usually ran with 8-10 cars. On rare occasions, if ridership warranted, #1500 (a smaller 0-4-0 diesel engine) would be called to run as an "extra" with a shorter consist of cars (usually no more than four cars) on the quarter-hour.
As such, trains would originate in Centerville yard and be pulled across the grade crossing (where the ticket booth was located) and into Centerville station where loading would take place. (Only the first runs in the morning would pull into the station empty since trains coming back from Peachtree Jct. would first pass through the station and into Centerville Yard so that the engine could be placed on the opposite end of the train).
On signal from the conductor, the engineer (who was typically dressed as an engineer) would blow the horn or whistle and then start the train out of the station. Since the train station was located at the bottom of a sizeable hill (3½% grade), the train would need to accelerate as quickly as possible before it crossed the short trestle over Foulerton Brook and then across a second grade crossing. From there, the track continued to climb on what was called Pigpen Grade (named after the pigpen on the righthand side of the tracks) until it reached the crest of the hill, the meeting point for outgoing and incoming trains: Pigpen Siding.
The next landmark on the railroad past Pigpen Siding was Horseshoe Curve, a sharp curve in the shape of a horseshoe near the adjacent treeline, which was fashioned after the Pennsylvania Railroad's Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Pennsylvania, and which restricted trains to . After leaving Horseshoe Curve, a second, lesser-used, siding was encountered, after which the line curved to the right and the Long Fill (about a fill) where the best speed on the railroad could be made. (Although trains were restricted in revenue service to , locomotive #1500, ironically the least powerful locomotive on the railroad's roster, was known to have attained in excess of on numerous occasions. However, the lack of a long straight (tangent) track, and the risk of turning over a rail, were concerns that limited "high speed" running on the C&S RR.)
At the end of the Long Fill, the track entered a rock cut and then passed into the woods and approached Peachtree Jct. Although the diesel locomotives would operate without having to refuel, steam locomotive #1501 was required to stop to add coal to the fire as well as water to the boiler. This was done on the loop track. Due to the construction of #1501, this stop was necessary, and could not be performed while the train was in motion.