Tag: Southern Secondary

Streets On Fire

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The freeze and thaw routine of winter weather can cause numerous issues on a railroad. Frequently, electrical continuity is not possible due to oxidation of the steel rails leading to a condition referred to as ‘rusty rails’ (a common railroad term). On this lightly-used line the train can not complete the electrical circuit and the gates & flashers will not activate properly. When this occurs, the conductor must protect the grade crossing with short burning (usually 5 minute) flares, or ‘fusees’ as they are known on the railroad. On this cold and snowy February day in Shrewsbury, NJ, the conductor has performed his duties according to rule 138c in the rulebook (Malfunction of Automatic Highway Crossing Warning Devices) and has thrown several fusees to warn oncoming vehicular traffic, giving the illusion of the streets being on fire in this scene about an hour after sunset. This Conrail Shared Assets train is on it’s regular Thursday afternoon run, but without it’s regular Browns Yard crew (SA-31). A shortage of crews based in Sayreville, NJ, has necessitated borrowing a crew from Metuchen Yard in Metuchen, NJ so this movement carries the symbol of ME-2 as it makes it way southbound on the Conrail Southern Secondary with additional lumber for Lakewood, NJ, some 20 miles away.

Image recorded February 11, 2021.

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Mother Nature delivers

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Conrail Southern Secondary local SA-31 generally needs 2 crews for the round trip from Sayreville NJ to Lakewood, NJ. The train is usually re-crewed in Lakewood, but sometimes they make it back up the line to a certain point. On this fateful day, the crew made it back to Shrewsbury at about 5:30 am. Since they need access to the New Jersey Transit North Jersey Coast Line commuter rails to return to Sayreville, the crew were either low on hours to work or NJT denied access due to their rush-hour train schedule. So, Conrail engineer Wallace picked a good spot to park and called for a cab back to the yard on a dry, cloudy morning. Then Mother Nature took over. At about 6am, the flurries started and then large, wet snowflakes fell and an hour later there were blizzard conditions. In the world of rail photography, one always dreams of a great snow shot and fortunately that very opportunity presented itself on this day. A Christmas card scene developed and the rest is history; Mother Nature had delivered a beautiful winter landscape, just begging to be captured.

Image recorded March 10, 2017

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Oh Deer!

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The life of a train crew in New Jersey is not always easy. When you mix grade crossings in with too many cars & too many people, it can make the job stressful at times. And then you have the wildlife, who just love to trespass on railroad property. Shrewsbury, NJ, is a fairly quiet little borough, but sometimes things get real busy at one or more of the 3 grade crossings in town. On just another Thursday afternoon, the crew of Conrail local freight SA-31 suddenly encounters a flurry of activity at the Patterson Ave. crossing. Never mind the truck ignoring the flashing lights and sounding bell at the crossing, but they also have their attention diverted by the two deer literally running for their lives along the right-of-way who are about to make a sharp right hand turn directly in front of the locomotive. Thankfully, the train is limited to 10 mph on this local freight line, and I’m happy to report that everyone made it home safely on this day, with a riveting tale to tell their families that night.

Image recorded September 7, 2017

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Flyin’ Fusees

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Snow, sleet, rain, and the salt air from the Atlantic Ocean (about 4 miles to the east of this location) can wreak havoc on the railroad, especially on a line used only once a week. Grade crossing protection depends on power and continuity between the 2 rails when a train approaches. Of course, oxidation is a big problem when moisture is introduced to any electrical circuit and contraction of the steel rail in cold weather doesn’t help either. A quick look to the left in this winter scene reveals that the crossing protection is not working as intended, so the crew must obey ‘Rule 138’ which outlines procedures to take when the crossing protection has failed. This week’s train, Conrail symbol SA-31, has come to a stop at the Shrewsbury Ave. grade crossing in Shrewsbury, NJ. Exiting a warm cab to flag a crossing is not always fun, but rules are rules and the conductor steps down and launches a standard fusee to get the attention of oncoming motorists. The engineer will pause 40 feet ahead to retrieve his friend and they will continue their southbound journey to Lakewood, NJ on a chilly Thursday evening.

Image recorded February 12, 2018.

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Rock & Roll

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New Jersey is home to some pretty good music, and within 40 minutes of this location you can find Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Deborah Harry, Sebastian Bach and Peter Criss, original Kiss drummer, all at home (if not on tour). You can also find a different type of rock & roll, this kind on the rails of the Conrail Shared Assets Operations Southern Secondary. The Southern is a lightly used rail line which sees just one train a week, and maintenance has been deferred for many years. Because there has been no new wooden ties installed or tamping (the act of slightly raising the individual tie and pushing ballast underneath so that all ties sits level) occurring on the route since the late 20th century, the rail tends to dip an inch or two in certain spots, usually at the joints of each 39 foot section of rail. It is for this reason that we see this day’s weekly freight, Conrail WPSA-31, leaning slightly as the train makes it’s way southbound through Tinton Falls, NJ. This line has seen a speed restriction (10 mph) for many years, so there is no fear that the train will topple over…it just makes for a crooked locomotive every now and then. You see, there’s more than one way to rock & roll in the Garden State.

Image recorded on September 6, 2018

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