by Zeke
IIRC around 1997 CR's SE-AL ( Selkirk-Allentown ) dumped 30 or more cars at South Plainfield blocking the Lehigh Line for 72 hours. CR as per it's detour agreement with NJ Transit ran over the RVL from Bound Brook to Aldene. A CR Trainmaster, and brakeman tasked to line the hand throw switches in Bound Brook yard, were assigned 24/7 at Bound Brook station along with a NJT trainmaster to facilitate the detours. The pattern was for a CR freight to follow eastbound locals to Aldene and vice versa. I think upwards of 40 freight trains ran over the RVL during the detour window. Every evening after 9 pm, at Aldene, CR fleeted 4 westbounds behind a High Bridge local. I was working an evening job out of Raritan at the time and the usually sedate evening period was interrupted every 10 minutes or so as another freight would pass us heading west. The whole deal went quite well as CR was a night time/early morning railroad on this end and had free reign of the RVL after midnight until 5 am when rush hour started cranking up. As the RVL is not clearanced for double stack movements Piggy back and double stack trains detoured both ways over the Port Reading secondary to Port Reading then headed east or west over the Chemical coast branch to/from Oak Island, Croxton or the Meadows/ South Karny.
Regarding piggyback operations at Somerville the First Rock would go down to Bound Brook first thing in the morning and pick up the set off in BB yard and bring the pigs back to Somerville and set up the circus style ramps. The Somerville wye was in service so if a piggyback car was facing the wrong way it was turned on the wye. The wye was the remnant of the CNJ's out of service Flemington branch. The second trick Rock would pick up the outbound pigs and take them to Bound Book and wait for the Chicago bound CR version of the LV's Apollo and either facilitate the pick up by placing the cars against the train or just let the road crew make the pick up. The service was quite reliable and the Somerville pig yard was booming back then. The old CNJ conductor on the second trick Rock still referred to the move as "taking the Apollo's down to Bound Brook."
Regarding piggyback operations at Somerville the First Rock would go down to Bound Brook first thing in the morning and pick up the set off in BB yard and bring the pigs back to Somerville and set up the circus style ramps. The Somerville wye was in service so if a piggyback car was facing the wrong way it was turned on the wye. The wye was the remnant of the CNJ's out of service Flemington branch. The second trick Rock would pick up the outbound pigs and take them to Bound Book and wait for the Chicago bound CR version of the LV's Apollo and either facilitate the pick up by placing the cars against the train or just let the road crew make the pick up. The service was quite reliable and the Somerville pig yard was booming back then. The old CNJ conductor on the second trick Rock still referred to the move as "taking the Apollo's down to Bound Brook."