NS H-02 - sightings and reports

Bel-Del brought two switchers (units are BR&W SW1500's 1596 & 1597) to Norfolk Southern's Hudson Yard (on the PORS) today for interchange with the H76, with a third unit still pending. The plan is for H76 to take them to Allentown to be added to the H65 consist and taken to Washinton for pick up by H02. These units will be for the Dover & Rockaway River RR operation which begins next week. One unit will be delivered to Wharton for use on the Dover & Rockaway Branch, while the other will be delivered to Chester Jct. for use on the Chester & High Bridge Branches. Since these units aren't equipped with CSS as well as the RR not having qualified crews and no trackage rights (yet), they aren't allowed to operate on NJ Transit. This means that H02 will be trafficking their freight for a few months.

As for the Morristown & Erie, I personally have no idea if they will still run to Chester Jct. to interchange with NS. The loss of all three county-owned lines, as well as the loss of the Bayway Switching ops to WATCO, leaves the M&E with just their Whippany Line, which is home to three customers (I think) and many new sidings that will be used for tank car storage. I think they'll be relying solely on the Center Street Branch for all interchange.

As for H02 themselves, they had units 3010 and 3030 for power today.

Matt3010 wrote:
As for the Morristown & Erie, I personally have no idea if they will still run to Chester Jct. to interchange with NS. The loss of all three county-owned lines, as well as the loss of the Bayway Switching ops to WATCO, leaves the M&E with just their Whippany Line, which is home to three customers (I think) and many new sidings that will be used for tank car storage. I think they'll be relying solely on the Center Street Branch for all interchange.

As for H02 themselves, they had units 3010 and 3030 for power today.

I was told by a few M&E employees that they will still interchange with NS at Chester Jct. for a customer on the Whippany line, but your probably right in that the bulk of the traffic will come via Center Street. The car storage business (tankers) has been coming from NS lately, but who knows if that will continue.

blockline4180 wrote:

Matt3010 wrote:
As for the Morristown & Erie, I personally have no idea if they will still run to Chester Jct. to interchange with NS. The loss of all three county-owned lines, as well as the loss of the Bayway Switching ops to WATCO, leaves the M&E with just their Whippany Line, which is home to three customers (I think) and many new sidings that will be used for tank car storage. I think they'll be relying solely on the Center Street Branch for all interchange.

As for H02 themselves, they had units 3010 and 3030 for power today.

I was told by a few M&E employees that they will still interchange with NS at Chester Jct. for a customer on the Whippany line, but your probably right in that the bulk of the traffic will come via Center Street. The car storage business (tankers) has been coming from NS lately, but who knows if that will continue.

I'm sure the tank car business isn't going anywhere since they have installed so many sidings specifically for them. That might be the future of the M&E.

Yes, surveying stakes from around Cedar Knolls road extending to the back of Cedar Knolls plaza!

The Center St Branch is actually the Harrison Industrial Track correct? And who is M&E store chemical tank cars for in Whippany?

The Center Street Branch and The Harrison Industrial are 2 different pieces of railroad....

I hope I am not mixing things up, but I was up in Harrison in the spring and the small chemical plant on the Passaic river is gone and the Center St branch now ends around Frank Rodgers Bvd on the east side of it. Looked like no traffic crossing F R Blvd in a LONG time.

That's a shame, another industry bolts from NJ. And the center street branch having had some new ties installed all the way to that first crossing. Now CSX and M&E seem to interchange all the way at the east end of the track, and probably didn't need new ties all the way west on the branch.

Somebody correct me, but I think the Center St branch is the original ROW of what became the PRR, and in the early Morris and Essex (later the DLW) days M&E trains used the Center St bridge too. So it is real RR history being lost.

OK, the Center Street Branch is the spur that runs past the car wash, I always called it the Harrison Industrial Track. So where exactly is the Harrison Industrial Track and who does it serve?

blockline4180 wrote:

pdtrains wrote:Without BASF, I imagine H65 is down to once or twice a week. Chatter was that H02 might run to Allentown twice a week, and H65 abolished

Well not if that new shortline takes over the traffic. Reliable sources say it will be sometime 3rd of 4th quarter and get their cars in Hudson Yard.

Anything official about this yet to confirm the date or operator? J S

Does anyone know if H65 is running at all anymore? If its still going 6 days a week, the crew has got next to nothing to do.

Joseph DeLuisi wrote:OK, the Center Street Branch is the spur that runs past the car wash, I always called it the Harrison Industrial Track. So where exactly is the Harrison Industrial Track and who does it serve?

I think it might be the ex DLW spur from Harrsion,where it connects with the ex-DLW main, up to Kingsland. It is out of service north of Harrison, but might not be formally abandoned. THere are a few spurs from it reaching west towards Harrision, just north of 280 on the east side of Harrison. These might still have a sporadic customer or two , like that rigging / warehousing outfit in Harrison whose name escapes me right now, and are probably all referred to as part of the H.I.T. JS
EDIT: Google maps (from 2012) shows an active customer with 9 tanks, all hooked up to some facility at the end of one of those spurs. Google maps calls the place "Bunge MidAtlantic" and it seems to be some kind of foodstuffs processor.
2nd EDIT: (Friday 10 PM) - I must have been typing my earlier edit above at the same time Chuxter was posting about Bunge!

DLW Harrison Branch went from a wye connection to the M&E at Harrison to a wye connection to the former DL&W diesel main to Denville (now the NJT main Line to Port Jervis), at Kingsland. Used to be really busy with industry, now not much of anything left. Welcome to New Jersey.

NS serves Bunge Oil on the Harrison Industrial......The track past the Harrison Avenue bridge becomes unusable shortly after crossing the street......