NYAR Train Sighting Thread

Earlier today, a friend of mine heard a old cast Leslie in Port Jefferson Station, and saw the crossing gates stay down for about 90 seconds with no train passing by. When he returned some time later, he spotted NYAR #268 sitting in idle at the Port Jefferson West Yard (the two tracks before Rt. 112) with an unidentified freight car (likely a boxcar or centerbeam), but he was unable to get a photograph of this due to his camera breaking. When he returned to the station again later that day, the engine was gone. This is likely the first time anyone has confirmed seeing any NYAR service at Port Jefferson in person since 2006. Does anyone know what this run was for, if there will be more like it in the future, and if this could hint at a possible restoration of service to Port Jefferson?

UPDATE: I have been informed that this consist included 268 with NYAR Caboose #52 to evaluate future service to Port Jeff. Does anyone have further info on this?

The lumber yard out there wants to return to rail service, perhaps????

Teutobergerwald wrote: ↑Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:41 pm The lumber yard out there wants to return to rail service, perhaps????

I believe that's the case. I heard two people saw it in person, but I can't get further info on this run since no one got photos of it.

If that service returns out to Port Jefferson, I wonder if NYA would seek business at the St. James team track, which lost service when they stopped the run east of Kleet Lumber in Huntington ten+ years ago.

Pensyfan19 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 6:57 pm UPDATE: I have been informed that this consist included 268 with NYAR Caboose #52 to evaluate future service to Port Jeff. Does anyone have further info on this?

Funny because 268 has been oos in the shop for weeks and the 52 has been buried on track 10 in Fresh Pond since the beginning of this year...

Heard that this is a test for the sand mining operation in PJ harbor. The sand will be dredged and piped in a slurry to the rail yard and loaded onto train cars. They will be running unit trains of this sand to upstate NY. Up to 3 unit trains of 80 cars each a week. CSX will provide run though power to assist with these moves. Should be starting summer 2022 the pipeline is already in the works now.

How did a sand slurry pipeline make it through the NIMBY process? How, pray tell, are they removing the sand from the slurry and returning the water to the harbor?

That caboose train to PJ never happened...

Fannin wrote: ↑Tue Aug 17, 2021 6:59 pm Heard that this is a test for the sand mining operation in PJ harbor. The sand will be dredged and piped in a slurry to the rail yard and loaded onto train cars. They will be running unit trains of this sand to upstate NY. Up to 3 unit trains of 80 cars each a week. CSX will provide run though power to assist with these moves. Should be starting summer 2022 the pipeline is already in the works now.

does this mean… *gasps* daylight sand trains on the Hell Gate/Oak Point Link/Hudson Line?

That's a negative on the csx power & route, they're going to gather up the few remaining ex LIRR C420s, fix them up and move the sand through Penn station to NJ.

Dogbert666 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 22, 2021 12:32 pm That's a negative on the csx power & route, they're going to gather up the few remaining ex LIRR C420s, fix them up and move the sand through Penn station to NJ.

1. Isn't the train going upstate?
2. C420's can't go through penn station
3. If they don't go via Hell Gate, the *ONLY* other way would be to float the train across the harbor, and considering that it is an 80 car train and the barge is 14 cars, it cannot do that. Therefore, it HAS to go via Hell Gate.
4. Also, I would imagine CSX would provide run thru power, but I guess it could be NYA...what is very unlikely is that they will switch engines at FP yard.
5. If it doesn't take the Hudson Line, it wouldn't go thru NJ, it'd take the Housatonic to the B&A or the New Haven-Springfield Line to the B&A. No matter what, it'd go over the Hell Gate tho (and a vast majority of upstate would be served by taking the Hudson Line, hence why I think it'll take the Hudson Line.

This is hilarious

Sand mining operations from Port Jeff would be probable since there is a quarry near Comsewogue Road which used to see rail service until the late 80s. Other than that, there's Riverhead Lumber at Port Jeff and the St. James team track (and maybe a few other industries between Kleet and PJ which may be interested in establishing a rail spur.)

Hilarious but P42's have been going thru Penn Station recently. When Metro North borrowed some L-2's in the 1980's they wanted to run them into Grand Central, but they had clearance issues. The old CNJ thru Whiting, NJ has had track work not long ago, that may be the source for the tunnel project. What would the sand be needed for?