Official Bel-Del Discussion Thread

[RailsEast]

Some beautiful weather lately, this is a great time to come out for the Wine Train, the Great Pumpkin Train, and the Corn Maze Train. I was there just a couple of days ago, the corn is 8 feet tall and ready to test your directional skills! The Fall foliage is absolutely beautiful along this line & October is just around the corner.....

A couple of shots from this past weekend, when the New York, Susquehanna & Western Technical & Historical Society hosted their annual meeting & picnic. This year's meeting featured a tour of the new shop facilities; the building is done with one track complete and the second track nearing completion. This year's festivities featured a 4-caboose hop from Lehigh Junction to the shop, then back out onto the main to DCS Snyders (5 miles south) for the meeting & picnic.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5188542
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5188558

The Society is always looking for new members, there is so much to do from mow duties to trainman on the regular excursion trains to assisting in the rebuild of NYSW 142 steam locomotive, presently resting in the new shop for her 15 year overhaul. Reach out to us at http://877trainride.com/join.htm

Also don't forget the free train rides at Milford Alive! in Milford, NJ on Saturday Sept. 21...we will have the entire consist (4 cabeese) that you see in the photo link above for a relaxing ride alongside the Delaware River on the half-hour starting at noon. This is a cool ride for you rare-mileage fanatics out there...you know who you are....

Be safe out there,
Chris

[RailsEast]

This past Saturday marked a proud moment on the BDRR and the Black River System as a whole, as the NYS&WT&HS MOW crew, with the assistance of the NYS&W Track Gang, completed work on Track Two into the new shop facility in Phillipsburg. It was an honor & a privilege to work beside the NYS&W crew as we gauged, plated and spiked our way to the south end of the building. If you ever wanted to work on a real railroad with real railroaders with the passion and the commitment to do things right and within rules & regulations, we have a spot for you. Yes, the pay is not so good (well, maybe no pay, but sometimes free lunch), but the experience and knowledge gained is second to none. One or two days a month is good, whatever you can afford. We're always looking for good people who can work safely, so reach out if you might be interested. Busting your butt on the railroad right alongside the beautiful Delaware River is one of the best stress relievers ever invented.....

Anywho, a few pics from November, 2019.....

http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5225256
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5225255
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5225257
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5225258
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5225259
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5225260

Happy Thanksgiving to all,
Chris

[Sid Farkus]

Does this group still have the Plymouth 18 Tonner #18 and RDC's M-2/M-4?

[RailsEast]

Yes, all 3 units are still on the property. M2 & M4 have been stored for quite sometime and will need much work to run again. The Plymouth is in good condition and runs well for such a small critter.....
Chris

[Sid Farkus]

Was 18 ever owned by NYSW or was that property of the Historical Society? That was once property of Morris County Central, correct?

[RailsEast]

As far as I know, it was an ex-Morris County Central locomotive. I do not know if the NYSW was owner at one time, but it has been on Society property for many years.
(Disclaimer: I have only been a Society member for about 7 years now, so there is a fair amount of history that I am unfamiliar with)
Chris

[mackdave]

If I remember correctly, #18 came from Drew Chemical in Boonton, it used to switch the tank cars of water Drew would ship out to be dumped elsewhere on the EL.

Mackdave

[alzubal]

Good evening
Was thinking to day about 142 how in the 15 year going?
Thank You
Al

[RailsEast]

She was better than half-way through before the shutdown. This is going to be a tough year for everyone, shortlines especially....

[brwfan]

Just wondering if freight still runs to west easton?

[njtmnrrbuff]

Are there still plans to extend the regular Delaware River Railroad excursions to Milford?

[CNJ Fan 4evr]

Just wondering if freight still runs to west easton?

My question also. There have been 4 or 5 Bay LIne high side gons stored at the old Easton station site since at least Nov. 2020. Have seen NO activity there.

[RailsEast]

To answer a few questions, the pandemic has hit hard. The work to restore the Bel-Del line to Milford, as well as the Ringoes - Lambertville section on the BRW has been put on hold at the present time. We have not given up hope and we all look forward to getting back out there in the not too distant future.

There has been no freight to Easton this year, although the high-side gons still seem to be there, stored at the moment. These cars were being loaded in Carpentersville in 2019/early 2020, but there has been no activity lately.

The 142 15-year mandated overhaul is still in progress, again hampered by the pandemic. She is still a year off from completion at the earliest.
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5602318

A few other happenings from Phillipsburg:

DRRV 2005 was in the shop a year ago...
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5602326

NYSW M1 had a spot reserved at Port Delaware also...
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5602337

The NYS&WT&HS MOW crew has been busy, with track 3 into the shop area now in it's early stages...
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5602269
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5602279

And finally, Thomas visited the Bel-Del this past weekend. 3 days of trains and every seat was sold-out; a welcome sight to see after a brutal year.
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5602257
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=5602248

Thanks to all for your interest; there's always room here for anyone looking to get involved in real railroad work...the pay isn't great (ok, no pay), but the experience can take you onto bigger & better things. Something for everyone as our fearless leader Don likes to say.
https://www.877trainride.com/join.htm

Be safe out there,
Chris

[JerseyEMT]

After starting 3 hrs last due to the weather, we still got what we needed to do done. Fred, Rich, Rob, myself, Larry and his friend Jeff made it to the the Black River to look over the outstanding job Scott and the BR guys did on their beautiful (flat ) open car. ( WK&S wasn't going to happen due the late start ). After a stop for lunch and a look around the RR in Milford, we made it up to the Baer shop to find Gary and Pete Lerro ( lerroproductions.com ) working on 142. We looked over our notes and talked about everone's different opinion and made a start date of next week to hit it hard. Rich and Rob started clearing the flat right then and there and worked till about 7pm. ( that's motivation ! ) This was an old Conrail wrecking flat, I'm sure it has a better life ahead for it. Watch for update info.

I dug real deep to bring this post back alive. Does anyone have more information on the lineage of this car? I'm looking for previous numbers, builder information etc. If it helps, it looks like the car was renumbered BDRV 59517 and is part of Bel Del's MoW fleet.

[brwfan]

Big fire at west easton last night, I believe at building where the tracks go.