Delair bridge stuck

I heard on the radio this morning that AC service to philly was cancelled because the Delair bridge was stuck in the open position. Does anyone know if this was related to the sleet/snow storm last night? That storm wreaked havoc on the area's transit putting out of service several trolley lines, all but one city bus route and much of NJT's buses. Sure enough at about 11;00 AM I checked out Westfield Ave. and both tracks were buried under the snow. I went to Cove Rd and although the light rail was running the freight tracks were buried from the bridge down to a parked CSX. I never heard of that bridge out of operation from weather conditions but considering its age (1896) maybe that has to be a consideration now. Speaking of that posibility I wonder if CSAO has considered contingency plans if the bridge goes down (or not down, in this case) for an extended period of time?

kevikens wrote:I never heard of that bridge out of operation from weather conditions but considering its age (1896) maybe that has to be a consideration now.

The Delair Bridge was significantly modified in the late 1950's. The lift span dates to that time period, making it about 50 years old now, probably one of the "newer" railroad movable bridges in the region.

gravelyfan wrote:

kevikens wrote:I never heard of that bridge out of operation from weather conditions but considering its age (1896) maybe that has to be a consideration now.

The Delair Bridge was significantly modified in the late 1950's. The lift span dates to that time period, making it about 50 years old now, probably one of the "newer" railroad movable bridges in the region.

The only section of that bridge that was modified was the center section making it a lift bridge. Originally it was a swing span. I have heard from a few NJT engineers, that the bridge aparently is in pretty bad shape. How bad? I dont know but the majority of that bridge is well over 100 years old and the lift portion being 60 years old is still pretty old

And should it be deemed unsound, is there any backup?
CNJ southern division...out of service and in terrible shape.
Camden and Amboy...a light rail line no longer connected to the NE Corridor.

So if the Delair has a problem, Pavonia yard is disconnected and thousands of industrial workers are out of work until it is fixed.

Excellent contingency planning...

You can still take everything to Morrisville at night via the River Line and the NEC.

The C&A still connects with the Penn main, although not via the old Hill Track at Trenton. The surviving route follows US Rt. 1, crosses Mulbury Street and Enterprise Ave., and ties into the main just west of Millham. I agree that the planning could have been better; because of the light weight construction of the trolleys, the FRA says freight can only be operated at night, when the trolley cars are in the carbarn.

EDM5970 wrote:The C&A still connects with the Penn main, although not via the old Hill Track at Trenton. The surviving route follows US Rt. 1, crosses Mulbury Street and Enterprise Ave., and ties into the main just west of Millham. I agree that the planning could have been better; because of the light weight construction of the trolleys, the FRA says freight can only be operated at night, when the trolley cars are in the carbarn.

Yes, you would hope that they had this in mind when they rebuilt the line as the trolley Riverline, that they maintained clearances etc for just this reason... JS \It is the only link left in NJ from north jersey to south Jersey rails. Used to be 3 or 4 of them.

From what I've heard Conrail and its customers aren't particularly happy with the service that can be provided to so much industry (those along the River LINE) in the overnight operating window. I wonder if there is even capacity along the line to add an inbound and outbound train to bypass the Delaire Bridge.

This is the kind of stuff that makes folks who ship freight to and from south Jersey very nervous.

Now that I think about it, when it comes to north-south connections, there weren't ever really all that many choices. Certainly more than there are now, but never really a long list.

It isn't a matter of capacity, inbound and outbound tracks or even passing sidings for meets. The DMUs are built too lightly to survive in a head-on collision or sideswipe with a freight train. That is why the FRA insists on a temporal seperation. The trolley cars can't be out on the line at the same time freight trains are operating. Its been that way since even before the RiverLINE began operating.

EDM5970 wrote:It isn't a matter of capacity, inbound and outbound tracks or even passing sidings for meets. The DMUs are built too lightly to survive in a head-on collision or sideswipe with a freight train. That is why the FRA insists on a temporal seperation. The trolley cars can't be out on the line at the same time freight trains are operating. Its been that way since even before the RiverLINE began operating.

I think what Semper means is capacity in the overnight window (when the Riverline is not operating) to get the local freight service done AND run an inbound/outbound through freights. It is hard enough getting the local service done in that time window.

If I recall recorrectly, since the Riverline started, they have slowly been nibbling away a the freight window, with earlier starts and later endings to the Riverline service. JS

Currently, service CAN NOT be provided by way of Morrisville down to the River Line, because NS(or Shared Assets) removed rail on the track near the old Hill Line near Trenton Station near State Street. Obviously its not a hard fix but would still need to be done.

BuddSilverliner269 wrote:Currently, service CAN NOT be provided by way of Morrisville down to the River Line, because NS(or Shared Assets) removed rail on the track near the old Hill Line near Trenton Station near State Street. Obviously its not a hard fix but would still need to be done.

Budd, are you talking about the track up the hill at Fair, or the connection to the (formerly Bordentown Secondary) Light Running Track that was east of Ham on 5 Running?

Yes, the hill track is gone (and not sure you can resurrect it with the trolley barn at the top of the hill). But the connection from the Riverline to the extension of the Milham branch (not sure what it is called, maybe Bordentown secondary) is still there, JS

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qq2g74 ... on%2C%20nj

Like I said- (Although I forgot the grade crossings of E. State and Perry in downtown Trenton-) I know the territory, I work very close to Millham tower.

pumpers wrote:...
If I recall recorrectly, since the Riverline started, they have slowly been nibbling away a the freight window, with earlier starts and later endings to the Riverline service. JS

Conrail still has the railroad from 10 PM to 6 AM. The ROW from CP HATCH to the Route 73 station is interlocked to allow River LINE to operate during Conrail's time, but that service is no longer offered except for the 5:30 AM southbound departure from Route 73.