Conrail 3008 leads train ALOI past Columbus Park in the New Market area.
	Train WPSP-2, led by Conrail 7869, departing South Plainfield Yard and entering the Lehigh Line. To the right of the locomotive are the remainder of the cars set out by train ALOI for service by WPSP-2.
	Conrail 1601 leads WPSP-2 onto the Lehigh Line from the Perth Amboy Secondary. From here the WPSP-2 will return to South Plainfield Yard. The cars it picked up will be retrieved by ALOI when it travels through South Plainfield.
	LMS 714 leads train ML480 eastbound through CP Potter.
	Conrail 6842, 6792, and 6101 are in charge of train OIPI as it passes westbound through Cranford. In the foreground are the interchange tracks for the Rahway Valley Railroad.
	Runthrough power makes an occasional appearance on the New Jersey Division. Here GCFX 3109, leased to CSXT, leads train TV-171 westbound through CP Townley en route back to CSXT's rails.
	Train ENOI commonly has foreign power as ENOI carries Norfolk Southern & Canadian interchange traffic. Here NS 4006 brings ENOI to a safe stop at NK tower.
	An overview of Oak Island Yard. To the left are the receiving tracks, the Portside Running Track (to Portside Yard), and the Oak Island Running Track (to the Chemical Coast Secondary). To the right are the Doremus Ave. Auto Facility & the car shop tracks.
	Oak Island Yard.
	91 Bay Ave., otherwise known as the Oak Island engine servicing facility. Here both road and local power are serviced and maintained.
	The Doremus Ave. Auto Facility - the destination for all those autoracks.
The HO scale Conrail New Jersey Division trackplan.

By M. R. Snell/Photos by the Author

In our first installment we saw an overview of the railroad. Now we begin our in-depth look, starting with the operations of the former Conrail Lehigh Line on my HO scale New Jersey Division.

The Lehigh Line runs from Allentown, Pa., to Newark, NJ, and was Conrail's main freight route into northern New Jersey. Early into the Conrail years most freight traffic destined for northern New Jersey was shifted onto this ex-Lehigh Valley route, making it quite a busy piece of railroad. It is primarily a single-track route, with controlled sidings. Closer to Newark, the line becomes double-tracked. At Port Reading Junction, you will find the Lehigh Line and the Trenton Line converge into a single route, as well as the local Manville Yard. NJ Transit uses part of the Lehigh Line to reach its own Raritan Line from "NK" in Newark to Aldene in Cranford.

In modeling the Lehigh Line, I tried to keep the integrity of the route intact, even though I had to use selective compression in order to fit it into my plans. In order to make the operation of HO scale trains possible, I had to change a few single and double track configurations in certain areas. For instance, instead of adding a whole other parallel track to the line, I took the NJ Transit operations off this section entirely. Such are the compromises one makes when designing a layout for operation.

We'll begin our tour of the layout with the Lehigh Line, which is where all trains enter and exit the railroad. Eastbound trains entering the railroad are first seen at New Market passing alongside Columbus Park. Here the single track line passes alongside a still pond offering fabulous views for HO scale railfan photographers, as well as a block signal to give them warning as to approaching trains. An audible dragging defect detector is also located here, and occasionally alerts crews to possible defects in their train (I described how I designed and built this detector in Modeling Modern Defect Detectors.) If the train catches the dragger, then the crew must stop and inspect their train. If they find a "defect" then they relay this information to the dispatcher and await his instructions. This adds yet another dimension of realism to our regular operating sessions!

Slightly east of New Market is South Plainfield, the location of a small local yard and maintenance shop. There is a small double-ended siding that is used to access the MOW shop and is also used for the transfer of cars from one yard via the road freight ALOI (Allentown-Oak Island). Sherban's Diner, an old railfan hangout, is also located in South Plainfield.

A little further down the line, we are reduced to single track with a controlled siding at Oak Tree. The controlled siding extends all the way to CP Potter. Within the confines of this segment of track is a spur known as the South Amboy Secondary. This small branch, as well as the industries along this part of the Lehigh Line, is serviced by local WPSP-2 based out of South Plainfield Yard.

Arriving at CP Potter, the Lehigh Line becomes single track again. It remains single track all the way to Cranford. The Rahway Valley Railroad interchanges with Conrail there. This shortline, based in Kenilworth, serves local customers tri-weekly. Beyond Cranford, the line becomes true double track all the way to NK Tower at Newark.

Further down the line, we pass under NJ Transit's Raritan Line and two our left is one of two points where the Irvington Industrial Track intersects the Lehigh Line.

Arriving at CP Townley we come up to the home signals for NK and Oak Island Yard. Here a crossover allows the dispatchers and the NK operator to route inbound and outbound trains from Oak Island around each other as needed to relieve congestion and keep the priority merchandise moving. Shortly after passing Townley, we pass by the junction with the Irvington Industrial Track again, as well as passing CP Aldene, the connection with NJ Transit's Raritan Line.

Now we've arrived at NK Tower in Newark. At NK all trains will be routed to either Oak Island for general merchandise freights and autoracks or Portside Yards for intermodal traffic. Trains can also be routed through the yard complex to the Chemical Coast Secondary.

Oak Island is a sprawling complex with an engine house, large classification yard, auto unloading terminal, and maintenance facilities. The yard has a 150 car capacity and at times will operate at or near its limit. All inbound manifest freights are classified and blocked into local freights for various points on the railroad, as are all loads and empties picked up by locals operating earlier in the day for outbound road trains. Several locals are based out of Oak Island serving Port Newark, the Lehigh Line, the Irivington Industrial Track, and NJT's Raritan Line. A nightly transfer run from Port Reading Yard handles cars for Port Reading and the Bayway Refinery complex.

Running through the yard is the Oak Island Running Track to connect to the Chemical Coast Secondary and the Portside Running Track at Bayway, which runs to Portside Yard and the Bayway Refinery.

Interchange with other railroads off-line is through the use of car-routing to specific trains. Interchange points are Philadelphia via Allentown for CSXT, Hagerstown via Enola for NS, all Canadian traffic via Enola (and connection to the Buffalo Line), and Chicago via Elkhart for all western traffic. As trains are assembled at Oak Island, these cars are placed into respective trains OIAL, OIEN, and OIEL. Some interchange and most home road traffic moves via OIPI (Oak Island-Pittsburgh/Conway).

All in and outbound traffic traverses this line in the form of manifest freights ALOI, ENOI, PIOI; and numerous intermodal trains such as RR-260, MAIL-44, and TV-172; autorack trains ML-480 and ML-486; unit trains of coal and the famous OJT-1, the Tropicana juice train. There are other special movements that fill in the schedule as well. A typical day on the Lehigh Line will see approximately 22 road trains handling several hundred cars as well as multiple local freight movements.

In our next installment, we'll look at the Secondary and Industrial tracks, the Rahway Valley Railroad, as well as commuter operations.

About the Author
Matt Snell, 35, born and raised in northern New Jersey, the basis for his HO scale Conrail New Jersey Division, is a dockworker currently residing in Milford, Ohio. Matt has been a model railroader and a railfan since age 12 and is currently married, "with goldfish and trains."