Railroad Forums 

Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.

Moderators: lensovet, Kaback9, nick11a

 #1101997  by blockline4180
 
uzplayer wrote:It is what it is. At the end, at least we are all ok and posting here.

So where are the spare cars / locomotives coming from? I heard Amtrak?
They won't be needing them now... I heard Ray Lahood or someone from Dept. of Transportation inspected the coaches and they weren't badly damaged. I don't know how bad the engines were damaged though.
 #1102003  by michaelk
 
Matt Johnson wrote:It's a good thing for NJT that they don't have the old seashore branch! Looks like I won't be riding my bike along the Henry Hudson trail out to Sandy Hook any time soon. :(

I was just home during fall break a couple of weeks ago. I had lunch at Jakeabob's Bay in Union Beach and took this photo from there. Little did I know it'd be my last visit.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 1532817447
I loved Jakeabob's bay. Had my wedding rehearsal dinner there years and years ago- back when it had another name- can't recall at the moment- maybe it was "the sandbar" back then...

Anyway-
I Hope JT and everyone else still down there gets everything they need. My family in Middletown (other side of 36)- recently got their power back. Last I heard from the folks i know from Keyport and Union Beach was everyone got out safe but not too much contact since. Seems power in Matawan and Marlboro is still hard to come by. I've been helping out my friends up this way the past few days- finding gas or generators or helping rewire their wells, hot water heaters, and furnaces so they can use generators. Up here there's lines hours long for gas, you can't find an extension cord for miles around, or a stinking twist lock plug or even a plain 120/15 amp so you can make your own- I can't imagine what the mess must be like down the shore.
 #1102011  by uzplayer
 
blockline4180 wrote:
uzplayer wrote:It is what it is. At the end, at least we are all ok and posting here.

So where are the spare cars / locomotives coming from? I heard Amtrak?
They won't be needing them now... I heard Ray Lahood or someone from Dept. of Transportation inspected the coaches and they weren't badly damaged. I don't know how bad the engines were damaged though.
Well, that's good news then.
 #1102027  by M&Eman
 
SecaucusJunction wrote:BCL can't be in that bad of shape... H8K just blew through with 3 engines and 40 cars.
I think the problem with the BCL is down on the other end of the line, before the PVL split, hence why both lines are out of commission. I predict the next lines to come back will be the BCL and PVL, followed by M&E to Summit as well as M-B to MSU (all out of Newark Broad of course).
 #1102058  by EuroStar
 
M&Eman wrote: I think the problem with the BCL is down on the other end of the line, before the PVL split, hence why both lines are out of commission. I predict the next lines to come back will be the BCL and PVL, followed by M&E to Summit as well as M-B to MSU (all out of Newark Broad of course).
I hope you are right. Does anyone know how bad the washout at Kearny Junction is? Do they need just a few cars of ballast or is there more to it? Also do they actually have the equipment on the Newark Broad side of Kearny Junction in order to run shuttles to Newark Broad?
 #1102080  by SecaucusJunction
 
There is probably only about a half mile of track between the Main Line split and the East end of HX where NS connects in. I think the main problem they said was with power outages. Those should be resolved shortly.
 #1102109  by jamesinclair
 
25Hz wrote:
jamesinclair wrote:Excellent, thanks
Did your friend find her way?
She did.

She got in later than expected because of flights delays in SFO, so she missed all amtrak service.

She took a bus to PABT (runs every 15 mins) and then the very last bus of the day to New brunswick....didnt get in until 1:50am!

But it worked out.
 #1102134  by sixty-six
 
EuroStar wrote:
M&Eman wrote: I think the problem with the BCL is down on the other end of the line, before the PVL split, hence why both lines are out of commission. I predict the next lines to come back will be the BCL and PVL, followed by M&E to Summit as well as M-B to MSU (all out of Newark Broad of course).
I hope you are right. Does anyone know how bad the washout at Kearny Junction is? Do they need just a few cars of ballast or is there more to it? Also do they actually have the equipment on the Newark Broad side of Kearny Junction in order to run shuttles to Newark Broad?
I've heard the tracks between Kearny Jct and Swift are gone, and the washout itself was pretty bad.
 #1102155  by Jtgshu
 
Thanks for the kind words and messages everyone, I really appreciate it! But as a side note, I didn't post what happened to me looking for pity - I posted it to make folks aware that this storm effected LOTS of folks, including someone who you all know (through the internet at least in many cases). And lots more folks and lots more areas than the news and TV and newspapers are showing.

