On a surprisingly sunny Thursday afternoon (most Thursdays in NJ are cloudy), Conrail Shared Assets local train SA-31 heads down the CR Southern Secondary (the old CNJ Southern Division) in Eatontown with a short consist for Lakewood, NJ. This was a main freight route for the Central RR of NJ, running from Jersey City to extreme southern NJ, from the late 19th to mid 20th century, hosting at least two trains a day. Many years ago, there was a passing siding at this point on the line, with the north switch located just about where NS 5283 (GP38-2, ex-CR 8081, nee-PC 8081, blt 2/73) is positioned in this photo. In November of 1953, CNJ train SJ-2 derailed 21 cars at this spot, with a few even climbing the embankment to the left, and it is thought that the switch contributed to the accident.
There will be no problems for the crew today, as they take their very regular Thursday stroll down the Southern; in fact, if you wake up & don’t remember what day it is in this area, you will know it’s Thursday if you see the local going by. The train is never big, and never fast (10 mph restriction on this line), but there is much rr history in this area dating back to the 1850s, and it’s good to see the line still in operation into the 21st century.
Image recorded on August 15, 2013
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I think you have it backwards in your description for this photo. The siding you mentioned is not yet in this photo. The train is heading south towards the overpass bridge at Tinton Ave. and has not passed the old siding that would take the train east into Eatontown. The buildings to the right are the Country Club apartments and are on the North side of Tinton Ave. And since there is no overpass bridge looking down the tracks into the distance, the train must still be on the north side of Tinton Ave. I spent many a childhood day playing in that very area. Thank you for the memory trigger. Keep up the good work.