M&E to rehab tracks to Harrison Ave??

This is interesting...Anyone have more info how far east past I280 they will rehab??

http://newjerseyhills.com/the_progress/ ... 3ce6c.html

M&E plans to refurbish the portion of track that runs through the woods behind the school and will use the revamped rails to store railroad cars there, Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky reported at the Thursday, Feb 23, meeting.

Interesting. Car storage is a very profitable business, and I guess M&E sees it worth it to rehab track just for the purpose.

I wonder if they'll use any other tracks for car storage. Most of the sidings on the Whippany Line are already occupied, but there's plenty of space along the High Bridge Branch...

The High Bridge Branch is clearly underutilized. Since 2008, the only trains running south of U.S. Route 46 have been Toys For Tots, once a year.

One thing that may factor into their choice - the tracks to Harrison Avenue they own and have a greater degree of freedom. The other lines mentioned are county owned and leased to the M&E. Given all the trouble they had in Roxbury a couple of years ago, I would doubt that the county would support them using the county tracks for dead car storage which, in the eyes of the host towns/NIMBYS, would be "creating an attractive nuisance".

While the article seems to show that the town, at least the BOE, is playing ball, the situation could well change once the cars are actually in place and the neighbors get an eyeful. I don't know how widely read the little newspaper the article is but surely there will be some loud mouth who didn't see it. Essex Fells and Roseland are not cheap places to reside and I doubt people will take a liking to a line of rusting railroad cars. The M&E largely has the law on their side but it could still get sticky.

Maybe related to the clearing of the channel spur as well?

The school isn't the only place they would need a crossing, there is a very small golf practice range just east of the school that also tore up the rails when they built a driveway to their parking lot.

^Here's a link to Google Maps of the area behind Davenport Ave.

The article above refers to a homeowner who is furious the tracks might be used again. He said his real estate agent told him the tracks would never be used again.

Do home buyers not realize that real estate agents lie or do not know what they are talking about?

ham -

I think you misread that part of the article....author states " Decades ago " on some homeowner.

^Thanks.

When were the tracks last used through here?

Here's a link to the area at Bing Mpas:

http://binged.it/ydzguM

thebigham wrote:^Thanks.

When were the tracks last used through here?

Here's a link to the area at Bing Mpas:

http://binged.it/ydzguM

Probably 1983 or 84....Roseland had special passenger trips in 1983 for their Anniversary or something..

There was another article on Friday that stated M&E intends to store empty box cars just to the west of Davenport Ave... Obviously the NIMBYS in that development are very vocal and very enraged, but the mayor said he can't do anything to stop M&E and that is that!

The brush and debris is comeplelely clear to Harrison Ave as of this week. Drove past twice already and you can see down the ROW almost to 280.

Greg wrote:The brush and debris is comeplelely clear to Harrison Ave as of this week. Drove past twice already and you can see down the ROW almost to 280.

Interesting.. I had thought all those rails were pulled!!

blockline4180 wrote:

Greg wrote: Interesting.. I had thought all those rails were pulled!!

Rails don't go all the way to Harrison Ave but end somewhere between there and 280.

I was told that the M&E sold off the ROW from about Route 280 east to Harrison Ave to the town of Roseland for a hiking trail...........any brush clearing was probably done by the town workers? They should have never sold off the ROW....gone forever now.

What a damn shame and missed opportunity to reactivate the tracks and bring back passenger excursion service especially where Morris County Central ran trains up to the run around tracks around Harrison Ave then back to Whippany.