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

CJPat wrote:Are there any other sand mines shipping by railcar in NJ anymore?

The Winchester and Western is owned by Unimin Corp. They own at least one sand mine in near Bridgeton and the majority of there business is outbound loads of sand. However most of the traffic goes to Unimin at other locations.

Jtgshu wrote:

southern sec. kid wrote:That gp-7 will be able to handle 40 car sand trains?

Well, it moved those exact same trains on those same tracks 30 plus years ago, so I think it will be fine, and anyway, whos to say that the trains are going to be 40 cars long? They might be a handful of cars a few times a week, something that a Geep 7 could very easily handle by itself.

JT, I wanna treat myself to extra butter on my popcorn this week.

wolfboy8171981 wrote:

Jtgshu wrote:

southern sec. kid wrote:That gp-7 will be able to handle 40 car sand trains?

Well, it moved those exact same trains on those same tracks 30 plus years ago, so I think it will be fine, and anyway, whos to say that the trains are going to be 40 cars long? They might be a handful of cars a few times a week, something that a Geep 7 could very easily handle by itself.

JT, I wanna treat myself to extra butter on my popcorn this week.

I second that request.

David wrote:Any news, pictures, updates of the progress along the 13 mile stretch of track to Woodmansie today?

I was down there on Sunday did not walk the line, as I said in another post they work only M,T,W,T go home the long weekend. If they didn't break through to the sand covered tracks today I would be surprised. After I talked with then last week I felt they were going to skip that area and move on towards Whiting with the brush hog.After they clear the sand on the top of the tracks they will need a power broom to clear the rest.They had no clue there was sand covering the tracks out by Heritage Minerals. I will get out Wednesday to take some pictures.
steve

Jtgshu wrote:

southern sec. kid wrote:That gp-7 will be able to handle 40 car sand trains?

Well, it moved those exact same trains on those same tracks 30 plus years ago, so I think it will be fine, and anyway, whos to say that the trains are going to be 40 cars long? They might be a handful of cars a few times a week, something that a Geep 7 could very easily handle by itself.

ok i just assumed that it would be that much car loads thinking of the CNJ days

A single GP7 might shuffle a few cars at a time under optimum conditions. However, when the CNJ handled the Woodmansie turn, they used 2 SD40's and an RS3 (odd lash-up, but it was common). One thing that must not be forgottewn was that the sand was hardly ever dry and more than once the wet sand caused hoppers to buckle. One reason for the sand in the gauge is because the CNJ crews dumped the hoppers and drug a tie in front of a truck of the buckled hopper to spread the sand out. I have several photos of that operation. Another oddity was the use of a hack on every sand train and many times it was a Chessie hack.

Oh, one other interesting item I heard over the weekend...that rolled rail below the RT 70 bridge in Lakehurst is only temporary so the track clearing can be safely done without worry of an approaching train. Not only that, workers can work on the tracks without need of Roadway Worker Protection or Blue Flag criteria as the railroad is no longer in service.

Dunrite Sand and Gravel still offers quotes for rail shipping. Last I heard, Tuckahoe Sand and Gravel wanted rail service, but that was a few years ago now and nothing has happened.

hahaha well, PM me with all refreshment requests and I will try to get them to you ASAP, I have a lot of backed up requests for being out of the area for a few days

There are literally dozens (maybe even hundreds) of GP/SD 7/9s of nearly 60 years of age still earning their keep every day, so don't let age be a deciding factor in if a loco (or any piece of machinery) can do its job Lets not forget that some of NJT's GP40s are quickly closing in on 45 years old!!

Lets hope that the hoppers that might be used have doors that actually close - im sure NJT wouldn't let some rinkydink decrepit hoppers run over its rails (on the Coast Line) pissing sand out all along their route!

I gotta say, having lived in MonCo my whole life, and being old enough to remember the sand trains, I never saw a CNJ GP-7 on one. SD's and RS-3's for sure.

Does it really matter what power is going to be used? The lines still has not been cleared. Maybe they should use an all RDC set and charge buffs for the train ride. "Be on the first train to pull sand loads out of Woodmansie in 20 years blah blah blah!"

No RDCs. Tell the buffs if they wanna ride gotta be in the sand hoppers.

Shark wrote:Does it really matter what power is going to be used? The lines still has not been cleared. Maybe they should use an all RDC set and charge buffs for the train ride. "Be on the first train to pull sand loads out of Woodmansie in 20 years blah blah blah!"

But you haveto wear pants!!!

wolfboy8171981 wrote:But you haveto wear pants!!!

I don't think Chris will be running these trains, but if he does I'm sure he will put a towel down on the seat...then again, it is Chris.

Buffs in the hoppers...it's been done.

The New Dredge is now there at the woodmansie pit. I havent seen it yet but I am told its about twice the size of the old one.
I hope this means more sand for sand trains.