New Jersey Seashore Lines: was CNJ being cleard Woodmansie>N

ok Guys i just got home from visiting the Rt 530 crossing - there is a signal on both sides of the crossing for the train - two lights - i assume a red and green? There is now a large control shack/shanty on the north side of the crossing and a very nice sign from the NJSL on a new metal crossing buck (one on both sides). I don't really know why there are metal crossing bucks now - you think there would be gates - the crossing buck has a weird looking opening at the top. Refer to the pictures I took. They are a little fuzzy as the sun was going down and I ran out of light but you can definitely see what is going on. A lot of work to run trains.

Sign
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217064

Signal
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217068

Signal from the side
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217070

Crossing Buck
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217065

View to the north
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217071

Trainlawyer wrote:Gentlemen,

4. Brother Upmal, did you really stop on the crossing to take a picture?

I didn't take the picture but a friend of mine who is nutsdid stop on the crossing to take the picture!

Trainlawyer wrote:David,
It is all public record. You are free to make the same phone call I did, but you will have to wait until the civil servants return to their offices on Monday. There are quite a few good sources of information out there if you just start looking for them. One of the things I learned very early in my career is that most public officials are glad to give a few minutes to someone who is genuinely interested in one of their projects and who is not calling to complain.
GME

Ok---Thank you.

scottso699 wrote:ok Guys i just got home from visiting the Rt 530 crossing - there is a signal on both sides of the crossing for the train - two lights - i assume a red and green? There is now a large control shack/shanty on the north side of the crossing and a very nice sign from the NJSL on a new metal crossing buck (one on both sides). I don't really know why there are metal crossing bucks now - you think there would be gates - the crossing buck has a weird looking opening at the top. Refer to the pictures I took. They are a little fuzzy as the sun was going down and I ran out of light but you can definitely see what is going on. A lot of work to run trains.

Sign
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217064

Signal
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217068

Signal from the side
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217070

Crossing Buck
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217065

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3217071

View to the north


Great pictures, Scott--Thank you---This will answer most of the bandying questions. Scott-- FYI --On the tops of the crossbucks are horns.

Oh ok - horns... so much for the traditional "dinging" bell! I just wonder why they wouldn't install gates and flashers

That is one sweet looking 200' feet of track. Bring back the Comet.

Your "weird looking opening at the top" Is an E bell. Its a speaker. Its not a horn.

That's great that two signals and a new concrete pad at a crossing have been installed, I have been following this since it started. BUT, that means that they are going to run trains on track that has not been maintained siunce the 1980s? What is the condition of the rest of the track around that pretty new crossing? Some time ago it was posted that there were new ties in a pile up that way. but I thought the track work had all but stopped a long time ago.

I just walked around the whole area and noticed a few things in addition to the previously mentioned items;

- The stretch of track between Rt. 530 and Diamond road (to the south) has some blue painted rail joint plates (new?) with new replacement ties directly underneath.
- New wires brazed between rails at those joints and at some of the others with no blue rail joint plate and tie replacement.
- The stretch of track north of Rt. 530, next to the park, also has some blue rail joint plates with new ties underneath.
-- The beginning of the switch to the old PRR connection track also has blue rail joint plates and new ties.
-- The old PRR connection track also has at least one set of blue rail joint plates with new ties.
- Nothing new at Diamond road.
- Nothing new at Rt. 539, south of Diamond road.
I wish I can upload pictures but they are too big for this site.

I checked out the new crossing on Mt. Misery Road near Woodmansie a week ago and noticed that the new rails put in for the crossing there are a bit heavier than the existing rails (pound-wise) on the existing line.

I deleiver the mail around the Route 9 and CedarBridge Ave crossings in Lakewood. When the occasional freight comes through the signals at both of these crossings don't activate until the engine is almost right at the intersection. Both crossings have overhead flashers but no gates. I occasionally see a Conrail worker testing the flashers.

Also, both wood trestles there have been rehabilitated in the past year, especially the long trestle downstream of the Lake Manetta spillway under Rt. 9. That trestle had most of the bents replaced as well as the deck ties.

Jerry

I'm trying to upload a couple of pictures I took yesterday. This is of the track next to the park with the former PRR connector and its switch.

My wife humored me and let us swing by the area so I could get a look see as well.

I had never noticed the PRR connector track in the weeds adjacent to the Southern Div/Southern Secondary along Manchester Blvd before. It just sort of runs into the ground about a hundred feet or so before reaching Lacey Rd. I am amazed they left the switch in-line for all those years. I guess, as seen in jrzwalker 86's pic, that they may be planning to rehab the switch and make a storage siding out of that? The exposed section of rail is only a few hundred feet long. Looking at the historical aerials, it looks like the connector has not been used at least the later 60's or early '70's (Didn't the PRR run to the edge of the GSP in South toms River until around 1965?)

I saw that there is a new signal shed at Wranglebrook Rd (or was that previously reported?).

Out at the Woodmansie-Pasedena Rd crossing, as previously stated, they are in the middle of replacing the rails and ties thru the crossing. It is not fully cut and fit in just yet and still needs to be ballasted on either side of the road. On the Savoy Rd side of the crossing, it looks like they painted a "new" RR X-ing marker on the asphalt (may have been done several months ago). Still nothing specifically visible down at the sand mine side of things although I believe it was reported earlier this year that the giant sand berm along the north side of the driveway and across the tracks has been dug out and is now an access point to the ROW. You can see along way up the ROW. The southside of the driveway is heavily covered in pine trees. You can't even see the rails.

Has anyone Else seen any work done past Whiting? I know it wouldnt be important yet but im pretty sure the tracks are still disconnected in Lakehurst & South Lakewood.

I am curious about the tracks just after the siding in Lakehurst heading into Heritage Minerals. Last time I was down those tracks, back in the mid 90's on my quad, they were partially submerged in the water from the swap\lake that sits to the West of them. The ground was pretty soft too as a lot of the ties had sunken down in the mud. If they are going to be running heavy sand trains like predicted, they are going to need to do some track work their.

Just a dumb question? How are they going to get trains up to their? It is a long haul to get from Cape May up to the Lakehurst area. If the tracks South of their were still in service I could see just jumping on them in Winslow on the SRNJ and heading up from there.

On a side note has anyone seen this? http://www.westjersey.org/rr/wjt1832.htm some old maps that you can change year by year from the late 1800's.

Kevin

The Clayton Sand Mine Freight Hauling operation is currently contracted to the same person/people that operate the Cape May Passenger/Tourist railroad but under a different company name (NJ Seashore lines). The only commonality is the owner and possibly some of the same staff. Operations-wise, It will have nothing to do with the Cape May rails and would not be expected to exchange any cars with each other. The two are completely seperate from one another.