December 2011 - Page 6 of 13

CSX and Norfolk Southern in unusual locomotive lashup

CSX

No, CSX and Norfolk Southern haven’t merged (at least not at the time of this posting!), and yes, this is an unusual locomotive lashup, even in Conrail Shared Assets territory.

The two NS units (NS 2612, an SD70M, and NS 6771, an ex-CR SD60M) brought train 68Q to eastern New Jersey yesterday, and proceeded to the storage facility for unloading. The two CSX units (CSX 7865, a C40-8W, and CSX 7585, a C40-8) brought their own loaded ethanol train in yesterday, and then cut away for an overnight stay in Port Reading Yard.

To help facilitate todays movements, local CSAO crew PR-19 took the CSX power a mile south on the Chemical Coast Secondary to tie onto the now-empty NS train, and brought everything north to Carteret, NJ, where the two CSX units would then cut away and return to their train waiting on the west siding.

The NS units will receive a new road crew and head west as this afternoon’s NS 69Q, while the CSX train would now be spotted for off-loading by the PR-19 crew … all in a days work for the busy crews of the Conrail Shared Assets Operations in central NJ.

Image recorded May 20, 2010.

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Middletown preserves old freight house structure

Conrail, NJ Transit Rail Operations

There’s a good amount of history in this photo from Middletown, NJ. This line, the former New York & Long Branch RR (now operated by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations), was originally built in 1875 to bring New Yorkers to the resort towns and sandy beaches of central coastal New Jersey. Fortunately, the Township of Middletown saw fit to preserve the original freight house built in the early 1880’s, one of the first such structures built on the railroad.

Today, Middletown is one of the largest station stops on NJ Transit, with a huge commuter parking lot and a newer station with high-level platforms to serve the public just behind the photographer. On this beautiful spring day we see Conrail Shared Assets train SA31 traversing the NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line on its way south (railroad west) to Red Bank, where it will leave the Coast Line and venture down the former Central RR of NJ Southern Division main, now referred to as the Conrail Southern Secondary. Norfolk Southern GP38-2 5282 is quite familiar with this area, as she was built in February 1973 as Penn Central 8079, and served the Conrail years as CR 8079, before being absorbed by NS in the Conrail split-up of 1999.

At age 37, this old workhorse seems to have a few more good years left in her career before retirement.

Image recorded May 13, 2010.

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‘East siding’ grade shows world is not flat

Norfolk Southern

In a telephoto image proving that the world is indeed ‘not flat’, Norfolk Southern train 68Q is seen parked on the Port Reading yard track, aka the ‘east siding’, in Carteret, NJ, on the Conrail Shared Assets Chemical Coast Secondary. Evidence of the grade is apparent with the small piles of sand alongside the rails, where engineers have had to activate the onboard sanders to increase adhesion of the steel wheels on the steel rails to gain traction.

Traffic is a bit busy on this spring day, as another loaded ethanol train is sitting on the ‘west siding’, directly across the main. NS 9517, along with sister C40-9W 9241, will have to wait until tonight or tomorrow morning to be off-loaded, as the South Jersey Dispatcher will take the adjacent train first, issuing a Form D south to Sewaren within an hour of this photo.

Image recorded May 7, 2010.

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Rare locomotive deserves many photographs

Norfolk Southern

Some might say that there are too many pictures of EMD SD45-2 locomotives on this website, but considering the rarity of this particular model in the US, I say “Bah, humbug”!

With only 136 units ever produced (although Southern Pacific/SSW received 247 of a variation of this model, the SD45T-2), the sight of two of these monsters coupled together in 2010 is an image worth recording, especially in New Jersey. The only northeast railroad to order this model was the Erie Lackwanna Railroad, with 13 units built in late 1972 at the famed General Motors ElectroMotive Division plant in LaGrange, Illinois.

After the Conrail split-up of 1999, Norfolk Southern acquired six of the ex-EL SD45-2’s, and they are frequently seen on Conrail Shared Assets trackage, both in northern NJ, and also in southern NJ, operating out of Camden’s Pavonia Yard; NS 1703 is ex-CR 6662, nee-EL 3677, built 11/72, and trailing unit NS 1700 is ex-CR 6654, nee-EL 3669, built 11/72. On a beautiful spring day in May, 2010, we see southbound Conrail Shared Assets train OI-16 at the ‘Hess’ crossovers, approaching CP-PD on the CSAO Chemical Coast Secondary, about to make a set-out at Port Reading Yard.

Even though these locomotives were rebuilt to SD40-2 specs during their time on Conrail, 38 years on the rails is a long time in RR years, and before long these veterans will become a distant memory, so let us enjoy them while we can.

Image recorded May 5, 2010.

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Despite age and reduced volume, mainline still operational

Conrail

A former Conrail locomotive (ex-CR 3356, blt 3/79), CSX GP40-2 4431 mostly saw mainline service in her younger years. This line, the former CNJ Southern Division mainline, then CR Southern Secondary, now Conrail Shared Assets Southern Secondary, generally hosted smaller units, such as the GP38-2, GP15-1, and B23-7 model locomotives during the Conrail years (1976-1999).

Now that the bigger 4-axle units are getting older, this once proud mainline now sees once proud mainline locomotives, as seen here in Farmingdale, NJ, with CSAO symbol SA31 bringing its small train through town on her way south to Lakewood, NJ. This is a bittersweet moment; this line is not nearly what it once was, but it is operational and does see a once-weekly train where there could easily be rusted, overgrown, and abandoned rail for us all to lament over.

Many thanks to Woodhaven Lumber in Lakewood, NJ, for generating enough inbound traffic to keep the trains rolling on this old and historic line.

Image recorded April 29, 2010.

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