Lehigh Valley Main in Jersey City

Good morning, my name is Bob Ryan, former PRR, Penn Central and Conrail employee, now retired. My first visit to Railroad.Net and its forums. I’m hoping someone can help with questions about a portion of the Lehigh Valley Main in Jersey City, NJ.

Specifically, I’m wondering if anyone has information on the former Lehigh Valley Main Line track between Communipaw Avenue, Milepost 2.9, and Constable Junction, Milepost 5.5, in Jersey City, NJ, especially in the late 1960's and early 1970’s. It appears from aerial photos from around Sept 1978 that the bridges are intact between Communipaw and Linden, except for the one at Caven Point Road. There are pier structures which appear to have supported an elevated rail line between the bridge crossing over the CNJ and running toward Chapel Ave to the west; these bridges were also gone by Sept 1978.

Trying to figure out ICC status of this section of line when it came into Conrail in 1976. It seems to be referred to as the “Old LV Main”, or the former “Lehigh Valley Main”, and I’ve even seen references to the “abandoned former Lehigh Valley Main”. Timetables from the late Lehigh, early Conrail, days apparently show this as yard track. Does anyone know if this portion of the line was ever formally abandoned, or have an explanation as to when the bridges were removed?

Any help will be appreciated. Any questions will be welcome. Thanks in advance.

Bob Ryan

Bob, please check your PM's

RAH

Hi Bob,
I have oft wondered if this stretch of trackage was even conveyed to Conrail on 04/01/76. Maybe somebody else will chime in, but something tells me this trackage was disposed of by the LV Estate following C-day.
I recall walking the portion of this trackage between Communipaw Avenue and Grand Avenue during the winter of 1980. Parked on Communipaw Avenue, and believe it or not the car was there when we returned. Anyway, I recall multi years of rust on the railhead at Communipaw Avenue, however, the crossing flashers and a searchlight signal were still intact but dark. As you mentioned , the trestle was gone by that time. I do remember the fill/embankment (on the former Morris Canal right of way) was in the process of being removed at that time, a portion of which in the vicinity of Chapel Avenue later became an auto salvage yard. I seem to recall portions of the dismantled steel viaduct as being on the ground for a few years following their removal.
I don't recall seeing this portion of the former LV mentioned in a 1977 Atlantic Region ETT, but I'll have to double check.
Incidentally, some nice historical views of this area in "The Lehigh Vally Railroad East of Mauch Chunk" by William Greenberg, Jr. and Robert Fischer.

Greetings, Bob, and welcome to RR.net. I have no early info for you, but it seems that this line was indeed conveyed to Conrail in 1976, and was just 'officially' abandoned in a recent decision by the Surface Transportation Board. A certain party (Mr. J. Riffin, who may be known by some on these forums) wanted to re-open this line for a transload facility. The STB rejected this notion, as they could not find proper cause to allow this, and because Conrail allowed NJTransit access to part of this property for their light rail line. The full document may be found here........

http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readin ... enDocument

Hope this helps in some small way.........

Very interesting, never would have guessed it went to CR. Just as curious, I find it noteworthy that CR managed to obliterate the line (there was a lot of fill in those embankments), apparently without having gone thru formal abandonment proceedings (as summarized in the quote below). Thanks for posting the link.

Quote:
A number of serious concerns about Conrail’s actions (or inactions) with respect to the Line have surfaced in this proceeding. As a result, in Consolidated Rail Corporation’s Sales and Discontinuances, STB Ex Parte No. 695, served concurrently with this decision, we are instituting an investigation into Conrail’s conveyance of the Line to NJ Transit in 1996 without seeking or obtaining Board authority and its filing for an abandonment exemption in 2008 without informing the Board that it no longer owned portions of the Line to be abandoned.