The SIRR and RVRR V

rvrrhs wrote:

RVRR Resurrected wrote:Someone posted a picture on the boards a while back of an old rusty switch somewhere in the thicket of overgrowth near the field...

I think if its still there you can find it about half way up from the road to the foot bridge. Because there is a switch there, one would assume that there was a spur that came off the mainline and the only reason would be for a business it serviced.

As a youth, I walked the entire Springfield portion of the RVRR. The only sidings and spurs I know of were on the Mountain Ave. side of Van Winckle's Creek--what appeared to be a passing siding on the south side of the main, and some sort of freight siding or spur on the north side, which was already overgrown with brush and trees back in the 1970s.

If there ever was a siding or spur along the edge of Meisel Field, it would have been removed prior to 1970...maybe as far back as the 1930s when the high school's field house was built.

The track to the switch is gone. But int he bursh you'll see a base for a manual switch there. I saw it 2 years ago when i walked back there to look. You can see it from the bridge. If its still there I will go take a pic..
I could be wrong, it just may be a signal.

As we sit here and wait for the first train to run the refurbished SIRT............

Has anybody thought of the possible scenario of the M&E interchanging with Shared Assets in Elizabethport?....

What does the M&E need to do to get the right to move traffic along the old Elizabeth Industrial that is currently out of Service from Aldene to the NE Corridor bridge?

They would need to get trackage rights on the Elizabeth IT from Conrail, and establish an interchange in E-Port. Once that was done, CR would likely make the M&E pay to place the industrial back in service. To do so would require some brush clearing, and maybe a little track work as it has been some time since a train ran down there...

Interesting development today........

In another thread, the M&E 18 with a Maine Central painted unit were seen heading east through Convent Station with 3 passenger cars this afternoon....

From what I understand, the first run on the SIRT will be a "media special" with officials from the county and state on board a few coaches........

hmmm....2 locomotives.......maybe one on each end later so no need to run around.....

I also noticed that all the hoppers that were stored up to Linden Ave are no longer on the SIRT main as of Yesterday, and Union County Sherrif's Office had people picking up trash near the St. George Ave road crossing yesterday.......all wishful thinking???

We will have to see where this train from today goes........could we just be days away?

markyk wrote:Interesting development today........

In another thread, the M&E 18 with a Maine Central painted unit were seen heading east through Convent Station with 3 passenger cars this afternoon....

From what I understand, the first run on the SIRT will be a "media special" with officials from the county and state on board a few coaches........

hmmm....2 locomotives.......maybe one on each end later so no need to run around.....

I also noticed that all the hoppers that were stored up to Linden Ave are no longer on the SIRT main as of Yesterday, and Union County Sherrif's Office had people picking up trash near the St. George Ave road crossing yesterday.......all wishful thinking???

We will have to see where this train from today goes........could we just be days away?

YUP, could be! Keep us informed!!

Thanks,
Steve

Has anybody thought of the possible scenario of the M&E interchanging with Shared Assets in Elizabethport?....

What does the M&E need to do to get the right to move traffic along the old Elizabeth Industrial that is currently out of Service from Aldene to the NE Corridor bridge?

"Elizabethport"... the magic words....

Actually, that is a lovely idea in terms of seeing M&E equipment running along the old ROW. I love the thought of the alco's running through Roselle, Elizabeth, the port.... wow....
Nice idea markyk! I hope it happens!
BigDell

PS - Very exciting, also, the possible test train on the SIRT! Can't wait to hear when it happens!

Re NIMBY'S fears/claims of trains hauling 'garbage' in the future....

Per another poster today on the NJ thread regarding NYSW freight SU-100....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Through Warwick, at 9:45 AM:

NYSW 3012
SIXX 47
RRPX 78

Big train, mostly trash cars..................

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Am I wrong or are 'trash/garbage trains' already running thru NJ ?

I'm guessing that 'garbage' hauling via rail would be a VERY lucrative contract for the M&E.

Tri-State Tom wrote:Re NIMBY'S fears/claims of trains hauling 'garbage' in the future....

Per another poster today on the NJ thread regarding NYSW freight SU-100....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Through Warwick, at 9:45 AM:

NYSW 3012
SIXX 47
RRPX 78

Big train, mostly trash cars..................

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Am I wrong or are 'trash/garbage trains' already running thru NJ ?

I'm guessing that 'garbage' hauling via rail would be a VERY lucrative contract for the M&E.

Tom,

Nope, your NOT Wrong! Trash train are already being hauled through Morris County via the NYSW.....CSX detours the Q404 over it now which has EPIC containers filled with NYC garbage!!!! LOL What's going on now is so hilarious!


Steve

I know I've seen them on the Lehigh Line.