The town came through and cleared all my and my former neighbors "curbside belongings" today - that was a HUGE step....my street looks much less like a warzone now. Except the debris probably would have worked as a decent dike to protect against the next nor-easter, coming Wednesday....all dune protection is flattened. There is nothing....

Blockline, its okay, I won't hold it against you :) hahahah I was figuring a 10 foot surge, and prepared for a 10 foot surge. Whatever it ended up being in 07737 had to be inbetween 13 and 14 feet. id be curious what some offical maps might say it was.

acelaphillies - I have no idea as to the extent of the damage at the MMC - i have seen a few pictures, but im not one to judge how bad that actually might be. But its pretty bad.

Once they can get the power situation straightened out up there, maybe more concrete things will start to happen with regard to service and repairs.
 #1102166  by ns3010
 
My prayers and best wishes go out to those affected by the storm in any capacity, especially those who's homes suffered significant damage or were completely lost. I have family and friends who literally lost everything so I know what you are going through. Stay strong, Jersey! :-)

I wish I could do more to help, but my ability to do so is somewhat limited because I am 200 miles away. However, I am more than willing to help in any way possible. If anyone here needs or could use anything, please don't hesitate to PM me and I will do as best I can to help you! :-)
 #1102167  by EuroStar
 
sixty-six wrote: I've heard the tracks between Kearny Jct and Swift are gone, and the washout itself was pretty bad.
Thank you for sharing. The tracks being gone sounds REALLY bad. The catenary poles must be gone then too. At least last year with Irene the tracks of MetroNorth were still hanging in the air. I am glad that Amtrak's tracks somehow stayed in place.
 #1102175  by M&Eman
 
So NJ Transit just posted their "Trans-Hudson Emergency Service". They plan on running busses from park-and-rides in Bridgewater, Woodbridge, Wayne, Ramsey, Holmdel, Newark Airport, and Jersey City to either Hoboken Terminal or Lower Manhattan. The big problem with this is none of these park-and-ride areas serve M&E service area residents, where there are still absolutely no trains. Tell me how someone without an extra car to use in places like South Orange, Maplewood, Millburn, Summit, Chatham, Morristown etc. are supposed to get to work tomorrow? There should be busses at West Orange on 280 as well in order to service these folks, many of whom build their lives around the ability to take the train to work without a car being involved.
 #1102193  by alewifebp
 
I think, but don't know, that the primary problems with operating trains on some of these other lines like the MB is power outages causing the lack of signals and crossing gates from working. I can tell you that in Wayne, at Mountain View, that area is still without power, so no crossing gates. I did see MOW crews shortly after the storm hit cleaning up trees and debris. I think once the power starts coming back on in areas, the ability to run trains will increase.

However, if anyone has looked at what Hoboken looks like, you will see how long it has taken for the floodwaters to recede. Only with receded waters can power companies work on flooded substations and transmission facilities. Only with power running can things start to have some semblance of normalcy.

I'm in IT, and I saw the holes in my own strategies, but how much do you really plan for, and how much money do you have to spend? All things to consider. In the coming years, the rise of virtualized systems will probably allow for SCADA style systems that control vast, complex networks like train control, should allow for a much more distributed system to operate at a cost that is palatable. One can imagine being able to run the railroad remotely at one time in the future. However, these things still require power and communications networks to be up and running. I would imagine that NJT is of course rethinking strategies, and will probably implement lower cost solutions that might assist in situations like this. Things like separate wire sets that provide power and communications abilities coming from different areas to maximize the ability to have some systems up in such situations like this. It's not all foolproof though. NO ONE expected the storm surge in the way that it happened here. It just shows how the area I live in, which is usually flooded during storms like this, came out "relatively" unscathed. But now we have storm surge flooding and erosion down the shore and in Hoboken and NYC. The damage is really unfathomable. Something that people need to remember is that many of the systems we have in place are not really designed to save property, but to save life. That's really the most important thing.
  • 1
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 89