Salem County Line - Swedesboro to Salem - Operated by: West Jersey, SRNJ, US Rail, SMS

rr503 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 01, 2022 1:18 pm Pretty sure A&E stone isn't getting service this summer because NS refused to haul the stone from Birdsboro to Winslow thanks to their crew shortage/the short haul and low margin nature of stone traffic.

As for Salem: they were really close to landing a new plastics plant there a few years back but the deal fell through. Concretely, there's an ongoing project to use the Port of Salem as a staging point for offshore windfarm installs which could conceivably bring some traffic depending on the sourcing of the turbine components. Less concretely, there's been talk of the soil company on the Salem waterfront using rail, as well as potential port rail access improvements and rail-to-barge aggregates transloading at the port. These concepts should give some hope, but I definitely wouldn't be sitting at the edge of your seat.

The issue is, the Port of Paulsboro is so close to the Port of Salem, and is also bigger and has better infrastructure as is, that Salem gets the poop end of the stick.

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 01, 2022 1:24 pm Also, in recent times Conrail was bringing the stone trains to Winslow. 38G brought it to Camden and Conrail took it onwards. 62X, the direct train, was abolished years ago.

For sure, but that alas does not change NS’s calculus that the added cost/crew-hours of serving this traffic is something they’re not willing to absorb at the moment.

JohnFromJersey wrote: The issue is, the Port of Paulsboro is so close to the Port of Salem, and is also bigger and has better infrastructure as is, that Salem gets the poop end of the stick.

Yup, and for the things where proximity matters a lot (eg aggregates) Salem has pretty poor inland connectivity, at least for rail shipments. Thanks to the way SJ rail geography works, Paulsboro is closer to ~all generators of potential rail-to-ship traffic, and is on a much better equipped and cheaply run line to boot. You’ll need an industry on the branch itself for anything to happen, and aside from potential windmill traffic I’m frankly quite unsure as to what that might be.

Does anyone know what the Port of Salem's numbers are in regards to how much freight they handle?

An excellent question. I went to the south Jersey Port Authority's web site and it does not break out business by port. But it's clear Paulsboro and Camden are getting the vast majority of the cargo business. Salem is the poor stepchild and you have to ask why millions of dollars are going to be poured into the Salem Branch rail line. I'd love to photograph Salem Branch action and steam passenger specials but what is the business case for rebuilding this Branch? https://www.southjerseyport.com/2021-ca ... sey-ports/

Another thing to consider is what Salem mainly deals with vs the other nearby ports. Salem mainly gets aggregate barges and intermodal exports to Bermuda. They want to use the Port of Salem as an assembly zone for offshore wind turbines, but I don’t know if anything has come of that yet.

Some of the offshore turbine components are still said to be planned to be assembled at Paulsboro, but PSEG and Orsted entered into an agreement with the State and have committed to perform the majority of fabrication of the offshore turbine components and structures in a new facility "New Jersey Wind Port" to be located adjacent to the PSEG nuclear generating stations in Lower Alloways Creek Township in Salem County. One reason cited for that location is that there is no height restriction unlike north of the Delaware Memorial Bridge of 174 feet. That affords much more flexibility in the size of the wind structures that can be assembled and transported by barge. Info here: https://www.nj.gov/windport/ and https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/na ... m/3223409/

Thanks, Ken. Very informative article But I'm still wondering what business the wind turbine assembly will generate for the rail line.

It says the turbines are being built next to the nuclear power plant a few miles away. No rail connection there…

More news -- 90 acres in Pilesgrove have been purchased for "railroad use". Here is the link to Trains magazine article: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... -trackage/

A lot of land being purchased, but not specifically stated what SMS will be using it for.

I’m all for the passenger excursions but I hope they bring some freight back.

Adding to the mix of activity in the area: "Repauno Port & Rail Terminal along the Delaware River in Greenwich Township is set to become the region’s first cable manufacturing facility. . . . Repauno is strategically located on more than 1,600 acres, with truck, marine and rail access"

https://www.nj.com/opinion/2022/08/hist ... inion.html

The rendering in the article is placed on top of what appears to be the old Anchor Glass Plant. Good location.

Hopefully this is a shot in the arm for this line!

Ken W2KB wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 11:46 am Adding to the mix of activity in the area: "Repauno Port & Rail Terminal along the Delaware River in Greenwich Township is set to become the region’s first cable manufacturing facility. . . . Repauno is strategically located on more than 1,600 acres, with truck, marine and rail access"

https://www.nj.com/opinion/2022/08/hist ... inion.html

Interesting. Quite a spurt of possible economic development in Salem/Gloucester with possible rail service. Hope something comes out out all these proposals.

You do realize the Repauno Port & Rail Terminal is along the Pennsville line and not the Salem one. The Anchor Glass Plant was along the Salem River, not the Delaware.

Rail movement south of Woodbury on the Salem line in the past 48 hours. First train since July 5th.