Seemingly Silly "Wish List 2020" Operation

[SemperFiSep11]

I don't mean to call the routing of the M&E silly, because it really is a very valuable asset to our lovely county, however NJTs "Wish List 2020" (one version I saw of it anyway) had rail service running from the end-of-track in Roseland to Morristown.

I know for a fact that Morristown has an extraordinary traffic problem in the morning and evening, however the rail station lies almost half a mile (uphill in the morning) from the central business district and Headquarters Plaza.

The only conceivable usage of this line for commutation purposes would have to include a tunnel and station to the Green in Morristown on the west end, a VERY expensive bridge over Route 10 in Whippany, and a very-difficult-to-route extension to the ADP compound on the east end in order to attract any riders whatsoever.

As much as I'd love to see passenger service return to the center of the county (being stuck about 5 miles from Towaco and another [even slower] five miles from Bay Street in Montclair) I can't imagine what real use this project would serve.

If anyone can come up with a reason why this might be a good idea, please let me know.

In my humble opinion, the money would be better spent restoring (good luck on this one) the line from Great Notch to West Caldwell as an extension (with the unfortunate historical roundaboutness) of Midtown Direct Service. Certainly Cedar Grove, Verona, and West Caldwell (not to mention Essex Fells) would benefit greatly from this. The ROW is intact and would need massive rehab (as well as a replacement of the Bloomfield Avenue Bridge), but it would seem a better idea than trying to serve a small market like Morristown.

[njt4172]

Semper,

If NY&GL is successful in operating their Lower Boonton line service from Benson Street to Hoboken then it may be a model for other short line railroads to try something similar. Morristown & Erie MAY look into operating commuter trains from Roseland to Morristown with 1 engine on each end of the consist. I'd say it would be very slim at best, but if they do have a plan then passengers would most likely board at Roseland( Eisenhower Parkway), East Hanover, and Whippany. They would probably have to change at NJT's Morristown station for NY/Hoboken trains. I wouldn't hold my breath, but if this were to happen M&E would probably use FL-9's on each end and they would have to get the Whippany line up to 45-50 mph standards....

Steve

[njt4172]

Semper,

P.S...You would not need to make a bridge over Route 10. All you need to do is to install long gates at that crossing and normal size gates everywhere else. I don't think weekday rush hour train traffic would warrant the need to construct a bridge over Route 10. You can forget about putting tracks back in on the Caldwell Branch as half of the ROW has been obstructed by office buildings and new homes!

[rvrrhs]

... but it would seem a better idea than trying to serve a small market like Morristown.

Especially since Morristown already has rail service, plus service to Morris Plains and Convent Station on its outskirts.

[denvillerailfan]

Sign me up... I'm sick of sitting on Rt80 &280 getting to Roseland... Just be able to ride rail to work would be enough for me! I don't need 40-50.

I remember seeing this on the old NJT Plans, but not on the newer ones. Hope the M&E will consider.

Would it be possible to use one of the buildings next to the Eagle Rock Ave bridge for anything with the passanger side of things? There are two large propberites near B&G Foods going to waste... would be easy to have a station (and I use that term loosely) and have shuttles run to the different complexes.

[Tri-State Tom]

Sounds like you guys are suggesting a light rail type of service....

Parking ? Demand ? Frequency ? Equipment ? ROW improvements ?

[njtransitrookie]

PIPE DREAM, PERIOD. We can't even get the cutoff done and that was a rail line already let alone the Rahway Valley up and running. This sounds good but it's a railfans pipe dream developed on a rainy day. Sorry to be so negative but thats the way things are in our beloved state.

[SemperFiSep11]

I can't imagine that many people would be all that interested in boarding a train along the Eisenhower Parkway, travelling west to Morristown, and then back east to Hoboken.

I was thinking that NJ Transit was proposing some sort of light rail line to shuttle people into and out of Morristown.

[njt4172]

Well Semper, how am I supposed to know what you were thinking in terms of that operation????
I'm not a mind reader!

[Ken W2KB]

For light rail sytems to be a cost effective I believe there needs to be a considerable ridership that rides short hops, like local buses,not just stations to terminal. Higher average utilitzation of equipement. Might not be viable without that kind of traffic.

[NJTRailfan]

Now I know this project WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN. Sorry to sound negative but the only thing in my opinion that will come on line out of that 2020 wishlist is cutoff, MOM, W Trenton, NYSW and all lightrail projects.

Hell when I saw the revised list I saw that the NELR is no longer there and the project is now divided into two seperate projects like the Newark and Cross County lightrails. The RVL extension project is no longer there so I guess the RVL will not be rextended into Bloomsbury.

I find it disturbign that the RVL rextension project was canned but the Cape May rail project is still on the list. I also find it disturbing that the Meadowlands spur which was on the books for a year or two max somehow gets ahead of cutoff, MOM and W Trenton which were on the list for the last 10-15 yrs.

[SemperFiSep11]

Alrighty then. Maybe you can just take a deep breath and realize that I in no way implied that you should read my mind and that I was simply making a statement about what I thought NJ Transit was planning.

If there was some sort of minuderstanding and you thought that I was attempting to be short with you, then I apologize for the misunderstanding but maybe you need to chill a little...

Anyway, I know of only one building blocking the ROW in Caldwell. I suppose we could short stop the service there so we don't have to knock it down because it would be a shame to lose such a symbol of brilliant and beautiful architecture. It took a real genius to desing it...and I'd hate to lose it. (Hehe)

[NJTRailfan]

If the buildign is as ugly as the Pan Am Building in NYC is then it can be relocated elsewhere along with the ugly box stores and McMansions all over the place.

Just look at what those greedy developers did to the DLW ROW that ran from Hampton on the CNJ ROW to the DLW Old Main in Washington Twp through Changewater, NJ. No because a birdge is goen and the ROW is bulldozed in certain places there is 0 chance of seeing rail service come through there again.

[Greg]

The ROW through Changewater was abandoned in 1959, long before your detested 'McMansions' were even considered. Prior to WW II the Lackawanna did not allow its heavier locomotives to even acsess the line thorugh Changewater due to the weight restriction on the branch. After WW II traffic on the line declined rapidly and permission to remove the track was granted in less than a year due to the lack of revenue on the line.