Furor in Teaneck over idling CSX trains

The Record of Hackensack ran a series last week about the furor in Teaneck over idling CSX trains.

Nearby residents were quoted as claiming that some trains were left idling for over 12 hours and couldn't understand why power wasn't shut down if for nothing else to save fuel costs.

Question: What is the reluctance to shut down diesel power if an extended layover is apparent?

Generally it is because the locomotives do not have any anti-freeze in them. This can be gotten around through the use of a hot-start system that will restart the engine if the block gets below a certain temperature. However this is a relatively recent development and has not been retrofitted to all older locos.

This issue comes up every few months in Bogota, Teaneck, etc. The railroad ties down the trains at CP7-10 awaiting space or crews in North Bergen, South Kearny, etc.

The neighbors don't like:

--the train exhaust blowing in their windows for hours on end
--the engine rumbling all night
--the train blocking their short cut to the 7-11, liquor store, etc

So, they complain, the pols come out, the raillroad promises to minimize the complaints.

Last time around there was a new wrinkle as the Record showed kids playing on the diesels, climbing through the trains, etc.

Lackawanna484 wrote:Last time around there was a new wrinkle as the Record showed kids playing on the diesels, climbing through the trains, etc.

And of course that's the railroad's fault as well that the parents can't or won't control and educate their kids about trespassing??

glennk419 wrote:

Lackawanna484 wrote:Last time around there was a new wrinkle as the Record showed kids playing on the diesels, climbing through the trains, etc.

And of course that's the railroad's fault as well that the parents can't or won't control and educate their kids about trespassing??

Fault is relative, that's what we have courts for.

Well, if you left your car engine running while you went indoors for a few hours, it's possible your car might not be there when you returned. Depending on the neighborhood, of course.

The more things change the more they stay the same. One of the earliest 'attractive nuisance' law cases dates back into the 1800's and involved a youth injured playing with an armstrong turntable.

Last time around there was a new wrinkle as the Record showed kids playing on the diesels, climbing through the trains, etc.

Hell, we owned the Bay Head Loop as kids. I don't remember even being looked at funny, despite crossing over the yard tracks to get a close up look at a particular engine or car.

Lackawanna484 wrote:Well, if you left your car engine running while you went indoors for a few hours, it's possible your car might not be there when you returned. Depending on the neighborhood, of course.

"hey man, check out this SD-40! I just jacked it on the river line! I'm gonna put rims on this baby!"

I live in Teaneck about two blocks from the tracks. Theres been a train (or trains) parked in Teaneck virtually every morning for the past six months. Since the series of articles ran last week there hasn't been a single train parked in Teaneck in the morning. CSX miraculously has found room to yard all their trains! (At least until the heat dies down)

If the bottleneck doesn't open up I propose shifting some of these trains via the Tier and NYS&W.

Hey Mike, they end up in the same place anyway, and the people from Rochelle Park to Ridgefield would be complaining. Of course, the Record could send a reporter out for coffee and interview the train crew at the same time...

Could divert them to the "Q" and keep them rolling at a snails pace or in a holding pattern out in cow country (i.e. between Butler and Vernon). Plenty of capacity on the Tier and the "Q".

I highly doubt NYS&W will ever see any of these trains as a detour move just to satify a few whiners in Teaneck.

Bring back Q271. The new ribbons on the "Q" could use some use.

Block,

Keep dreaming!!!! The only time you will see trains on the NYSW/Tier is if there is some major derailment on the Riverline....

Steve