Cars in Bloomsbury

Went across the Church St. crossing on the old CNJ the other day. Saw some cars sitting west of crossing. At least one was a box car. Didn't know they were running down there anymore. Anybody know anything about this?

I'm assuming you're talking about the long string of box cars that are clearly visible from Warren Glen Rd (639)?

I've noticed them a few times over the past few months now. From Warren Glen Rd, they appear to all be the oh so familiar Railbox that we've all come to know and love.

The string of cars seems to go almost all the way to just before the switch with the Lehigh Line. Struck me as odd that they're all Railboxes. I'd be curious to know what their story is, too!

If you can see them from the Church St. crossing, there has got to be A LOT of them!

Railbox is owned by TTX. I suspect that with more freight moving to containers the need for boxcars has diminished. With the ongoing recession there is even less need. The boxcars are probably stored with the expectation that if the economy improves they will become needed. Here's a rating agency report on TTX that may be of interest. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit952661

Strange. There has been a lot of talk about a 'boxcar shortage' lately, so I'd be surprised if that was the reason for their storage.

Perhaps these cars have reached the 50 year regulatory mandated end of life? Scrap values have been in significant decline so the owner may be waiting for a scrap price recovery before selling?

I don't think that any Rai9lbox cars are 50 years old, yet. That would mean built in 1966. Now, some are about 50 years old, which was an Association of American Railroads' age limit. However, under some regulations, the 40 years can start from the most recent rebuilding.