Joseph DeLuisi wrote:Just a question if I may, why did everyone get interested in the Newark Industrial fairly recently? .
Well, 1st this thread has been going on and off since 2006, so that's not really that recent a beginning.
Second I was occasionally checking out the Newark area rail scene in the 1990s, including the area near what is now labeled "Passaic River Terminal" on Google Maps, but I guess was Washington Terminal back in the day before the short-lived Innovation Fuels. Even then rail activity was kind of limited in the area, although you could always find a tank car or two by the terminal, and a decent number of covered hoppers (hauling plastic pellet I suppose) for Spar-Tech plastics directly across the river on Passaic Ave in E. Newark - this area was interesting as the tail of the switchback to the plastic plant's sidings extended thru the adjacent Pathmark supermarket parking lot almost to the side of the store (the tracks were embedded in asphalt and the ROW outlined with yellow stripes IIRC). Rail service to the plastics plant was terminated IIRC when DB draw was taken out of commission, although the plant did purchase several old covered hoppers to serve as storage bins. Since then the Spar-Tech plant was demolished and was replaced by a townhouses development, the Pathmark was converted to a L.A. fitness center, and the girder bridge across Passaic Ave. was removed years ago (possibly before the start of this thread) to remove a low-height restriction. I was always a bit leery on entering the industrial park at the Northern Section of Passaic St., for some reason I thought there were cameras at the entrance and so it was a no-go zone (now reviewing using Google Maps, unavailable in the 1990s, I see I could have entered via Chester St. Oh well. Also, wasn't there a gentleman's club at the corner of Passiac St. and Oriental, not far from the entrance to the Freeway portion of McCarter Highway?).
So yeah, I was "railfanning" to an extent in the 1990s although usually I could only do so on Sundays, so really not a lot of rail freight action in the area. And now, there's much less...