Railroad Bridge between Tottenville and Perth Amboy

I had posted this last night on the M&E page, but I was thinking maybe someone here can come up with something on this question.

I am aware that the SIRR has a railroad bridge that crosses Arthur Kill between Staten Island and NJ, however, I was looking at an old map of New Jersey tonight and it showed another railroad bridge south of the Outerbridge Corssing between Tottenville and Perth Amboy. I've never seen any reference to the second, southern bridge. Was there actually another railroad bridge beteen NJ and SI and is there anything left of it?

I do not believe there was ever a RR bridge there, however, there WAS ferry service, perhaps that is what the map is showing. The slips on the SI side can clearly be seen from the air when you land on runway 4L at Newark.

No railroad bridge right by the Outerbridge linking jersey with S.I. The closest railroad bridge in that vicinity does not connect S.I., but rather linking Perth amboy with S. Amboy as part of NJT's NJCL. The only railroad bridge that links jersey with Staten Island is the former B&O, which I believe will become a new Rahway Valley freight line.

Thanks for your input; I think the map is wrong. It was a State of NJ map issued by NJDOT in 1995 and it shows a rail bridge between Perth Amboy and SI. However, every other old map I checked, including some nautical charts from 1969, show a ferry there instead.

Pure conjecture, but might the refinery have had one or more submarine pipelines across to the NJ side? Could have allowed for much more effcient operations rather than necessitating trains to come all the way down the the Tottenville area?

There are an enormous number of pipeline crossings underwater in the Arthur Kill between Staten Island and NJ. There are gasoline pipelines, crude pipelines, natural gas pipelines, etc. The channel is lined with warning signs about not dropping anchor.

Has the water quality of the AK improved in Y2K ? Is this considered brackish water w/mix of fresh water and salt water species ? Are there still issues with fuel spills, sewage, and heavy metals ? I wonder if the crabs and bluefish are safe to eat.

Blockline_4111, the advisory is that you can't eat any crabs caught there at all and you can eat one blue fish per millineneum unless you are pregnant in which case you can't eat anything out of Arther Kill. The lower Hudson, Raritan Bay, and Arthur Kill are all extremely bad news for fishing. We have esentially destroyed the fishing in these areas - however, the good news is that because we can't fish those areas, the fish populations are thriving.

CGRLCDR wrote:Blockline_4111, the advisory is that you can't eat any crabs caught there at all and you can eat one blue fish per millineneum unless you are pregnant in which case you can't eat anything out of Arther Kill. The lower Hudson, Raritan Bay, and Arthur Kill are all extremely bad news for fishing. We have esentially destroyed the fishing in these areas - however, the good news is that because we can't fish those areas, the fish populations are thriving.

Yes.

On the other hand, you're probably more at risk driving to the AK than eating four or five bluefish a day for that same millenium. Make that ten millenia if you're driving after 11pm, what with all the drunks on the road.

In 1956 I took the ferry from Tottenville to Perth Amboy, then walked to the station for a ride to South Amboy to see some steam action. As I remember, there was not a small crowd getting off the train to commute over to Perth Amboy. That ferry also carried cars. I don't know when it stopped.

The Arthur Kill is essentially salt ocean water. Even Newark Bay. The Hackensack and Passaic Rivers proper have diminishing salt content as one goes upstream from south Kearny.

Water quality has improved markedly over the last couple of decades, but not to the point of safely edible marine life.

Water quality has improved markedly over the last couple of decades, but not to the point of safely edible marine life.

Absolutely. But its good to note that the quality of the Hudson around Manhattan is good enough that you can swim (as many do, they even created a "beach" downtown). I kayak the Hudson regularly and I can see the improvement even in the last six or seven years. The number of fish that will breach is amazing... and we even spotted a harbor seal out near the Verazzano (not a kayak trip for those with week hearts and backs...).
Interesting how things ARE improving, environmentally....

Ahhh, but what I would give for more "rail views" from the river. I've tried to get a few people to go with me on an AK trip, but most of them (and I tend to agree) think it'd best be done with a powered boat....

BigDell

Unless you can find a put in near AK.

pdman wrote:In 1956 I took the ferry from Tottenville to Perth Amboy, then walked to the station for a ride to South Amboy to see some steam action. As I remember, there was not a small crowd getting off the train to commute over to Perth Amboy. That ferry also carried cars. I don't know when it stopped.

The ferry service was discontinued in 1963. The ferry slip (at the foot of Smith St.) has been restored and there is a small museum there with photos of the large B&O steam ferries and the smaller diesel ones of the late '50's and '60's (the Irvington and the Orion). The smaller ones could accommodate about six cars. In the summer, it's still quite pleasant there with the rebuilt municipal marina and pier next to the ferry slip, an ice cream shop right across from the ferry slip and the good old Barge seafood restaurant down the street.

There is an old US Navy Hydrographic Office map from the WWI era that shows a floating submarine barrier or net placed at about that location (don't know that it was ever placed there but I suspect not). Could have been picked up from there, but I agree that this is likely a mis-marked ferry crossing route.

[quote="BigDell]Ahhh, but what I would give for more "rail views" from the river. I've tried to get a few people to go with me on an AK trip, but most of them (and I tend to agree) think it'd best be done with a powered boat....

BigDell[/quote]

The currents in the Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull are very difficult for small boats. I'd suspect a kayak or canoe would be even more troublesome.

Wind is also a concern. I'd suspect a small boat in the vicinity of the gasoline pipeline crossings could bring some attention, too. The downwash of a police helicopter could be a real challenge to a canoe