Tag: Port Reading NJ

Two former Conrail units head for the Linden Industrial Track

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They didn’t name it the “Chemical Coast Secondary” for no reason at all; this busy line along the North Jersey coast plays host to oil refineries, chemical plants and tank farms along its short route from Woodbridge northward to Newark, NJ. Tank cars are the predominant rail cars in this region, and today we see Conrail Shared Assets local crew PR-8 as they leave busy Port Reading Yard in Port Reading, NJ, shoving north (away from the camera) with a short train destined for the Linden Industrial Track, just a little over a mile away. Norfolk Southern 5292, an EMD GP38-2 built for the Penn Central RR as their number 8096 in February of 1973, still wears her Conrail colors on this bright summer day, while her partner for today, NS GP40-2 3022 (ex-CR 3315, blt 5/78) has been repainted, and sports her ‘basic black’ work attire. The old Conrail Blue has been fading fast in 2011, and only about three dozen units remain as of this day in June; soon they will all be black, and another chapter in railroad history will be closed.

Image recorded on April 14, 2011.

Conrail Blue Norfolk Southern 5292 Chemical Coast Secondary April 2011

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Chemical Coast Secondary hosts other railroads’ locomotives

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With the frequent unit ethanol trains arriving in NJ from the midwest, locomotives from other railroads are commonly seen on the Conrail Chemical Coast Secondary,  which is just a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Today is no exception, as the power from yesterday’s Norfolk Southern train 68Q traverses the ‘Hess’ crossovers in Port Reading, NJ, for a reverse move into the CSAO Port Reading Yard, until a crew is called to take an empty train back west.

Today’s lashup is interesting for two reasons; first of all, Burlington Northern Santa Fe C44-9W 4412 is a welcome splash of color in NJ (considering the ‘basic black’ of the NS fleet), and secondly, a four-axle unit is part of todays lineup. The unit ethanol trains almost always get six-axle power assigned to them, but here we see a GP40-2 (NS 3045, ex-CR 3355, blt 3/79) sandwiched by two big GE units, with the leader being NS C40-9W 9365.

Image recorded August 18, 2010.

Conrail Chemical Coast Secondary hosts others' locomotives

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Conrail Shared Assets Operations in shadows of oil refinery

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In the shadows of the Hess Oil refinery sits the small, but very busy, Conrail Shared Assets Operations Port Reading Yard in Port Reading, NJ. Conrail Shared Assets is a terminal switching railroad, the remnants of the Consolidated Rail Corporation empire of the 1980s and 1990s, which was divided between CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway in 1999.

In the metropolitan NY/NJ area, the ‘Shared Assets’ operation is independent of the two big railroads, with the stipulation that CSX & NS both supply locomotives for power, while Conrail crews operate the trains. This day we find CSX 2810 (ex-Conrail 8724, blt 6/79) sitting patiently in front of the yard office with a handful of cars, waiting for her crew to continue the day’s work.

Image recorded August 3, 2010.

Under the Hess Oil refinery sits the Conrail Shared Assets Operations Port Reading Yard

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Ethanol empties train waits to head west

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On a warm July morning, Norfolk Southern train 69Q (ethanol empties), with NS 8395 in the lead, waits patiently on the yard track at the ‘Hess crossovers’ in Port Reading, NJ, as inbound NS train 68Q (ethanol loads) brings its train northward on the main, headed towards the west siding in nearby Carteret, NJ. The South Jersey Dispatcher will then give 69Q the OK to crossover from the yard track to the main, then immediately onto the west leg of the Wye at CP-PD to connect to the Port Reading Secondary, and head westward to later join the NS Lehigh Line for the trip west.

Shortly, a local crew will climb aboard and guide the just arrived 68Q southward to the refinery for spotting. It’s not as complex as it sounds, and the crews and dispatchers keep everything moving smoothly on this often congested trackage of the CSAO Chemical Coast Secondary.

Image recorded July 30, 2010.

Ethanol empties train waits to head west

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Norfolk Southern train 69Q negotiates southbound

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Doing things a little differently today, Norfolk Southern train 69Q negotiates southbound through the “Hess” crossovers on the Conrail Shared Assets Chemical Coast Secondary at Port Reading, NJ, to gain access to the west leg of the wye at CP-PD so that it may head west on the Port Reading Secondary, and join the NS Lehigh Line main at CP Bound Brook for her trip west for reloading.

Routing for the ’empty buckets’ (as the local crews call them) ‘usually’ brings the train north to Oak Island Yard before turning west for the main; the mostly single-track Port Reading Secondary acts as a bypass of sorts, and a good way out of central coastal NJ should the rails be clogged at busy Oak Island. It’s also slightly unusual for CSX power to mix with NS power on NS road trains; one will more often find lease units, or BNSF or UP power as assistance on the NS mainline.

This day features a homecoming for NS C40-9W 8395, as she began life as Conrail 6188 in June of 1993; assisting with todays move is CSX AC44CW 481 and CSX ES40DC 5224.

Image recorded July 29, 2010.

Norfolk Southern train 69Q negotiates southbound through the "Hess" crossovers on the Conrail Shared Assets Chemical Coast Secondary at Port Reading, NJ.

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