VERY ODD... Comet I Sighting, US Army, Picitanny Arsenal

This one truly caught me off guard...

While taking an evening drive around Rockaway TWP, my father and I came unpon a VERY interesting discovery.

While driving on Lk. Denmark Rd, (which boarders Picitanny, a US Army wepons developmnent base) we turned off onto Snake Hill Rd which leads to the Nat'l Guard Air Station, about an 1/8 of a mile past the station we came to the end of the US Gov. property. But as we came around the corner, we found something amazing. Sitting approx. 150 Ft behind the fence was Comet I 1608 on a small streach of track in the compound. Its hard to see in the pictures, but it was in fine shape, with the doors open.

We are absolutly clueless about this... trying to figure out how it got there is hard enough, considering all tracks that ever led to the base were ripped up. So I have no where to even begin to speculate. (Thats where you all come in.) There were no marking around this area except for the sign that you see in the pictures.

Also, approx 500 feet to the back of the compound was an old (I mean reaaally old) NJT bus, that was in bad condition (windows and doors broken, rust over the whole body.)


So this one is completly out in the open for discussion... I know I have no clue.

The Car
http://community.webshots.com/photo/166 ... 8027QzjfRW

The Car II
http://community.webshots.com/photo/166 ... 8440KrGAcc

The only sign in the area... NOTE: Every building and lot in the base has a number... hmm not this one. Across the street was "TEST SITE D"
http://community.webshots.com/photo/166 ... 8885stbwdX[/img]

Wow, good find. Perhaps they are conducting drills in the event of terrorist threat on the trains. That is the closest thing I can think of. 1608 was to be among the first to leave service (former bar car.) These cars I believe were sold off.

Perhaps the coach was trucked in and then neatly placed on the storage track???

Steve

I think so.

Back in January, I remember seeing 1608 parked along the northside of I-280 in Kearny at what appeared to be a scrap metal company. Graffiti later covered one side of the car.

7 Train wrote:I think so.

Back in January, I remember seeing 1608 parked along the northside of I-280 in Kearny at what appeared to be a scrap metal company. Graffiti later covered one side of the car.

That's right. I remember thinking how lonely that car looked sitting all alone on that old siding. The days of its glory are fleeting.

nick11a wrote:

7 Train wrote:I think so.

Back in January, I remember seeing 1608 parked along the northside of I-280 in Kearny at what appeared to be a scrap metal company. Graffiti later covered one side of the car.

That's right. I remember thinking how lonely that car looked sitting all alone on that old siding. The days of its glory are fleeting.

Simple design, good AC, functioning doors and PA, warm in the winter. Yep, might as well scrap her. After all, we've got plenty of CometVs.

The car was dropped of by NS H84 behind Titan Marble on the Harrison Industrial track. It was trucked out by nearby rigger Joe Supor, the same company whose building and crews (for rigging) did the ALP-46 repairs. That wasn't the only Comet brought down the Harrison Ind.

Joe Supor is the first that came to mind. I know he's moved many rail cars before - even in the tiny streets of harrison! They've moved some pretty big stuff.. thats what they do.

OK Good, so we know how it got there... but any speculation as to why it is there??

Here's the answer: From NJTs web site, I don't think it's up any more but that the story!

Press Release 06/23/2004

NJ TRANSIT HOST TWO-DAY SEMINAR ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE



ROCKAWAY, NJ – NJ TRANSIT Police Department held the first of a two-day emergency preparedness summit today that includes participants from federal, national and State law enforcement agencies and emergency operations. The summit is part of NJ TRANSIT’s ongoing commitment to coordinate efforts between emergency responders on all levels to be better prepared for possible emergency events involving public transportation.

“September 11th changed how transit agencies throughout the nation secure their systems,” said NJ TRANSIT Chief of Police Joseph Bober. “This summit brings together all the agencies that would be involved if there was an emergency that would affect public transportation. We all understand there is a need to combine emergency response efforts between local, state and federal agencies to ensure that not only are our systems secure, but also that we’re sharing resources, information and expertise in the event of an emergency.”

A series of emergency preparedness exercises and simulations will also be conducted during the summit, including “live fire exercise” involving the bombing of a transit-style bus at Picatinny – a 6,500-acre Army research and development facility in Morris County that specializes in weapons systems and munitions. This drill will assist emergency responders with meeting the challenges posed by terrorist incidents and major accidents.

"As New Jersey's Center for Homeland Defense Technology and Security Readiness, we are positioned to become an increasingly valuable resource for endeavors such as this,” said Michael P. Devine, director of U.S. Army ARDEC. “The training of federal, state and local responders and simulation of dangers inherent in our society today is vitally important. We at Picatinny are proud to partner with our colleagues outside the Department of Defense."

The two-day summit will include a variety of training exercises, emergency simulations, and panel discussions with representatives from the Federal Transportation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, the Morris County Emergency Management, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and Metropolitan Transit Authority Police. The goal of the summit includes:

· Sharing tactics for managing risks to surface transportation systems and inter-modal sites.

· Share knowledge on critical interoperability issues of emergency operations between surface transportation agencies and counties, cities and towns they serve.

· Discuss current methods to prevent possible terror threats, and the latest techniques and technology available.

· Discuss issues on how to obtain grants and funding for homeland security initiatives.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, NJ TRANSIT has received more than $7 million in federal grant money to be used for homeland security initiatives. The funding was made in part through the continuing efforts of the State’s congressional delegation, as well as Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen.

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 752,600 daily trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 49 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.