Delaware and Raritan River Railroad-General Discussion

Be careful here guys------ What are the new developments with the Freehold to Farmingdale improvements? Any new pictures?

So far the track crew is making progress towards Howell road from Fairfield and are around the one curve between those roads.

I’ll get some pictures Friday. Meant to get some last week but had something to take care of.

Trackwork appears to be just shy of the power substation at Howell Rd. They should start laying the last 800 ft of wooden ties shortly, and I suspect they will have the last of the track down some time next week.

What comes next? Ballast? Trackwork west of Okerson Rd?

https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/ ... grants.pdf

The six projects getting funding are within the link. Farmingdale to Freehold phase 2 is one of them.

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 5:53 pm https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/ ... grants.pdf

The six projects getting funding are within the link. Farmingdale to Freehold phase 2 is one of them.

Another 6 million 5.3 from state the rest from DELAWARE AND RARITAN RIVER RAILROAD that should finish up some things.

Coming south through Lakewood now as per a friend. Don’t know how many cars.

Approaching Asbury Ave heading back to Red Bank soon.

I did a chase today from Megill Rd in Farmingdale, up until Drs James Parker Blvd in Red Bank. Only was able to record RB-1 at 6 or so crossings, I caught it at 8 or 9 total, but for the other 2 or 3, RB-1 beat me to the crossings so I didn't have time to set up and catch anything before they had almost passed through entirely.

Here's the playlist of my videos from today.

I'll try and do this again soon, and get some videos of the crossings I was not able to record.

In addition, Becker Hardware in Colts Neck is closing, and they have some nice Lionel model trains for sale there.

They are down to, and placing, the last rail at Howell Rd Eastbound. I guess a couple of days gauging and straightening, and they will be done. Ballast next? Fixing west of Okerson next? Or nothing until they start cleaning the roadbed Fairfield - Yellowbrook?

I don't know how they would get ballast and tamping equipment to those completed segments of track as the equipment would have to leapfrog across the grade crossings that don't exist yet. Does not seem practical until they get the washouts and issues south of Prestone sorted out and grade crossing track complete.

Good questions.

Some pictures of the progress.

Thx for the most recent pix!

As for ballast, what track contractors usually do is..
- Get large piles of ballast delivered near the track, near highway grade crossings. Its standard 1 1/2" granite rock, nothing special and easy to source,
- Load a hi-rail dump truck with ballast from a ballast pile, and have it shuttle back and forth dumping ballast on the track.
On larger projects . ive seen them uses a trackmobile and 1 or 2 small (15-20' long) 4 wheel m/w type hopper cars to shuttle the ballast

They arent going run a heavy engine and 100 ton ballast cars on track that has no ballast and hasnt been aligned.
Track alignment happens when the ballast is pushed in around the ties and tamped.

I wasn't even thinking of ballast cars, I knew they would truck that in and rough grade it. I was thinking more of the tamping and leveling. The steel ties especially have to be leveled and tamped sufficiently that you would see the ballast under the tie through the observation holes. You put any weight on them with ballast cars and they would sink. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XzJCiZZreL0

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Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 5:53 pm https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/ ... grants.pdf

The six projects getting funding are within the link. Farmingdale to Freehold phase 2 is one of them.

Interesting that the grants for Fiscal Year 2023 are announced with only three months left in the fiscal year. Fiscal Year 2024 begins on July 1, 2023. I wonder if the grants are held in abeyance until it is known how much money is left, i.e., unspent, in the overall entire state budget?

Maybe they were trying to take inflation into account?

This picture is what I believe is DCS FARMINGDALE, sometime in the 80s