CR on the Southern Secondary

Nov 21, 2013 train had 20 cars and 3 locomotives.

RailsEast wrote:A special day on the Southern.......

Departing Browns Yard:

http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=3695582" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=3695583" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=3695584" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And near sunset on yet another cloudy Thursday in Shrewsbury:

http://njtwom.rrpicturearchives.net/sho ... id=3695585" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chris

TOMSTV1 wrote:1978 Freight trains ran on the Southern between Lakehurst and Winslow Jct, 6 times a week. The final frieght train came north from Winslow Jct. to Lakehurst, and this section of track was later shut down in Aug.1979

Did the amount of trains decrease over time, or did it abruptly end?

I've also always wondered what would happen if they restored the tracks between Winslow Junction and Lakehurst (very unlikely anytime soon, but it may happen eventually). Would we see more trains? In some cases, it would be a more direct route to north/south NJ, and would certainly be less busy and less time constrained than the NEC due to it not having any passenger service (it probably would, considering I can't imagine a major route restoration like that unless passenger service was bundled with it).

And the winner is....NJT4149. I was unaware of a 21 car train until Don presented his case; I don't know how I missed that one, probably tied up at work. Thanks for documenting, sir.

IIRC, the line shrank to two trains a week (SA-31, SA-35), plus a sand train or two, after the abandonment of the center section of the Southern Division main by Conrail. Most industries served finally closed over time, and the schedule fell to one train a week (SA-31) many years ago, with anywhere from 1 to 7 cars a week. There has been a resurgence (10 - 20 cars per train) since late 2013, with much new construction in Ocean County, and the addition of scrap gons for Brick Recycling in Howell and brick cars for Extech. Another new customer is the chemical plant right beside Brick Recycling, who receives tank cars on Brick's siding.

Restoration of the old Southern Division through route will not occur in our lifetimes, save for the Delair bridge completely falling into the Delaware River.

Chris

SA31 permission to open Church at 4:40 PM
Lined and locked normal 4:55 PM

Running late today........CSX 4429, NS 5312 + 16; looks like 15 lumber & 1 tank.
Through Eatontown at 6:00 in the pm.....

Been a very busy (and stressful) week so I'm playing catch-up on reading the posts. I was going to see about taking this afternoon off, but with the weather we're having, I put that time in my pocket for another (and sunny) day. Good to see another good sized train.

With respect to some of the longer SA35 & SA31 trains on the Southern I found one while going through my notes. This is from January 2002:

The first Train of the year, Jan 5th, was a CSX GP40-2 with 21 cars, and was re-crewed at Collingwood Auction.

Per a reliable source, SA-31 will head east for Browns today; the crew was heading to the train as of about an hour ago. I might head out to Farmingdale, depending on the weather...

Train went through Eatontown at 4:15in the am; if it is still in the area, it will be at Patterson Ave. in Shrewsbury.
Chris

I know there's a speed limit on the Southern Secondary, but what is it? I'm going to guess it's because of the condition of the tracks. Does anyone know how they would rate the tracks on the Southern Secondary?

The Southern Secondary is FRA Class 1; limited to 10 mph for the entire line. Significant upgrade would be necessary to attain Class 2 designation, which is 25 mph.
Chris

When was the last time they did any sort of upgrades/repairs to the tracks (not including the work they were doing on the tracks below Lakehurst)?

Some history:

The Southern, as the Raritan & Delaware Bay RR, was built to bypass the Camden & Amboy, which claimed a monopoly on New York - Philadelphia traffic. Begun in 1861, it went from Belford south to a connection with the Philadelphia & Reading-controlled Atlantic City RR, giving it access to Camden. Technically, a loophole claimed it did not run from New York to Philadelphia, and therefore didn't violate the C&A monopoly.

R&DB traffic began at Brooklyn, officially not a part of New York City until 1898 or so, via water to Belford, then rail to the bottom of New Jersey, and then by water to Delaware and Maryland and a rail line south from there. It was planned to be a trunk line, the reason it was built through the middle-of-nowhere parts of New Jersey.

C&A felt differently about it "not being between NY and Philly". They successfully sued for all revenue gained from Civil War materiel traffic, plunging R&DB into the ground.

Some years later, wounds healed and the Southern RR of NJ created on the ashes of the R&DB, Pennsy ran excursion trains to Long Branch via the Freehold & Jamesburg to Farmingdale, then north up the Southern to Eatontown, and then to Long Branch. Red Bank was bypassed as Long Branch traffic coming from New York now connected at Sandy Hook instead of Belford, which left Red Bank officials very unhappy. (That's why Red Bank was so heavily lobbying for the NY & Long Branch RR to be built, to get their share of the traffic back).

A direct connection could be had from Eatontown to Sandy Hook via Long Branch.

The branch between Belford and Eatontown was practically unused and the portion north of Red Bank was later abandoned. The Southern between Red Bank and Eatontown was saved after the NY&LB opened in 1875, giving Red Bank back its rail traffic.

There's a lot more to the story here, but a little nibble of useless trivia for Southern fans.

GSC wrote:Some history:
... There's a lot more to the story here, but a little nibble of useless trivia for Southern fans.

Hey, that's why these forums exist and we read them! Jim S

"The Southern Division" was technically anything CNJ operated below the Raritan River, excluding the New York & Long Branch RR.

It was named for the Southern Railroad of New Jersey, also known as NJS, financed in part by Jay Gould, rising from the ashes of the bankrupt Raritan & Delaware Bay RR.

Long Branch was a big part of the Southern. From the north, the old Long Branch & Sea Shore RR (later Southern controlled) ran down from Sandy Hook. It turned west and connected across town to the Southern line coming from Eatontown. This is one of the easiest ROWs to trace, from E'town all the way to Sea Bright. A connector line ran through town along Second Ave., connecting at the LB&SS curve north of Broadway, then running south to where the NY&LB and the New Egypt & Farmingdale RR joined at Cedar Ave. (Check out the long driveway to the grocery store next to the NY&LB from Cedar Ave. That was the ROW that ran north to "East Long Branch" and "North Long Branch" stations and on to Sandy Hook.)

The New York & Long Branch RR came in from the northwest and the New Egypt & Farmingdale RR (later absorbed into the NY&LB) connected from the south.

Add to this a trolley line coming in from Red Bank, and another trolley line coming from the south.

Long Branch was definitely a busy railroad town in its day! Five railroads, counting the north-south connector line, and two traction lines.

SA31 permission to open Church at 3:56 PM
No dangerous nor high and wides