Morris Cty, NJ wants freight trains to play a bigger role. !

I have a ? for so one , does County Concrete get cement hoppers? or plan too ? Because if they don't The RR or someone is charge too much $$ running up & up & down Rt 78 from pa !! diesel $4.15

kamerad47 wrote:I have a ? for so one , does County Concrete get cement hoppers? or plan too ? Because if they don't The RR or someone is charge too much $$ running up & up & down Rt 78 from pa !! diesel $4.15

First of all, you may want to do a spell check before you write what is on your mind. Reading some of your "words" is giving me a headache!

And from what I gather, County Concrete is looking into getting rail service to their Chester Branch Location. As of now they do not and have no idea when they plan on it.

OK smart guy!!! I thought you could figure it out most of the powder cement comes from PA by truck!

Oh boy, here we go....

kamerad47 wrote:I have a ? for so one , does County Concrete get cement hoppers? or plan too ? Because if they don't The RR or someone is charge too much $$ running up & up & down Rt 78 from pa !! diesel $4.15

No County Concrete does not get any material via train. They are talking about possibly shipping by rail but again, they need the economics to work.

About the weight issue...from the County report;

B. Weight Restrictions
In addition to these height restrictions, railcar weight limits are also a limiting factor – in
Morris County as well as much of the rest of New Jersey. The national standard for railcar
weight limits has now reached 286,000 pounds, while the AMTRAK and NJ TRANSIT
systems have a 263,000-lb. limit in place due to the lower weight requirements for
passenger trains. This is another issue that has been identified as a limiting factor for the
railroad industry in the region, and upgrading bridges on the freight rail system to
accommodate 286,000-lb. cars has recently been identified as one of the priority capital
projects and initiatives for the State of New Jersey.10 NJ TRANSIT, NJDOT and the freight
railroads are currently engaged in an ongoing effort to determine the impacts of 286,000-lb.
railcars on the rail network.

The rest of the report can be seen here

http://www.morrisdot.org/Docs/Task1_Tec ... randum.pdf

cjvrr wrote:

kamerad47 wrote:I have a ? for so one , does County Concrete get cement hoppers? or plan too ? Because if they don't The RR or someone is charge too much $$ running up & up & down Rt 78 from pa !! diesel $4.15

No County Concrete does not get any material via train. They are talking about possibly shipping by rail but again, they need the economics to work.

About the weight issue...from the County report;

B. Weight Restrictions
In addition to these height restrictions, railcar weight limits are also a limiting factor – in
Morris County as well as much of the rest of New Jersey. The national standard for railcar
weight limits has now reached 286,000 pounds, while the AMTRAK and NJ TRANSIT
systems have a 263,000-lb. limit in place due to the lower weight requirements for
passenger trains. This is another issue that has been identified as a limiting factor for the
railroad industry in the region, and upgrading bridges on the freight rail system to
accommodate 286,000-lb. cars has recently been identified as one of the priority capital
projects and initiatives for the State of New Jersey.10 NJ TRANSIT, NJDOT and the freight
railroads are currently engaged in an ongoing effort to determine the impacts of 286,000-lb.
railcars on the rail network.

The rest of the report can be seen here

http://www.morrisdot.org/Docs/Task1_Tec ... randum.pdf

286,000-lb. or heavier, see BR&W RFP: "The scope of this project is a “Design and Build” to upgrade the bridge to an industry standard Cooper rating of E-80, with provisions to handle four-axle railcars with 315,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight and a total capacity of at least 1,300,000 lbs." http://www.bdrry.com/2010%20Raritan%20R ... %20RFP.pdf

Ken W2KB wrote:
286,000-lb. or heavier, see BR&W RFP: "The scope of this project is a “Design and Build” to upgrade the bridge to an industry standard Cooper rating of E-80, with provisions to handle four-axle railcars with 315,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight and a total capacity of at least 1,300,000 lbs." http://www.bdrry.com/2010%20Raritan%20R ... %20RFP.pdf

The RFP says the project was to be finished in Dec 2010. What ist the status? JS

pumpers wrote:

