Time for a Swim, Anyone? (Gladstone Washout in Peapack)

Today's rains caused a washout on the Gladstone line near Bernardsville. According to NJTransit.com, service between Gladstone and Bernardsville is suspended for the remainder of the evening (and probably a little while longer too!)

This brings back memories of the Danbury Branch washout not too long ago. Hopefully repairs can be made quickly!

compared to Danbury washout this thing is a small pothole

DutchRailnut wrote:compared to Danbury washout this thing is a small pothole

I know! And I think this one is easily accessible too, so cleanup will not take nearly as long as the Danbury Branch washout.

How do you repair that? I'm assuming a lot of fill?

first water needs to go down, put in a culvert pipe of bigger diameter, then lots of big rip/rap, then ballast etc.

Wow! How did they discover this washout? Does a crew go along the tracks to look for problems every time there's a big storm, or did some engineer discover this (and, I presume, slam on the brakes PDQ)?

loufah wrote:Wow! How did they discover this washout? Does a crew go along the tracks to look for problems every time there's a big storm, or did some engineer discover this (and, I presume, slam on the brakes PDQ)?

I see a whistle board in the photo, so that leads me to believe its likely by a grade crossing or some other sort of thing that has people buzzing by on a pretty frequent basis. I highly doubt any amount of breaking would be able to stop a train in time (unless you could see it from very far away).

You guys will laugh:

See that building right there in the distance......?

.....yeah, that is where I work. That's St. Brigid's Catholic Church in Peapack.

loufah wrote:Wow! How did they discover this washout? Does a crew go along the tracks to look for problems every time there's a big storm, or did some engineer discover this (and, I presume, slam on the brakes PDQ)?

That's not too far from the end of the line. If it was a westbound train into Gladstone, they would be approaching the final signal before yard limits and that would knock their cab signals far enough down by that point. Scarily enough, an eastbound would be operating on a clear by that point.

nick11a wrote:That's not too far from the end of the line. If it was a westbound train into Gladstone, they would be approaching the final signal before yard limits and that would knock their cab signals far enough down by that point. Scarily enough, an eastbound would be operating on a clear by that point.

That's the worst part about washouts like these. If there is no break in the running rail, the signals stay live and clear. It could certainly have ended quite messily.

At least someone with a camera lens and a cellphone found this rather than a speeding eastbound. This could have most definitely ended quite badly. I wonder how many cars are stranded in Gladstone yard.

beanbag wrote:I wonder how many cars are stranded in Gladstone yard.

Zero

-NO BS

What is preventing Far Hills service? Just the electrification blocks?

Amtrak7 wrote:What is preventing Far Hills service? Just the electrification blocks?

It may well be they are using the tracks between Far Hills and Bernardsville as storage.

As an FYI, they are planning on having service restored to Gladstone by Monday Morning.