Hoping you can help

I hope you don't mind me asking, but I need some help.

My wife and I are looking to buy a house in Glen Ridge, NJ on Baldwin Street (zip is 07028). The Norfolk Southern (old Conrail) tracks go right through the back yard. Service was discontinued a few years ago by NJ Transit in favor of a new routing through Montclair to access Hoboken, and the line is seldom used now by Norfolk Southern. We love the idea of having the old tracks in the back yard but if the tracks go live again that would be quiet a lot of noise for us since we have children.

I've spoken to the folks from Norfolk Southern and they have told me that they are rail banking it for now. They filed for a "Discontinuation of Service" that went into effect this month.

I've also asked around through other web sites and I've found that The New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad is seeking to operate passenger service on that rail line into Hoboken Terminal.

Can you help us? What chance to you think there is that the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad will actually begin operating passenger service? If the objective is profit, it seems awfully hard to imagine that they would ever operate in the black, seeing as the line was already abandoned by NJ Transit, seemingly because it would cost more to operate than it would take in for tickets.

Again, hope you don't mind me asking, and hope you can help.

Either way, many thanks.

Kevin

The chance is nil (zero) that NY&GL will ever operate the line. NS will probably never operate the line again. However I personally envision some sort of light rail extension using these tracks in a 7-30 yr. time frame. Light Rail similar to the HBLRT or the Newark City Subway, IMO.

Good research!!! Its good to see that at least some people who buy houses actually look around at the surrounding neighborhoods and ask questions about it!!

Slim chance that the line would be used again any time soon, the NY and GL wants to operate a few passenger trains on it, but I don't see that happening, and NS doesn't seem too interested in it.

However, it is still an intact railroad right of way, and although it would cost some millions, but trains could use that line again in the future. (maybe once Portal Draw (on Amtrak) is retired by the fixed bridges, the whole bridge could be shifted down river a quarter of a mile to replace DB (drawbridge on teh Boonton Line that is in dire need of replacement and/or repairs - you never know)

There are other lines in NJ that have been rebuilt and re-opened after years of dormancy - NYSW over Sparta Mountain, and more recently, the SIRR and RVRR from Cranford to Cartaret (is it?) and from Cranford to Summit - work is still being done on the lines, but there is a very good possibility that there will be trains running on these lines in the not so distant future. There is also a VERY, VERY SLIM possibility that a LONG abandoned line, from Freehold to Matawan could be rebuilt, after 40 plus years of abandonment.

Keep that in mind, that the tracks are there, and even if they aren't there, the ROW still is, and it could be rebuilt sometime in the future for rail service....

Either way, good luck with the house hunting!!!!

Do NOT move near a right of way if you do not want to put up with train noise. That was the purpose of the building, and there is a decent chance that it will be used in the future. Not for anything I can see right now, but that is probably the same thing those in Union county thought. Reactivations are helpful for the community at large, and I'd hate to see you become someone who would want to stand in the way in the future. Safest bet is to pretend they're active tracks. I personally live along these same tracks in North Newark and would love if they were put back into service.

The average homeowner in NJ moves every six years, so my suspicion is an average buyer wouldn't have a problem with a lot of train service in the next few years. Cut-thru car traffic from Ridgewood Ave, down the hill, and over to Broad Street might be a bigger problem

I would be a little concerned that the former railroad parking lot might be sold for a condo development or dense housing. That would be a much more likely threat to the neighborhood, I'd think.

If you don't like the idea of train noise in your back yard, DON'T MOVE THERE. If there are tracks there, there is a chance of restoration of service of some kind. The folks who bought around Port Morris had a big pile of dirt and weeds back there for a long time. Now they have a rail yard which was never supposed to be built. If there are/were tracks, there can be again no matter how remote the chance. Don't buy if you don't like that thought.

Scott

Lackawanna484 wrote:The average homeowner in NJ moves every six years, so my suspicion is an average buyer wouldn't have a problem with a lot of train service in the next few years. Cut-thru car traffic from Ridgewood Ave, down the hill, and over to Broad Street might be a bigger problem

Depending on what kind of homeowner you are, I suppose. I know that I, for one, never moved (well, until I moved out of my parents' house). In 20 years, I could definitely see rail service there. Hopefully even within 10 years.

Man I wish I could live right next to a ROW. I would be glued to the back yard, day or night. Somehow I don't think my wife would be alright with that however.

james1787 wrote:Man I wish I could live right next to a ROW. I would be glued to the back yard, day or night. Somehow I don't think my wife would be alright with that however.

Haha, I hear ya.

I told my wife that when we move to a house, we had to look for one within close proximity to a track. Maybe something along my name sake would be nice.

Jtgshu wrote:There are other lines in NJ that have been rebuilt and re-opened after years of dormancy - NYSW over Sparta Mountain, and more recently, the SIRR and RVRR

Right, JT. I remember when the tracks were reopened over Sparta and the nearby homeowners having a cow. "There weren't trains there when I bought the house!"

Well, those weren't rabbit tracks behind your house, they were train tracks. As recent history has shown, where there are train tracks, you have to assume the trains just might return. And keep one thing in mind--dormant tracks might have an impact on property values, but reactivated tracks have a BIG impact on property values.

Hi, folks. Thank you so much for your replies. This is very, very helpful.

I've been researching on railstotrails.org about converting the tracks. This is an exciting idea, but I'm not sure how realistic it is for this area.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again, and please, keep the responses coming.

Kevin

The county of Essex and the city of Newark with siphon off and eat up a good chunk of your hard earned tax monies which otherwise would go solely within Glen Ridge proper. The tax load/ROI metric is not very pretty. Just a FYI.

Block is giving you some misinformation. While a portion of your taxes goes to the County, the City of Newark gets nothing directly from Glen Ridge's property taxes. Instead, your biggest number will be the school tax's portion, which is usually more than half the tax bill. What Block is complaining about is the fact that Newark's and all other depressed areas' schools are supported largely by the State from your income taxes. What Block fails to grasp is that by law (actually, by the interpretation of the NJ Constitution) all districts must spend the same on education. So when Glen Ridge approves an overstuffed school budget, it causes the state to have to pay more to Newark.

Not precisely, JLo. The county tax burden is apportioned among the towns of Essex County. Since Newark has not reassessed its properties since 1965, those currently occupied properties which were occupied in 1965 still have their old, 1965 tax bills. Homes built since 1965 have a valuation as of the time they were inspected.

Towns like Glen Ridge, the Caldwells, Livingston, South Orange, Nutley, etc which follow the law and reassess every 10 years are paying a far higher amount of taxes per home than a comparable home in Newark, or East Orange, which haven't reassessed in decades.The result is a county tax millage imposed against current valued homes in some towns and decades old valuations elsewhere. It's a huge bargain to buy an older, but refurbished, house in Newark

Newark consumes a high level of county services (prosecutor, jail, county share of welfare, roads, park police, etc) while paying a per household bargain amount of taxes. The political rationale is if Newark was forced to revalue, many owners would sell out, and others would cease to invest. The legislature has granted continuances to Newark and East Orange forever.

In my town's tax sheet, the county takes 26% of my taxes, the town takes 23%, and the local school district takes 50%. The difference is open space and uncollectible tax reserve. I'd suspect Glen Ridge is about the same.

Moving two miles north into Clifton, or five miles west into Montville or East Hanover would present a much different tax bill, as each is in a different county