Tag: Port Reading NJ

Rare Conrail blue grabs attention outside Port Reading yard

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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.

Frigid temperatures no problem for Conrail heading south

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Oh, what a brutal winter it was! The winter of ’09/’10 was the worst on record for New Jersey, but, in the words of the rock group Aerosmith, “trains kept a rollin’ all night long”, and all day long for that matter. On a frigid February afternoon, we find Conrail Shared Assets symbol OI-16 heading south on the CSAO Chemical Coast Secondary, passing over the drawbridge at CP-RH in Carteret, NJ.

To the right in this image we see the Port Reading Yard track (aka the ‘east siding’), with the switch for the Carteret Industrial Track beside the lead unit. To the left, we have the ‘west siding’, used mainly to stage the daily unit ethanol trains from the midwest, destined for the numerous refineries in the immediate area. Also of interest here is the way the bridge painters worked around the old ‘Conrail’ logo, seen just above the train.; we appreciate their regard for the former, but also current (in a smaller capacity), operator of these rails.

The crew aboard CSX 8829 (ex-CR 6433, blt 9/77), with CSX 8886 (ex-CR 6661, nee EL 3676, blt 11/72) assisting, has the heat turned up, I’m sure, to high as they make their way down to Port Reading yard, just a mile and a half away, for a set-out before continuing further south to Browns Yard in Sayreville.

Image recorded February 14, 2010.

Frigid temperatures no problem for Conrail heading south through CarteretClick on the image to display it at a larger size. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page.

CSX locomotives push on through appointed rounds

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Inclement weather does not stop the railroads from their ‘appointed rounds’, as evidenced by these CSX locomotives working through the weather in Port Reading, NJ. CSX 8829 (ex-CR 6433, blt 9/77) and CSX 8886 (ex-CR 6661, nee-Erie Lackwanna SD45-2 3676) are seen on the Port Reading Secondary, crossing the CR Chemical Coast Secondary at grade, backing into Port Reading yard with Conrail Shared Assets train OI-16. This train has just come south (towards the photographer) on the Chemical Coast line from Oak Island yard, and has swung around the western leg of the wye to access the yard on a reverse move. OI-16 will eventually come out again to reverse back onto the Chemical Coast, and head south to CP-WOOD at Perth Amboy, where it will enter the NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line for the short trip across the Raritan River, and then immediately onto the CR Amboy Secondary for its trip west to Browns yard in Sayreville, NJ.

Fortunately, the highway overpass overhead kept the photographer from getting buried in the snow, unlike the ties & rails (and everything else) in central New Jersey on this extremely cold, cloudy and gloomy day.

Image recorded February 13, 2010.

CSX locomotives push on through appointed roundsClick 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’

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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.

Veteran power leads transfer train in Port Reading

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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.