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.

Norfolk Southern ethanol train 68Q enters the ‘Chemical Coast Line’

On a gorgeous winter morning in New Jersey (one of the few good days in this very cold & snowy season), Norfolk Southern unit ethanol train 68Q enters the Conrail Chemical Coast Secondary from the CR Port Reading Secondary at Port Reading, NJ. This line in central New Jersey is just a very short distance from the Atlantic Ocean, and the major deep water ports of Newark and Elizabeth. The ‘Chemical Coast Line’  is named after the numerous oil refineries and storage facilities located in this part of the state. This train carries tens of thousands of gallons of ethanol, produced in the US corn-belt, to be used in the production of automotive fuel by the local refineries in the area. Today’s train has Norfolk Southern 9376 (C40-9W) and western visitor Burlington Northern Santa Fe 658 (C44-9W) capably in control on Conrail Shared Assets trackage.

Image recorded January 16, 2010.

Norfolk Southern ethanol train 68Q enters the 'Chemical Coast Line'Click on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.

Former Erie Lackawanna locomotives provide transfer power for Conrail

Conrail symbol OI-16 travels southbound on the CR Chemical Coast Secondary through Sewaren, NJ, enroute to Browns Yard in Sayreville, NJ. This train operates daily, transferring cars from the sprawling Oak Island classification yard to the smaller yards at Port Reading and Sayreville. Power for this train frequently includes one or two of the former Erie Lackawanna SD45-2 locomotives, as evident on today’s run, with NS SD40-2 3426 (ex-CR 6962, nee-KCS 602, blt 10/66) and CSX SD45-2 8886, now rebuilt to SD40-2 standards (ex-CR 6661, nee-EL 3676, blt 10/72).

Image recorded December 23, 2009.

Former Erie Lackawanna locomotives provide transfer power for Conrail Click on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.

Veteran power leads transfer train in Port Reading

With what is usually Conrail symbol OI-16, we find crew JR-2 in charge of the daily Oak Island-Bayway-Port Reading yard-Browns yard transfer train, heading south on the CR Chemical Coast Secondary approaching CP-PD and Port Reading yard in Port Reading, NJ. Veteran power leads this train today, with NS 3426 (ex-CR 6962, nee-KCS 602, blt10/66) and CSX 8886 (ex-CR 6661, nee-EL 3676, blt 11/72) sounding as good as ever, resplendent in the mid-day sun.

Image recorded December 21, 2009. Veteran power leads transfer train in Port ReadingClick on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.