Middletown & New Jersey Railroad: News, Operations, Updates

HO8 brought an empty reefer into Middletown for the M&NJ on Tue, 10/26. It appears someone will be transloading at the dirty dirt transfer area off Dolsen Ave.

That reefer was loaded with potatoes.Another one arrived at Sufern Friday.

Don't know if anyone will read this seeing there hasn't been a post here in 5 years, but what the heck...

I happen to be in Middletown this past Friday morning and had some time to kill, so I did some exploring around the M&NJ. Didn't see any train activity, but found a cylindrical hopper and 2 tank cars spotted on the run around by the engine house. Another covered hopper was spotted at the transload sight off Dolson Ave.

I assume that cylindrical hopper was heading to or from the transload sight by Dolson Ave., but couldn't figure out who gets the tank cars. Anyone know??

Is Arc/Balchem still open in Slate Hill? That may be the tank car's destination.

Sorry if anyone earlier in the thread already identified whether the place is closed or not.

Balchem Slate Hill hasn't been a customer for over a dozen years. Those cars would be for Jones Chemical in Warwick, on the former L&HR.

Marty Feldner wrote:Balchem Slate Hill hasn't been a customer for over a dozen years. Those cars would be for Jones Chemical in Warwick, on the former L&HR.

Seems odd they would be heading for Jones Chemical. I figured cars for Jones would be staged in Campbell Hall where MNJ has those jobs based out of (also where I believe NS interchanges MNJ's CH based traffic... NS goes to Middletown to interchange traffic for that portion).

At least this is how it was last I was up there a couple years ago. I haven't read anything about MNJ gaining trackage rights between Middletown and Campbell Hall but maybe some things have changed.

Whoops- you're right about the Jones cars; a few synapses must have misfired. (I did get the Balchem part right- I rode on the next-to-last revenue run to there in 2002.)

Jones cars are indeed interchanged at Campbell Hall with NS. Part of the lease agreement with NS stipulates that all existing 'CH cluster' customers would continue to be interchanged at CH; any new customers brought online after the lease signing could be interchanged wherever contracted. (Currently, two customers on the former L&HR have been added- MidState Lumber and PDJ Trusses; both are interchanged with the NYS&W at Warwick.

I learned yesterday that the M&NJ will be storing some 200 out-of-service (presumably DOT-111) tank cars on their out of service trackage- some are already in place in Slate Hill. Sounds like that was what you saw in the yard.

Now THAT sounds accurate. I didn't give myself the time to follow the line to Slate Hill as I didn't think there would be much to see. Glad to hear there will be some life coming back to that part of the line, even if it is only car storage.

Thanks for the update!

More details from today; the tank cars are propane cars, not the DOT-111's.

Are the propane cars empties for storage or loads? If loads, where is the transfer taking place?

Storage- info is from the M&NJ Facebook page.

East Penn GP18 number 1800 (ex-NYSW) is now at Campbell Hall. Should be there to help with new propane transfer facility in Maybrook, as well as the other runs out of Campbell Hall.

I read they're looking to ship 100 trucks a day out of there during peak season...

two tracks, 8 cars each and they have committed to 3 switches a day..........

Sounds like quite the bump in business.

Did M&NJ previously run every day, or have a fixed routine for servicing customers?