oil trains for Linden

I read that Sirsonic posted on Trainorders that NS is supposed to deliver the first oil train to Linden (on the Linden branch) today.
Any updates? Just a first time trial or will they be every day or so now?
JS
I apologize if there is already an north Jersey oil thread...

Driving along Lower Road yesterday I saw one of those portable highway signs saying something agbout trains crossing the road starting Monday. Guys were still working on the racks yesterday when we drove by.

kilroy wrote:Driving along Lower Road yesterday I saw one of those portable highway signs saying something agbout trains crossing the road starting Monday. Guys were still working on the racks yesterday when we drove by.

Where exactly are the racks? Thx, JS

Lower Rd in Linden? Is this coming off the NEC by the old GM plant, then? Where would this be going? Intrigued!

The NSLehighLine yahoo group mentioned the train symbol as 66Z, supposedly in Bethlehem this morning; nothing further as of 1530 hours.....

BigDell wrote:Lower Rd in Linden? Is this coming off the NEC by the old GM plant, then? Where would this be going? Intrigued!

Yes, that is the branch. The branch also connects to the Chemical Coast. My guess is the traffic will come in from that direction, since coming in from the west, no reverse move is required from the Chemical Coast and a reverse move looks to be required from the NEC. Plus staying out of the hair of NJT and Amtrak... On the other hand Linden Yard might serve well to stage trains for unloading.There were rumors posted a while back about one or two unit trains per day IIRC delivering oil to someone around there. Phillips comes to mind for some reason but I really don't know. We'll see...
JS
EDIT: Posts in the Yahoo group mentioned above say its going to Phillips 66.

On the other hand Linden Yard might serve well to stage trains for unloading.

My thought exactly. The yard looks good and I could see running the train in there (depending on the length) and working it from that angle. However, yes, a straight shot up the Chemical Coast probably makes more sense. Something new and fun to photograph either way.

Conrail has an arrangement with NJT to use Stiles Street Yard in the event there are flooding concerns at the MMC. I don't think they'll be staging any oil trains there.

As for the location of the racks, they are in the tank farms next to the crossing on Lower Road, which is over by the airport.

From what I can make out from other on-line groups, the Linden oil trains are up to perhaps a few times per week and will ramp up to daily as more tank cars are built.
66Z carries the inbound loads, 67Z the outbound empties, roughly 100 cars in each inbound train.

Since the loads are coming in via the NS Lehigh line and then probably the Port Reading line, there is a chance that between Manville and Port Reading Junction, a lucky photographer will catch a loaded NS oil train moving east and a loaded CSX oil train moving west passing each other -- CSX runs at least one if not more oil trains down the River line from Selkirk to NJ and then west on the Conrail Lehigh line and then the CSX West Trenton line to Philadelphia daily. (Actually, I am not sure if the CSX trains run west on the Lehigh line all the way from Oak Island to Manville or if they take the chemical coast/Port Reading line route - the latter would give even more passing opportunities.)
JS

kilroy wrote:Conrail has an arrangement with NJT to use Stiles Street Yard in the event there are flooding concerns at the MMC. I don't think they'll be staging any oil trains there.

As for the location of the racks, they are in the tank farms next to the crossing on Lower Road, which is over by the airport.

It is my understanding that Conrail ended that agreement with the start of these oil trains.

They are running pretty regularly now.Have seen two empties go through P'burg. Saw loaded train in Macungie last Friday haulin' @ss. Two NS locos on front and two more pushing at rear.Cars are easy to identify. They have shields on the ends. They also have buffer hoppers on both ends like the ethanol trains.

More Chicken Little silliness compliments of the Bergen Record:
More oil trains heading to N.J.

The article says CSX is already running 15-30 oil trains a week - that's down the Hudson River line and then southwest to the Philadephia area on the old Reading line through West Trenton. 30 a week would be more than 4 a day on average! Wow.
JS
Don't know if I am glad or not that that I moved from living next to the Reading line. I liked the view, but the whistles at the grade crossing and loco's going full out uphill shook the whole house, and traffic has more than doubled since then. (And in my case, the house was there first.)

I have yet to see any oil trains in linden yard, but the bridge over Route 1&9 always has a set of new oil tankers on it in the last few months.

You should have been there yesterday morning. I caught 66Z coming into the terminal led by a dirty black widecab and a pair of Uncle Pete's.