Partial Bridge Collapse at Little Ferry?

Just south of Secaucus Rd is NYSW Marion Yard, its "southern" interconnection point. Going south from there the yard connects with the Conrail Northern Running track (ex-Erie Northern RR), from which one can get into Croxton yard with a reverse move just south of County Rd . From there it is straight up the Erie (now NJT) to the Main line (or Bergen county line) and going all the way to Campbell Hall, near which the NYSW connects as part of its normal route on its way north to Pt. Jervis. (I think this is what you are describing).

A closely related alternative is that on the Erie Bergen County Line, just before highway 80 near Saddle Brook, the NYSW main line crosses it. NYSW called it "Passaic junction". I think the Erie called it "Coalberg Jct" . Anyway, heading northbound on the Erie (NJT Bergen County line) you would need a reverse move to get on NYSW northbound (timetable west bound?) to Binghamton.

Third, heading North (west), if you stayed on the Main Line instead of getting on the Bergen Count line, between the Passaic River and the Hawthorne station, in Paterson there is a connector that let's you get on the NYSW main line westbound, without a reverse move. A least, there used to be a connector - from Google maps it looks like it is still in.

None of this would use CP3. Of course all 3 of these options assume the washout and derailment at Deposit (near Hale Eddy) from the weekend has been cleaned up and the track put back in service.

Yes. Campbell Hall. Wasn't there a time when NYS&W trains needed to do a fancy reverse move to get from their NJ div to the PJ line?
It does look like the junction at Hawthorne NJ is still in use. But I seem to recall NJT doing some work to upgrade that junction when they were planning to run passenger service on the NYS&W. As I recall, there was an uncompleted stub that included switches. But I can't find it now. Maybe I was mistaken.

Yes, prior to the installation of a correctly facing connection at Campbell Hall, the NYS&W trains had to enter the former L&HR Maybrook line northeast and have the motive power run around the train. Regular procedure in the late '80's if memory serves me correctly.

And I remember those crazy meets at Sparta. No passing track, but that spur was long enough to fit a full sized stack train.
Did they ever build a real passing track there?

I just drove past the partial bridge collapse. It's slow going. The tracks are removed, but most of the old structure is still there.
A 26 car train with an old C&O Chessie caboose is lined up in the yard and looks ready to go north.

ccutler wrote:I just drove past the partial bridge collapse. It's slow going. The tracks are removed, but most of the old structure is still there.
A 26 car train with an old C&O Chessie caboose is lined up in the yard and looks ready to go north.

So, how are they 'going north'? South from CP3 over CSX/CR to CP Croxton, then reverse or run-around in Croxton, out onto the Bergen County line, up to Suffern, etc?

To answer a bunch of questions.

The bridge project at WS is to replace the approach spans. When the pilings were driven in the 1980s, they never hit bedrock, and over the last 30 years the bridge has been sinking toward the riverline side. The trestle bents have multiple shims on the riverline side and it's very apparent that it is sinking. The draw span is not part of this project. NYSW is attempting to get grant money to repair it because of its historical significance.

All traffic east of the bridge now arrives by CSX at CP3 (North Bergen) or Marion Yard (NS). All traffic west of the bridge arrives from Binghamton or Syracuse. SU-99/SU-100 currently terminate at Passaic Junction (PC) Yard.

There were a couple moves than ran with NYSW power and crews- out through Marion and over the Bergen County Line to PC yard. This is traffic destined for west of WS that had been routed to North Bergen prior to the bridge collapse.

The bridge in Hackensack is out of service for the foreseeable future. Supposedly the trestle bents are rotted just as bad at those on the drawbridge.

There are 2 locals originating at WS that meander down to Marion/North Bergen. All westbound jobs that had originated out of WS now originate at Rochelle Park, just east of PC yard.

The cars at the MC yard in Ridgefield Park are landlocked. The only way to get them out would be to move them 1 or 2 at a time out through CP5.

Hi B&M 1227, thanks for your very helpful observations and insights about the bridge!
I am missing something...why are the 26 cars in Ridgefield Park landlocked? Can't they [don't they] just come down from Passaic Junction to pick them up and service the local wax industry there?

ccutler wrote:Hi B&M 1227, thanks for your very helpful observations and insights about the bridge!
I am missing something...why are the 26 cars in Ridgefield Park landlocked? Can't they [don't they] just come down from Passaic Junction to pick them up and service the local wax industry there?

No, they can't. From what B&M 1227 said, the bridge over the Hackensack river (from Bogota) is out of service due to its serious state of disrepair.

Is there even enough room for one car between the end-of-line at the bridge and the switch at CP5? Even if there is, there would not be room enough for a locomotive, so the only way to move the cars would be to shove them towards the end-of-rail at the bridge to clear the switch at CP5, throw the switch and come in from the River line to grab the car. Of course the signal at CP5 will never clear (not even to restricting) with the broken rail and the close proximity to the switch... but then that's never been an issue before.
Matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if CSX has spiked the switch on their side of the crossover so it cannot be thrown by accident... not that the CTC would allow that, but hey... poop happens.

If the NYS&W (and CSX) decide to move those cars one at a time, it might make for an interesting YouTube vid. I'm only a few miles up the line, so I might head down there if I hear such activity on the radio...

B&M's comments about the pilings reminded me of the initial construction of I-80/95 in the early '60's in Bergen County.

That slight bulge north through Englewood and Teaneck was a result of the same Overpeck issue. Sunk in the muck along the Englewood-Leonia border are a succession of attempts, first by fill and then by pilings, to establish a stable sub-roadbed. Same problem, several unsuccessful tries, to at least a depth of 60-70 feet to find a consistently stable bottom on the direct route.

I find it troubling that the 'historic' status of the LF bridge should pre-empt its necessary - complete - replacement.
NYS&W is trying to operate a safe, efficient, and profitable railroad, not a museum!

Wow, I overlooked that comment...that the bridges both south and north of the yard are out of service. That's terrible!

Glancing over the route 80 overpass on Friday the 12th, I could see that only about 8 cars remain in the yard. I don't know what's going on or how cars are moving out of there. NYSW has one customer beside the yard that receives tank cars full of wax. The customer has equipment at the siding to heat the wax sot empty out the tank cars.
What I could see in that split second was a mix of tank cars and covered hopper, no more than 10 in total.
Any updates on the NYSW accessing their Little Ferry yard are appreciated.

Hi B&M 1227 yes thanks for all of this info. I had just asked on the SU-99/SU-100 thread post as to the status of the SU-99 and how do they detour. I had been told they are running Westbound on their own tracks at Midland Park. I now see there is no detour needed at all being the SU-99 is being made up at Passaic Junction (PC Yard area) in Saddlebrook I should have read this post more thoroughly. So therefore is the SU-99 still running a M-W-F schedule and what times do they generally depart PC Yard? Thanks.

Blocksignal.

I saw a road train with about 25 cars being switched today at Little Ferry. Obviously the northern bridge has been reopened! The old draw bridge is still being worked on and is not yet open.