Ken W2KB wrote:
286,000-lb. or heavier, see BR&W RFP: "The scope of this project is a “Design and Build” to upgrade the bridge to an industry standard Cooper rating of E-80, with provisions to handle four-axle railcars with 315,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight and a total capacity of at least 1,300,000 lbs." http://www.bdrry.com/2010%20Raritan%20R ... %20RFP.pdf

The RFP says the project was to be finished in Dec 2010. What ist the status? JS

Like most things government funded, I suspect there are delays. Not the same project, but I've heard the State wants to widen Route 31 which would mean the replacement of the 1920's era CNJ bridge over that road.

And if you would like to preserve the bridge, its yours. All you have to do is move it. The State does have "some" funds available to assist in the moving costs but who ever wants it is resposible for the balance.

SecaucusJunction wrote:The problem is, that even if you are wildly successful and manage to keep those three customers plus gain 20 others, you're still not going to make a dent in the traffic problems along the highways in Morris County. It's the same all over the country... most facilities built in the past few decades simply aren't near enough to tracks to make putting in and maintaining a siding profitable for either party involved. Sure, large facilities needing huge amounts of material are a good fit for the railroad, but facilities needing a marginal amount of material, like many in Morris County, often find it cheaper to use trucks instead of having to depend on NS installing a siding for a car or two per week. The age of local deliveries of box cars to different customers every mile along a main rail line is gone as customers have moved and rail infrastructure is just not there. Thats why the idea of a large, county owned transload facility makes some sense for Morris County. It is the same concept as intermodal, but with a much closer proximity and using general freight cars like lumber and hoppers... (general freight cars being much more profitable and efficient for a railroad than intermodal). The idea is working around the country and there is also one currently being built on Long Island after decades of freight neglect in that area.

Wow, so it turns out someone actually took my advise after all...

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/fre ... or-me.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SecaucusJunction wrote:

SecaucusJunction wrote:The problem is, that even if you are wildly successful and manage to keep those three customers plus gain 20 others, you're still not going to make a dent in the traffic problems along the highways in Morris County. It's the same all over the country... most facilities built in the past few decades simply aren't near enough to tracks to make putting in and maintaining a siding profitable for either party involved. Sure, large facilities needing huge amounts of material are a good fit for the railroad, but facilities needing a marginal amount of material, like many in Morris County, often find it cheaper to use trucks instead of having to depend on NS installing a siding for a car or two per week. The age of local deliveries of box cars to different customers every mile along a main rail line is gone as customers have moved and rail infrastructure is just not there. Thats why the idea of a large, county owned transload facility makes some sense for Morris County. It is the same concept as intermodal, but with a much closer proximity and using general freight cars like lumber and hoppers... (general freight cars being much more profitable and efficient for a railroad than intermodal). The idea is working around the country and there is also one currently being built on Long Island after decades of freight neglect in that area.

Wow, so it turns out someone actually took my advise after all...

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/fre ... or-me.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well, I don't normally post here, but that is encouraging news to say the least!! I also heard an existing customer might be increasing car loads on the Whippany Line next year too, so all this points in the right direction!! I can now see why the M&E bought new power!!

Hope the freight increase continues!!

Following the earlier discussion, any news on what weight railcars can get to the new transload site? I imagine the cars have to come up from Philipsburg on the Washington secondary, no? JS

I'm not aware of any weight restrictions on the Washington secondary, however, there is a height restriction in Phillipsburg because of South Main Street bridge. I know a few years ago there was talk of moving the switch East so the trains could go under the Black Iron bridge then on to the Washington Secondary. Maybe that will come to pass.

NYS&W142Fan wrote:I'm not aware of any weight restrictions on the Washington secondary, however, there is a height restriction in Phillipsburg because of South Main Street bridge. I know a few years ago there was talk of moving the switch East so the trains could go under the Black Iron bridge then on to the Washington Secondary. Maybe that will come to pass.

Morris County DOT addressed this issue in April 2011 with a committee presentation.

That such a straightforward project hasn't been done yet, is ridiculous.