The SIRR and RVRR V

They have been storing hoppers all the way up to the Linden Ave Bridge on and off for the past year..........

From what I have been told, when you see these hoppers disappear for a few days..........get your cameras ready

The brush and saplings were cleared from the former CNJ yard a few months ago. It will need to undergo substantial rehab to be used, but I suspect that is in the plan.

They have started laying ties & rail East/south of Liberty Ave.

Anyone have an idea when the North Avenue (?) grade crossing area to the ex-CNJ yard connection will be done? Any construction north, but fairly close to there?

Time for a new start on this one. Have fun..
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9461

I figured I would start on this new thread.
Has anyone seen if the reinforcement work on the bridge over the NEC has begun?
The last I read here was that the steel beams were delivered and that was many weeks ago.

The Steel Beams are still sitting down at Bayway.......

There has been some work done to the supports at Elizabeth Ave and at Linden Ave.

From what I understand the new steel beams will not be needed to allow trains to pass over the corridor, however they will still be replaced in the near future.........

The NIMBY's are trying a new appraoch. From today's Union County section of the Star Ledger.

Man sues railroad after breathing fumes
Kenilworth retiree says he suffers effects of a 2003 encounter with a toxic mixture
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
BY JUDITH LUCAS
Star-Ledger Staff
A 57-year-old retiree from Kenilworth is suing the Morristown & Erie Railway for exposing him to pesticide and herbicide fumes.

Robert Singler said he has trouble breathing and suffers from headaches because of the rail company and DeAngelo Brothers of Hazleton, Pa. -- whom Singler said was not an approved pesticide applicator.

Singler, who had worked as a food inspector, said he walked right into the toxic haze on July 17, 2003, as employees for DeAngelo Brothers applied the weed-killing agents.

"I could feel the liquid," Singler said. "I could feel it falling on my face and my arms. I thought, 'Oh my God, I got to find out what this spray is.' My throat started to burn, my eyes started to burn, I was having trouble breathing."

"I am still coughing," said Singler, whose suit was filed this month in Superior Court in Union County. "I still have headaches. I still have shortness of breath."

Singler said he was not notified the area behind his house was to be sprayed, and DeAngelo Brothers took no steps to protect the neighborhood from exposure to the fumes.

"... he suffered toxic injuries, pulmonary injuries, chemical burn injuries, great suffering of the mind and body," according to the lawsuit filed by Singler's attorney, Eric Kahn.

After the exposure, Singler was treated at Union Hospital and released.

The spraying violated state administrative codes involving the safe application of chemicals, Kahn said.

The companies were negligent and should have to pay for their actions, Kahn said.

"The purpose (of the lawsuit) is to recover for him and to make the point that when you are spraying chemicals, you have to follow the law," Kahn said.

Singler is seeking unspecified damages.

In New Jersey a person must be a certified pesticide applicator before they are allowed to spray. You cannot just purchase the stuff, load it in a tank and spray away. Also, I believe the law states that homes within a certain distance of the facility being sprayed need to be notified and warned to keep their pets indoors. On a golf course pesticide needs to be applied before the course is open (though few greens superintendents adhere to this because delaying the opening of a golf course usually brings screams of protest from greens committees.)

I used to be a certified pesticide applicator. I had to take an exam and get a license from the state of New Jersey. If the DeAngelo brothers were not licensed to apply the pesticide then they had no right to do so. If they were licensed the law states that they were required to notify people living alongside the row.

Wouldn't it be likely that they were certifed pesticide applicators?
Or not necessarily?
I would think that a RR company would only use a certified outfit.

CNJFAN wrote:Wouldn't it be likely that they were certifed pesticide applicators?
Or not necessarily?
I would think that a RR company would only use a certified outfit.

You never know with M&E though......

It seems that the string of covered hoppers is inching its way towards the NEC brigde. The last hopper is just about to cross the overhead bridge of the street just east of the NEC bridge (Linden ave maybe?) The other day, they weren't that far - maybe two or three carlengths back - at least it looked that way from flying down the NEC

From the looks of their Web site (http://www.dbiservices.com/deangelobrothersinc/), DeAngelo Brothers looks to be a legit company. According to the railroad-related section, "DeAngelo Brothers, Inc. is the industry leader in providing railroads with vegetation management solutions throughout North America. We have over 30 years of experience working with Class 1, Shortline and Commuter Railroads developing Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) programs. Our professional staff will work with you to develop a new program or improve a current one."

So perhaps the only issue is whether they were licensed to operate in New Jersey, and whether they violated any laws/rules/regulations.

There are other issues aside from whether or not the applicators were certified in New Jersey. Namely, were residents adjacent to the ROW notified that an herbicide was being applied. It is the law as well as standard practice.

Does anyone have any idea when the SIRR will FINALLY be up and running?