( GRAB A CAMERA!!!)

Must be the 19 because the conductor/flagman told me the 18 and 20 were going to retrieve cars up at B&G in Roseland! Very busy indeed!!!!


Steve

njt4172 wrote: Tom,

I just got back from Morristown! I was able to get some photos of the M&E 18 under the NJT signal bridge from the eastbound end of the platform. I will post them when I can get around to it..

Word is that there will be a big ballast train next Monday! I don't know where they will be headed however!
Too bad I missed the 25 car train on the Whippany line! And yes, that had to be the most cars on one train since the 1980's!

Careful with "rumors" and "hearsay" Steve- we don't want Washingtonsecondary getting upset!

I zoomed in those pics (a benefit of using Opera as my internet browser) and although I can't be a 100 percent sure it sure looks like they are NJT hoppers.

Maybe NJT hired the MandE to move the hoppers for them, maybe they were short crews/equipment, etc, because there has been a long string of hoppers parked in the MMC, along with a few bulkhead flatcars and other oddies recently. Maybe NJT is just getting them out of their hair until they need them? Or maybe MandE is going to borrow them for their own track work?

Too bad the RVRR wasn't back together yet - it'd be cool to see the Alco's dragging the hoppers down (and eventually back up) the RVRR to the RVL, then heading to Stavolas to get rock!!!!!!!!

About 10:45 this morning I heard horns and looked out my office window. Headed west were Maine Easter 764 25 empty NJT hoppers and 19 trailing. Shortly thereafter I decided I needed to run an errand . I went up to Motown and the train was on the hill. They cut off 764 and pulled it into the remains of track 3. 19 then tried to shove up the hill to clear the engine house lead - no dice. Dropped down hill over Abbett Ave and tried again - still couldn't make it (for those who aren't familar it's a 4% grade from Abbett up the old interchange before it levels out up by the NJT mains). I departed for awhile and came back to see they'd put 764 back on the top end, pulled/pushed the whole mess up clear of the lead.
19 then cut off and went into the hole. 18/20 then pulled out and were tieing onto the train when I had to leave (Either 18 or 20 was required for the move across NJT described above - they're the only engines with cab signals.)
Later in the afternoon 18 or 19 (trees are coming out/getting harder to see) came east with several tank cars for B&G or Royal Lube (or whatever they're called now).

I also noted that ballast has been dropped throughout the Jefferson Road area so maybe they're doing eveything they didn't touch a couple of years ago. The track equipment coming in off NJT may have been the tamper that's been stored at Kenvil on the High Bridge line for some time.

A busy day indeed. Never thought I'd see a 25 car train on that line again.

A

The 25 cars are NJT stone hoppers. It seems that the M&E has been purchasing some stone from NJT. This is not unheard of, the SQ did so a few years ago. Depending on how much they are dumping, and how much they need there may be more stone coming in the future. 25 cars will get you about 6-8 miles, if the track is not unballasted (new), at least it did for me the few times Ive had a train that size. 25 cars is just about all the stone cars NJT has.

The M&E would not be moving cars around for NJT, unless NJT wants to pay me for having them do my work...

CHA-CHING!!!!!

Sirsonic wrote:The 25 cars are NJT stone hoppers. It seems that the M&E has been purchasing some stone from NJT. This is not unheard of, the SQ did so a few years ago. Depending on how much they are dumping, and how much they need there may be more stone coming in the future. 25 cars will get you about 6-8 miles, if the track is not unballasted (new), at least it did for me the few times Ive had a train that size. 25 cars is just about all the stone cars NJT has.

The M&E would not be moving cars around for NJT, unless NJT wants to pay me for having them do my work...

Sirsonic,

Where does M&E get this stone from??? The only place I could think of is the Chimney Rock Quarry, however that is very far from Morristown in terms of railroad mileage!

Steve

Tom your too funny.. I felt like I was getting play by play of the mets game!!

jihn -

Well it now appears that RS115 was our 'starter' on the mound yesterday and he was relieved in the 3rd inning by me. njt4172 came in to relieve me in the 7th followed by lutherkb in the 8th. Would appear that Jtgshu came on for the 9th and got the save....

You can take the post-game 'Kiner's Korner' if you wish as I see from my press box perch that the 25 hoppers are gone....err....they have left the MU yard lead field !

Did the home team ( NJT ) collect all the baseballs ( hoppers ) and move to a new diamond ( yard ) ?

GEEZES, HERE WE GO AGAIN....AT THE UNUSUAL TIME OF 4:50 PM !!

#20 and either #19 or #18 are just now heading east on the Whippany line with 3 of those ore jennies and their 2 ex-Erie Lackawanna hoppers which are all fully loaded with stone ballast !

NONE of these cars were in the 25-car consist from yesterday....

Appears the 5-car loaded ballast train has been parked on the siding between Ridgedale and Abbett Ave. for the night. #20 and one Alco returning to the barn....

Tri-State Tom wrote:jihn -

Well it now appears that RS115 was our 'starter' on the mound yesterday and he was relieved in the 3rd inning by me. njt4172 came in to relieve me in the 7th followed by lutherkb in the 8th. Would appear that Jtgshu came on for the 9th and got the save....

You can take the post-game 'Kiner's Korner' if you wish as I see from my press box perch that the 25 hoppers are gone....err....they have left the MU yard lead field !

Did the home team ( NJT ) collect all the baseballs ( hoppers ) and move to a new diamond ( yard ) ?

Tom,

Hahaha! I see you got pretty creative there!! At least your a met fan as I am! A 7-1 start.... Best since 1985!!! Lets hope M&E can gain more freight traffic this year!. That would be a good start.....

The M&E crew using 18 and 20 took the 25 empty hoppers back to the MMC yesterday and spotted them on the North Runner. They followed my train, 854, east. I was surprised they did not pick PV Mount Vernon which has been at the MMC since the beginning of the week.

The 25 cars were left on the scale track at Morristown by the M&E. A crew out of Hoboken picked them up last night and delivered them to the MMC. I wish the M&E had brought them to the MMC, as it would mean $$$ for me.

From what I understand, MnE borrowed the NJT hoppers. They were loaded at County Concrete in Kenvil, to be dumped on the Whippany line.
Don't know if it will happen again.

I missed their arrival sometime earlier today but we have what appears to be 8 to maybe 10 ( trees obscuring full view ) of the NJT hoppers sitting empty on the MU Scale track @ BAKER right now....