I saw.......

I saw the m&e black and red long nose engine coming through hackettstown yesterday on the ns train.I also saw on the end of the train a passenger car. I was wondering if any you know what the engine and the passenger car were going or why the engine was coming through there and were it is coming from. Here is a link to my website were you can find the pictures of the engine and the passenger car. http://ants-trains.magix.net/

That's RS-11 7215 returning to Morristown from Bayway. See the thread below titled '7215 at Conway'. Can't say about the passenger car without more information. Could be on they've acquired or it could be one of the private cars returning for storage or any of several other possibilities.

7215 is sitting at Lake Junction today, Sunday May 8, along with a TON of cars... more than i've seen in awile.

M&E 7215 is coupled to four or five cars and Maine Eastern Coach 1003.

The 3562, caboose 4, and a couple tanks are in the new track.

Unless more cars arrived, there wasn't quite that much interchange there. The track that runs back alongside toward the Morris & Essex was empty. The other day the interchange stretched almost to the first grade crossing south, plus the fore mentioned track.

I spotted another M&E Alco and passenger car this morning as I was headed eastbound from Madison Train station. It was on the siding just past the YMCA. It was one of the shiny bright red alcos and it was a dark green passenger car. I guess they were waiting to make a move?

james1787 wrote:I spotted another M&E Alco and passenger car this morning as I was headed eastbound from Madison Train station. It was on the siding just past the YMCA. It was one of the shiny bright red alcos and it was a dark green passenger car. I guess they were waiting to make a move?

James,

Did it have the GP9R with the Lackawanna baggage car and red caboose?? If so, then that is the same set that has been on the Madison siding for over 1 year.......That engine is lemon......

Steve

I didn't notice a caboose on the end, it was a shiny bright red loco. I didn't get a good look at the car attached to it.. as we were moving at a pretty good clip and it caught me off guard. I'm not sure what type of loco it was. Now I'll have to head to the parking lot to see if I can get a better look (providing it's still there). It could have been a GP9R. Is it painted bright red? Is the baggage car green?

Tred lightly there Jim....that equipment is watched over by Mr. Toto !

Tom,
I definitely wasn't planning on trespassing on private property.. it just looked like you could see it from the far end of the YMCA parking lot. If I really wanted to play it safe I could take a round trip on NJT from Chatham to Madison and simply pay closer attention to see if it's there and what is there, but it looked like I might be able to see it from the parking lot.

What you saw in the Madison Team Track was the M&E's hybrid GP9 thye acquired form Morrison-Knudsen a few years ago and tri-State railway Historical Society's restored DL&W mail storage car. Th eM&E crew picked up the ex-Soo Line caboose that had been there for the past year on Friday and took it back to Morristown. It will be used on the caboose trips originating out of Whippany starting next month. An officer of the Whippany railway Museum told me Mr. Toto has purchased the former Erie RR airbrake instruction car form Tri-State and will add it to the display train there in Madison as a wine musuem.

What's the reason it's hanging out there in Madison? Wouldn't it make more sense for M&E to keep the car in Whippany? Apparently it's been there a while from what njt4172 says. I would think NJT would want that siding kept clear for maintenance of way equipment, etc.

james1787 wrote:What's the reason it's hanging out there in Madison? Wouldn't it make more sense for M&E to keep the car in Whippany? Apparently it's been there a while from what njt4172 says. I would think NJT would want that siding kept clear for maintenance of way equipment, etc.

James,

Yeah you would think right? This Mr. Toto guy must have a lot of money....I'm sure he pays NJT/M&E enough money to keep the equipment on those tracks......Who knows he may have struck some sort of deal with the M&E......

Steve

Mr Toto's dad restored the two railcars used at Rod's in Convent Station. The firm is a very high end interior remodeler, builder, painter, etc. You can be sure that if his firm does the work, it will be very high quality.

His shops are adjacent to the track

james / Steve -

'Mr. Toto' is the son of Carmen Toto and the family compound has been adjacent to the Madison Team Track for a loooong time. He got turned on to rail history and the equipment via an intro to the M&E senior officers and requested/arranged for a train display around a town fair 2 years ago. After the fair he 'arranged' with NJT to have the equipment stay put as a semi-permanent home under his 'supervision'.

Toto is a very pleasant and engaging fellow and has quickly become a rail buff. He maintains a neat old world bocce ball court on his property that gets regular use with 'friends' and makes some terrific home-made wine too !

As far as the continued use of the siding goes, I recall asking him how we could get NJT's o.k. on this and his reply at the time was - " I'll take care of that ! ". Also, when that siding was refurbished a few years ago, he 'arranged' to have it slightly re-alligned and substantially lengthened along his property line.

You guys get the picture here ?

Tom,

Wow, that's pretty cool! I get the picture.. Thanks for the info.