Delaware and Raritan River Railroad-General Discussion

Does anyone know why the Freehold Team Track was removed? Who did the construction? Will it be back in service?

PennRail42 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:37 am Does anyone know why the Freehold Team Track was removed? Who did the construction? Will it be back in service?

A crew from the Bel Del removed it about a week ago. Since they moved the rails and placed them parallel with the main , and the fact that the team track is used frequently, I would imagine that they'll be rebuilding it. There was a section of rail about 4 car lengths long that has been buried for years.
Jim H

If the removed section won’t be rebuilt, (getting mixed info on that) EH Allen will still be getting pole cars. Just on the other side of the road.

Does anyone know about what time the train goes through freehold?

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:17 pm If the removed section won’t be rebuilt, (getting mixed info on that) EH Allen will still be getting pole cars. Just on the other side of the road.

Other side of Throckmorton or the entrance into BGS ?
Jim H

Yes. They cleaned up the brush in dirt parking lot there. Just enough to unload one car.

In the pictures I posted Friday you can see where they cleared.

Gotcha. Guess we will see what they do.
Jim H

Gotcha. Guess we will wait and see what they end up doing. I have a feeling though , that since this is a leased line , they can't rip anything out without rebuilding it. Perhaps the cleared are will be a spot where poles can be unloaded temporary while the team track is rebuilt
Jim H

In the early days of DRRR operations they also removed the third track in Lakewood. A friend tells me that was Dinasos siding and not owned by Conrail.

If they are rebuilding the Freehold Team Track, due to a lot of it being buried, that's good news. That means a current or new customer will use it to get a lot of cars.

Also, the clearing crews have reached Southard Ave in Farmingdale. They have not crossed over Southard to clear the wye yet, however.

Speaking of the wye,

I know some people were saying that the southbound wye would be too close to JCP&L's property, based on the map/telephone poles seen in these pics.

However, as I was passing by that area today, I found some of the old tracks/ROW from when the diamond through Farmingdale existed. From what I saw, they were not up close to the fence along the JCP&L property at all. The only issue I can see is there is some sort of equipment area, just a tad bit south of the ROW/tracks that I saw, that might interfere with a curve. Here are some pictures.

I do wonder if C&D/DRRR will make a new wye approach that is closer to the fence and telephone poles along the JCP&L property, or if they will make sure of the old diamond approach for the wye.

I believe this video has a part about the tracks I am mentioning

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:38 pm In the early days of DRRR operations they also removed the third track in Lakewood. A friend tells me that was Dinasos siding and not owned by Conrail.

Why would DRRR remove a siding on property not owned by the owner of the Southern (presumably Conrail) but on land belonging to a private 3rd party?

Beats me, but it is possible that the third track was actually the team track. Not certain though.

Dinaso moved out around 2010 and a new lumber company moved in a few years later. They went bankrupt a little before Covid I think. They never used the siding.

Someone else is in there now but I have no idea who they are. No company sign out front. They don’t seem to care that the track is gone. Switch for it is still there though.

Progress up tp Southard Ave in Farmingdale. Pictures next to Freeway Warehouse

That looks like an old CRR type booth. Never noticed it when I walked that. It was 7 or 8 years ago, though. Perhaps used back when the diamond was in use, to verify no conflict.

That structure on railroad ave is part of the Manasquan River Regional Sewage Authority (MRRSA) There is room between that and JCPL property to swing a wye through, though the point it would join the Southern is pretty close to Marl Rd.

PS pretty sure CRR had trackage rights from their branch in Freehold to the southern.

There’s still a couple of those booths on the Southern if you know where to look.

Wouldn’t a wye connect close to Marl regardless? I’d imagine they want to make that curve as wide as possible…