Closter northern branch observations...

[Steve F45]

dammit. i've been going up that way for the last few weeks hoping to get a train going past Demarest station.

[airman00]

dammit. i've been going up that way for the last few weeks hoping to get a train going past Demarest station.

I don't know if this helps, but someone said when needed, CSX goes up to Cove distributers on a tuesday. Wouldn't know when on tuesday, but my guess is in the morning?

[tastysuds]

Hi everyone, new to here, but I grew up in Closter and now work in Cresskill. The train has been going up Mon, Wed and Fridays. I can try to send out a text to let anyone interested, know when the train is running northbound so you can get it on the return trip back. I have a few pictures of a derailment at the Cresskill/tenafly border which took them 2 days to repair, I will try to post same soon. As a kid I knew some of the workers on the train and was allowed to ride on the caboose during switching opperations, and was allowed to drive the engine once. I have memories of a heck of a lot more sidings, or at least switch points, than mentioned here. In the JJ Demarest area I can remember 3 more switchpoints alone. If anyone is interested I will post whatever info I can remember. Thanks, Bob

[Steve F45]

of course post what you can, especially if you have pics.

[airman00]

Yes I would like more info, that would be nice. Since you asked, what kind of power do you remember? Any SW's? Like sw1500's or the suchlike?

[pdtrains]

Yes I would like more info, that would be nice. Since you asked, what kind of power do you remember? Any SW's? Like sw1500's or the suchlike?

In the EL days, it was SW-7's, 9's, and 1200's, NW-2's, GP-7/9's and RS-2/3's

CR days....GP-7's, SW's, RS-11, GP-38.

[Steve F45]

i drove up from englewood to closter and didn't see the train.

[airman00]

i drove up from englewood to closter and didn't see the train.

From what I understand, (as I learned from this site), CSX makes deliveries 5 days a week to that supreme oil place in englewood. I don't know the time they get there, but was down in englewood a few days ago, working, and heard the train horns several different times. I would say I heard the train between 10 am- 1 or 2 pm? (Something like that) Someone said they only go up to cove distributers on a tuesday and that's only on an as needed basis.

[trainwayne1]

When I went to work on the EL in Jan. of '68, there were 3 freight jobs(First, Second and Third Northerns) on the Northern Mon. through Fri. I had occasion to get called to work from the extra list on the 1rst Northern job several times. The job started at 7AM and would be the one that went to the end of the line evry day. The 2nd Northern would start at 830AM work its way up about halfway up the line, and the 3rd Northern would start around 10AM and deliver cars to the lower end of the line. All 3 jobs would pick up cars on their way back to Croxton. These jobs were all very busy and many times we would get back to the yard just under the 16 hour limit. What a difference 40+ years make!

There was another job that started out of Croxton at 7AM that served the lower part of the NJ&NY that did a lot of work in all the industrial areas in E.Rutherford, Carlstadt, and Hackensack. That was another 16 hour job that several days a week would run out of time (16 hours) at the junction of the main line and the NJ&NY, where we would wait for a switcher from Croxton to come out and pull us back to the yard. The lower job also exchanged cars in Hackensack with the Upper NJ&NY job around 3PM that started out of Spring Valley (Woodbine) at 8AM everyday, after the last commuter train left.

[airman00]

That sure was alot of freight! Too bad most of it's gone.

[pdtrains]

I was on the EL about the same time.....All the jobs were 6 days a week.....1st and 2nd Nrn worked Mon-sat.
3rd Nrn was sun-fri.

1st Nrn dropped cars at North Bergen and ridgefield, then went up to Englewood to start
their switching. On really busy days (usually mondays) they occasionally were too busy to make
it north (RR west) of Englewood. Bust most days they went to closter or Northvale. They would
tie down for dinner on the eastbound track in closter, and meet the evening rush there.

As I remember it, the 2nd northern was a caboose hop that left Croxton about 8:30 am, and worked
North Bergen thru ridgefield, and I remember the 3rd northern being a relief job that started at
4:30pm. They relieved the 2nd northern crew. But that was pre-1967. Back around 1964, the 1st northern worked up to Northvale, then went to Sparkill to meet the evening rush, but that changed in 1965
to Northvale and back only.

By 1969....the 1st northern went to Orangeburg, Piermont, and back, so maybe by that time, the 3rd Northern
worked out of croxton with its own power, but I'm sure the 1st northern was still working 6 days a week.

[PVRX1]

The train was operating five days a week on the southern end of the line, like Ridgefield area. The north end of the line was down to MWF. The job would use two lokies, either 38s or 40s most of the time. They would pass the former Drug Fair store around 2-3pm when they did run, but in the past couple years that has become more like 11am northbound, and return south was a few hours later. Hope this helps some.

[Steve F45]

drove around the area again today from Demarest south all the way to rt 4. Nothing. I try to look down the line from the crossings to see lights. Nothing. This was around 1pm. Oh well. I have only 2 days of work this week then 21 days off.

[Chrisgr]

drove around the area again today from Demarest south all the way to rt 4. Nothing. I try to look down the line from the crossings to see lights. Nothing. This was around 1pm. Oh well. I have only 2 days of work this week then 21 days off.

CSX was up to Englewood this morning around 9:00, and they were done and heading back south before 10:00.

[photorailfan]

Thanks for the info. I pass over the tracks twice a day and always look for the head lights on the way home from work from route 46. Only on a few occasions in the winter months do i see the lights at around a quarter to five pm in palisades park. Never thought the crew would be done so early in the morning.