Category: Conrail

Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail for short) was created by the US government, as a result of several major eastern railroad bankruptcies in the 1970’s. The end result was a well-run, profitable railroad; a true ‘rags to riches’ story, which the government then sold to the other two major eastern roads, Norfolk Southern Corporation and CSX Transportation, in a 58-42 split. Conrail does still survive, as Conrail Shared Assets Operations, serving as a terminal switching entity only, owning no locomotives or railcars.

Classic EMD locomotives work hard into their golden years

, , ,

These two classic EMD locomotives continue to work hard into their ‘golden years’. Norfolk Southern GP38-2 5271 started life as Penn Central 8061, built in February of 1973, and she kept her original number through the Conrail years. CSX GP38-2 began as Conrail 8724, leaving LaGrange, Ill., in June of 1979, to go to work for Big Blue.

This is the Conrail Shared Assets Chemical Coast Secondary, so NS/CSX lashups are common operating procedure in this area; today we have local CSAO crew PR-8 in charge of their short train, making good time on a beautiful spring day, passing CP-PD.

Image recorded April 14, 2010.

Classic EMD locomotives continue to work hard into their golden years

Click on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.

Sunset scene reveals deer in the headlights

, , ,

Unsure of whether to focus their attention on the photographer, or the EMD diesel-electric locomotive bearing down upon them, several deer are startled by the sudden flurry of activity around them in a truly wonderful image of rural railroading.

As you can tell by the snow covered rails, this line, the former Central Railroad of New Jersey Southern Division main line, does not see much activity any more. The line stretches from the NJ Transit North Jersey Coast line in Red Bank, NJ, and makes its way in a southwesterly direction to the current southern terminus in Lakehurst, and was once an important through route for the CNJ, connecting northern and extreme southern New Jersey.

Here, at sunset on a chilly late winter afternoon, Conrail Shared Assets Operations symbol SA-31 brings its dozen or so cars down the Southern Secondary on its weekly mission from Browns Yard in Sayreville, NJ, to the handful of customers in Farmingdale and Lakewood, NJ.  With the slow speeds on this line, CSX GP40-2 4431 (ex-CR 3356, blt 3/79) is no threat to the local wildlife, and these deer will safely disappear into the woods surrounding Farmingdale, NJ, before the crew reaches them.

Image recorded by Anthony Paci on February 19, 2010.

Sunset scene reveals deer in the headlights

Click on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.

Rare Conrail blue grabs attention outside Port Reading yard

, , , , ,

I am not normally a fan of ‘going-away’ shots; however, with the lighting available to me, and this rare blue unit just a stones throw away, I could not resist capturing one of the few remaining locomotives still in Conrail paint. Acquired by the Norfolk Southern Railroad in the Conrail split-up of 1999, NS 6742 was built as Conrail SD60I 5618 in April of 1995, and her as-delivered paint application has held up quite well over her 15 years on the rails. Immediately preceding her are NS 8823 (Dash9-40C, blt 2/95) and NS 7623 (ES-40DC, blt 2/2007). These mainline veterans are seen in this photo on the Conrail Shared Assets Chemical Coast Secondary, just a bit north of CP-PD and Port Reading Yard, with a train of empty ethanol cars to be returned west for reload as NS train 69Q, as soon as a fresh road crew can be summoned.

Image recorded March 2, 2010.

Rare Conrail blue grabs attention outside Port Reading yardClick on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.

Freight trains dashing through snow to make up time lost

, , ,

Dashing through the snow (at the 10mph limit), Conrail Shared Assets train SA-31 does a bit of clearing along the right-of-way as she travels through Eatontown, NJ, on the Conrail Southern Secondary. With sunset approaching, long shadows lie across the rails, warning of impending darkness along the route through Monmouth and Ocean counties. Battling the worst winter on record, freight schedules throughout the northeast have been anything but ‘on-schedule’; no run in the past 10 days for this normally weekly train, hence the 12-car consist instead of the ‘normal’ 5 to 7 cars on any given run.

After a couple days of bright sun and non-frigid temperatures, CSX 4431 and the crew will have no problems traversing the line down to Lakehurst and return. Ex-Conrail GP40-2 3356 (blt 3/79) returns to home rails, 31 years on the job and still going strong for her new owner, CSX Transportation.

Image recorded February 19, 2010.

Freight trains dashing through snow to make up lost timeClick on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe units ready to head west

, , ,

Staged and ready to head west to hopefully warmer weather, these two Burlington Northern Santa Fe units sit in extremely cold Carteret, NJ, on the Conrail Chemical Coast Secondary, awaiting a fresh road crew. BNSF 4614 and 1101 likely came east to coastal NJ on yesterdays Norfolk Southern unit ethanol train 68Q. The railroad has been expanded in this area from two tracks to three to accommodate the daily ethanol trains from the Midwest, as well as the numerous daily local freight movements to and from busy Oak Island yard, just 10 miles to the north.

Image recorded January, 30, 2010.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe units ready to head west Click on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.