I figured that it was time for a part 5.
I was wondering if anyone has seen any of the steel beams being installed yet at the NEC bridge in Linden.

Thanks CNJFAN. I was just going to start a new one. I have been try doing it around 100 posts. Please in the future wait for me so I can lock down the old tread. Thanks Mike


http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 16080805db

Does anybody have any updated status on the construction of either part of the line (SIRT or RVRR)? How about any pictures to share showing the latest?

Here's an operation question(s):

Since the SIRT line enters the RVL in a westbound direction, it would require a backing maneuver or an engine runaround in Cranford Yard before the train can proceed to the RVRR. It sounds awkward at best.

Or is it the operational plan to drop cars in Cranford Yard for p/u and transfer to a different engine that would proceed up the RVRR? The yard configuration is fairly small right now so train size would be limited.

Or is there a way the M&E will construct a reverse leg from the SIRT to the RVL eastbound(northbound)?

Or is this all in support of the previous threads that discussed running freight on the westbound RVL out to Boundbrook to possible interchange or local customers?

Weather finally cooperated and I went out this weekend and took a bunch of digitals of the RVRR and SIRT. The RVRR coverage runs from the old Kenilworth headquarters at the Boulevard south to Route 28 (South Avenue/Westfield Avenue). The SIRT coverage runs from the junction with the Raritan Valley line south to the bridge over the NEC (no work done yet on the bridge - steelwork still on the ground near the refinery).

There are 28 digitals, each running around 1 MB. The pix reside on my office hard drive. I have no clue on the best way to get them loaded to the forum. I have seen people upload individual pictures, I have also seen others re-direct member to alternate web sites that contain their pictures. I am not that computer literate, so any advice will be appreciated.

Since no one has posted any updates to what was happening on the RVRR and I had a little time available this past Sunday, I figured I would take the wife and go on up north to see things for myself.

Well there is a reason no one has posted anything. There doesn't seem to have been any progress made since the last postings (several weeks ago). I started out with the grade crossing at North Ave/Westfield Ave in Aldene. The old Horan Lumber yard where the RVRR connected to the CNJ is still overgrown with lots of building materials/debris from the current owner laying across the whole area. Nothing has been done with the grade crossing either.

The new track begins on the other side and runs out to Michigan avenue (Kenilworth) but needs ballast. There were a couple of railroad work trucks in the vicinity of Valley Rd. and Oak st. but they looked like they were being stored there. No fresh work in the vicinity looks apparant.

Once you get to the crossing at Michigan Ave., you find no work done at all. The area is completely overgrown with encroachments into the ROW as the original track crosses over and parallels Market St.

Jumping over to the grade crossing at US 22, we find no work done at all to the immediate area although I understand north of US22 has had track relaid (as according to norbi).

Further jumping up to Miesel Ave, Springfield. Although I have seen Norbi's photos of the work they have done to relay the track in the vicinity of the truss bridge, the grade crossing and the area of trackage NW of Miesel ave. looks completely overgrown. Going over to downtown Springfield, they were hosting their celebration of the Battle of Springfield. There has been no trackwork visible in the Mountain Ave. crossing area.

Later, as we passed through Summit, along Baltusrol Road (I think), we went under the existing bridge. The area along the embankment appeared to be still fully overgrown (as seen from street level).

This leads me to the following assumptions (and we all know where that path leads):

1. Springfield and Summit pose the hardest political obstacles along with the cost of replacing the other missing bridges in Summit.

2. The lack of progress in the several spots in Kenilworth and Aldene seem to be due to the encroachment by commercial concerns (not residential). I would hazard a guess that M&E has filed motions in court to relocate/"evict" the business usage off the ROW before they come plowing through with the dozers. Its easier to pick up and move a birdbath in a makeshift garden than it is to move 40' trailers and chainlink fencing without someone sueing for damages.

You are correct, CJPat, that no work at all has been done in Springfield or Summit. Besides the "toughest opposition" being the wealthier folks in those towns, there has also been an issue of governmental funding, as has been discussed here previously--in other words, said funding is not enough to rehab the entire RV from Roselle Park to Summit, and since there are relatively few potential customers on the west side of the Rahway River truss bridge, the main rehab effort has been on the Roselle Park-Kenilworth-Union portions. Speculation around here also is that the patchwork nature of the work is an attempt to squeeze out more funding, and that the M&E will use as leverage that they have completed much of the work but that it is useless since it's not connected.

The area north of Rt. 22--at least in Union--has seen some work, including brush clearing and placement of new rails and ties (no ballast yet). This includes the Morris Ave and Liberty Ave legs of the wye, which are visible from the Liberty Ave. crossing and from behind the Costco. The leg that heads toward the Rt. 22 crossing still has encroachment from Planet Honda and/or the other nearby car dealers, and from the auto wreckers.