A Northwest influence on the East Coast

What a long, strange trip it has been for the two GP-20 locomotives seen here in New Jersey on a beautiful summer day in 2021. Happy 61st birthday to these two veterans built for the Great Northern Railway in 1960. Shortline railroads are chock full of venerable units such as the GP-20, and what a pleasure it is to see these old warriors still working well into the 21st century. RCRY 2092 and 2093 are pulling into their yard with inbound loads for several customers in the sprawling industrial park that is Raritan Center in Edison, NJ. It is interesting that the two locos, built for a railroad that ran from Minnesota to Washington state, are about to pass a Blue Spruce tree planted here, a variety of tree native to the northwest region of this country. Is it luck? Is it fate? No one is certain, but what an incredible coincidence as these former Northwest natives get together once again on the east coast of the US, with the NJ state flag and the US flag flying proudly, bringing a little northwest influence and beauty to the Jersey Shore.

Image recorded June 19, 2021

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Once dormant, now active again

On the now 150 year old ex-CNJ Southern Division mainline, business had dwindled to a customer or two in the late 20th century. Things did not look good for this once proud high iron to southern New Jersey as recently as 2009, but, as everyone knows, there is nothing constant but change. Conrail Shared Assets Operations local SA-31 has operated on this line since Conrail proper assumed rights from the CNJ in 1976, and the line has seen hard times in the last decade & a half. With change rearing its ‘positive’ head, for a change, the current Southern Secondary has seen a significant increase in traffic in 2014, much to the delight of the local economy, and to local railfans as well.

The weekly Thursday afternoon runs have seen trains of 12+ cars for the past year, compared to runs of 1 to 5 or 6 cars previously. This days consist had 17 cars, with 14 lumber loads destined for the lines largest customer, Woodhaven Lumber in Lakewood, as well as 2 empty gondolas for loading at Brick Recycling, another ‘once dormant, now active again’ business in Howell, NJ, and one boxcar full of brick products for Extech Building Materials. The Extech  (formerly Atlantic Building Supply) siding, pictured here, had lain dormant for several years, but started receiving inbound loads again back in 2011, and has been a regular drill since then. Conrail Shared Assets crew SA-31 is seen here spotting the loaded car on the Extech siding, after having pulled the empty boxcar just moments ago. With the continued business from Extech, and the new business from Brick Recycling, just a half-mile north of here, the future looks bright for the Southern Secondary, almost forgotten about just a few years ago.

Image recorded October 30, 2014.

DSC_7527SA31ExtechClose10302014

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