Princeton Station (Dinky) Relocation Approved

the princeton planning board has approved the university's plan to abandon the current princeton dinky station and move it about a thousand feet down the line (away from town), in order to build a new art facility.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012 ... s_and.html

very alarming.

If that's the case, a true loss of history. The Dinky terminal has been a local fixture for about a century and many names, included Albert Einstein and Woodrow Wilson were frequent riders here (in fact Wilson left here by train in March 1913 en route to Washington for his inaugural). It is on the NJ State and National Register of Historic Places and I believe the NJ State Historic Preservation Office, local agencies and the National Trust for Historic Preservation should act soon.

Noooo! Next thing we'll know the Main Line will be abandoned for a rail trail and Hoboken Terminal will be demolished for a GAP

The station's historic character was already damaged when they installed the high platform.

No plan that they can MOVE the building itself?

keyboardkat wrote:The station's historic character was already damaged when they installed the high platform.

KBK: Princeton has had a high platform dating into PRR days...I believe the current building was actually the freight
building and the end of track was moved some feet south in the past...

1000 feet S would be a substantial move for a line that is less then three miles long to begin with...

Perhaps the aforementioned change of the Dinky to a LRT line or Busway may now be forced?

MACTRAXX

Changing the line to light rail might make sense since the prospect of freight traffic under NJT's auspices seems to be slightly less than nil. I would probably use a hybrid similar to the River Line cars and extend not just to Nassau Street but down Bank Street and, after removing the last house on the right so that I could throw the curve, have my terminal at Hullfish and Witherspoon

How much would such an endeavor cost the public? Never mind ripping down the high platform built at Princeton Junction for the Dinky. Where would this light rail vehicle be maintained?

Amtrakowitz, I'm sure we've covered your other questions in other threads, but why does converting to light rail mean they need to rip down the Dinky's Princeton Junction high platform? Trainlawyer didn't say the light rail is to be exactly the same as the Riverline. Maybe they'll pick something that can use the existing platform.

Trainlawyer wrote:How I would do it (Which of course has nothing to do with how NJ Transit would do it) would be to put the Light Rail Platform either before or after the existing platform, leaving the existing platform intact for future use. I might also consider a straight in approach with a switch near the pedestrian crossing and a stub track on the west side of the westbound station building.

PMCS, fueling, et cetera would be done from a truck alongside the current crew quarters. Cars would cycle to the River Line shops using a Form D as a track car between Trenton and Princeton Junction.

GME

Definitely a lost opportunity here, I am afraid. They should be better connecting P.U. (and town) to transit, not moving it away. JS

If anything its going in the wrong direction, it should end at Palmer square. NJT should move the line out of town and serve west windsor instead, have the line go down Princeton hightstown rd into wwp.

One thing I will say is that when I've had to take a bus shuttle from Princeton Junction to Princeton (when the Dinky was inoperative for track work or something), it was slow, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. In general, buses suck compared to trains. Princeton University is being foolish in trashing what I always thought was a somewhat unique asset to the school and the town.

Foolish though they are, Princeton could care less about such things. Since there is precedent for moving the Dinky, you may very well see it moved again to make way for even more facilities until it's no longer on campus at all. Of course, by that point, it'd be far enough away from most things that it may as well be completely removed.

fishball wrote:the princeton planning board has approved the university's plan to abandon the current princeton dinky station and move it about a thousand feet down the line (away from town), in order to build a new art facility.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012 ... s_and.html

very alarming.

A thousand feet? It's still a terrible idea, but the move is not that far.

Trainlawyer wrote: Cars would cycle to the River Line shops using a Form D as a track car between Trenton and Princeton Junction.

GME

I've learned that "never" is word that should be avoided (the MMC has never flooded, the Queens Midtown tunnel has never flooded,etc). However, if I were to take a situation and try to apply the word, I'm comfortable saying that a Light Rail Vehicle will not operate under its own power over Amtrak territory under track car rules, no matter how late at night you try.

Stranger things have happened, though.

pjb_dinky wrote:

fishball wrote:the princeton planning board has approved the university's plan to abandon the current princeton dinky station and move it about a thousand feet down the line (away from town), in order to build a new art facility.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012 ... s_and.html

very alarming.

A thousand feet? It's still a terrible idea, but the move is not that far.

Just under a fifth of a mile is not that far? Try doing it next time you have snow. (Besides, I thought it was 460 feet?)

The only thing at this point that can be made to sound positive is that it is still a bit closer to the center of Princeton than when the predecessor to today's Northeast Corridor ran alongside the Delaware and Raritan Canal.

Steampowered wrote:If anything its going in the wrong direction, it should end at Palmer square

One of Princeton's professors (specializes in transportation) suggested doing just that, albeit as a rather expensive underground project. Aside from the obvious advantages of keeping the railroad out of sight within Princeton (and possibly attracting railfans to the new "Princeton Subway"), it reduces the grade leading up to Faculty Road (would be below grade under this proposal, eliminating the current grade crossing). Not sure if actually going under the university would be palatable to the university or township, though; maybe going under University Place would be better if one were to really pursue a project of this kind. (The professor's "half" version of the idea has the Dinky going underground to the current station location, with the associated below-grade construction.)

trainlawyer wrote:Cars would cycle to the River Line shops using a Form D as a track car between Trenton and Princeton Junction

Isn't the River Line currently disconnected from the NEC? And that's quite a bit of negotiation with Amtrak to allow that kind of run anyhow.