Advice for the Lehigh Line in Cranford

BigDell wrote: I always made a point of staying off the course itself. There usually is enough room along the ROW to get a nice shot... BTW - I have a house but two minutes from the golf course on Applewood Dr. One of these days I have to go to Oakridge and take some lessons. I am CONSTANTLY asked to go on golf outtings at work and I simply do not play golf (played once, in Japan, in the shadow of Mt. Fuji - actually did very well...).

Anyway, I remember well from my teen years watching all the Maine Central, NW, LV and assorted other colorful and constant traffic through that double-tracked mainline! I LOVED train watching along there... So many good memories. Thankfully, traffic has picked up again in recent years (much to the chagrin of the locals who bought condos on the ROW at Potter's...)

BigDell

Back in the 80's Dan Billy was the teaching pro at Oakridge. He was regarded as one of the best in New Jersey. A number of players from the Giants took lessons from him. My guess is that Dan is retired by now.

Those were the days. I was 20 years old and earning $12 an hour while I railfanned the Lehigh Line during the Conrail era. I also had a second floor apartment in Rahway next to the North East Corridor and used sit on my back porch at track level and watch the trains roll by all summer long. My only regret is that I spent all my money on record albums when I could have built a nice layout.

Back in the 80's I was living the dream.

I'm with you. Yes, I used to spend money on CDs, that I really didn't like. Those days have changed. You need money for essential things like rent and food. Of course, us railfans need the money for film and trips. Since my senior year of Hs, at times, I have taken more than one long train trip in a month, especially on college breaks when I have the time, or even on a day in school where I have nothing else better to do. I don't really watch the trains where I live so much, in Upper Montclair. After a while, it gets boring. I go to other places. Of course, Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, at times I go to the Ardsley on Hud station and other stations on MN. Anyway, I have been to Bound Brook and it is a nice place to photograph, both transit and freight. Even the Cranford station offers some nice shots, especially looking east toward Aldene. A telephoto lense would be good there. A shot of a transit diverging on to its own turf, as a freight crosses the bridge there would be amazing.