The SIRR and RVRR V

This is exciting. I am going to Email Otto over the weekend. Maybe we can get this posted on the Home page.

I found some more pics of Wednesday's run..

http://www.norbertoksana.com/1sttrain.htm

Edit: I just wanted to add that these pics were taken by 'norbi' from the forum 'railfan.net'.. although I do wish I were there to see it.. I happened to stumble across his website, I thought I would share what I stumbled across with everyone here..

Great pictures of the test train and thanks for posting them!!!

james1787 wrote:I found some more pics of Wednesday's run..

http://www.norbertoksana.com/1sttrain.htm

Edit: I just wanted to add that these pics were taken by 'norbi' from the forum 'railfan.net'.. although I do wish I were there to see it.. I happened to stumble across his website, I thought I would share what I stumbled across with everyone here..

Som wonderful pictures! I'm jealous!!!!

I have followed the RVRR Maplewood branch (I think) from Morris Ave north towards 78 until I lost it in newer developments. Is there any portion of it left intact north of Rt 78 worth exploring? Also, did it ever cross Rt. 78 or was it severed when the highway was put in?

One more thing.... does the M&E plan to restore any portion of that line north of Morris Ave? It still looks very overgrown and it appears that they haven't touched the bridge across Morris Ave.

I don't think the RVRR bridged I-78 into Maplewood. I walked the under construction segment of I-78 in the early 1970s, and noted the end of track south of the highway.

The RVRR Maplewood terminal on Burnet Avenue was moribund in the late 1960s, I can't imagine they had much business after that.

Article in the Union County section of the Sunday Star Ledger covers M&E's run over the SIRR (nice pictures). Gordon Fuller indicates that full service will begin by November (still need crossing protection and interchange agreements with CSX and/or NS).

The article indicates that the NIMBY towns recently lost their last legal battle in federal appellate court. With that, Kenilworth and Roselle Park are no longer fighting the re-activation. Summit and Springfield have not yet officially dropped out, however, a representative from Springfield said that with the appellate court loss, they have reached "the end of the line".

RVRR work in Roselle Park is progressing slowly. As of last weekend, tie plates are down with some spikes installed on the section between Rt. 28 and Colfax Avenue. Porta-Johnnie was dropped along Valley Road near the tracks, guess they mean business.

TheBaran wrote:Article in the Union County section of the Sunday Star Ledger covers M&E's run over the SIRR (nice pictures). Gordon Fuller indicates that full service will begin by November (still need crossing protection and interchange agreements with CSX and/or NS).

The article indicates that the NIMBY towns recently lost their last legal battle in federal appellate court. With that, Kenilworth and Roselle Park are no longer fighting the re-activation. Summit and Springfield have not yet officially dropped out, however, a representative from Springfield said that with the appellate court loss, they have reached "the end of the line".

RVRR work in Roselle Park is progressing slowly. As of last weekend, tie plates are down with some spikes installed on the section between Rt. 28 and Colfax Avenue. Porta-Johnnie was dropped along Valley Road near the tracks, guess they mean business.

Here's a link to the article, while it lasts...

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/bas ... nun&coll=1

The RVRR never crossed Rt. 78. When the highway was being constructed, the railroad decided not to bridge it, as there was little or no business left on the Maplewood segment, which they then formally abandoned. I believe the last freight movement on the segment, for Maplewood Building Specialties, took place in the early 1970s, before construction cut the RVRR. The township of Maplewood lost no time ripping up the tracks, and the ROW became part of a jogging trail in Dehart Park.

There is still a segment of track in Union between Vaux Hall Rd and Rt. 78. To reach it, go to the far end of the parking lot for the technical school there. Most of the existing tracks are in back of Hollywood Memorial Cemetery. There's also a long siding, before you reach the cemetery, that used to serve a paper products company on Vaux Hall Road.

Fuller said at least seven businesses in Union have asked to have their railroad sidings restored in order to ship by rail, while a brownfields site may also have potential for rail use.

This may not make a dent in the trucking industry but it will help get a few trucks off the roads.

Metalrailz wrote:

Fuller said at least seven businesses in Union have asked to have their railroad sidings restored in order to ship by rail, while a brownfields site may also have potential for rail use.

This may not make a dent in the trucking industry but it will help get a few trucks off the roads.

At least it is a justification versus the objections that "no local businesses will be served by the reactivation."

The future of the short stretch between Morris Ave. and Vaux Hall Rd. is still the subject of speculation.

The northernmost part has been ripped out, and new homes (Francyne Way) and townhouses (Swanstrom Place) were built there.

The portion closest to Morris Ave. still runs past several commercial properties on Lousons Road that conceivably could use rail freight. However, there are plans to remove the bridge of Morris Ave. as part of a widening project, and it is unlikely the bridge would be replaced for the sake of the limited number of customers on the north side.

Rumors that the Jaeger Lumber property might be sold have led some here to speculate that a team track or some such could be built on a portion of that property. However, that is still just a rumor.

The Summit-Springfield NIMBY core alliance -- the other towns in many ways are and have been window dressing -- traditionally have loved to claim that any rail traffic, or any measure or any merit, would be limited to the ex-Staten Island Rail Road portion of the Rahway Valley rehab effort.

But Union Township and Cranford have declined to join the anti-rail bandwagon for a reason -- maybe as many as seven reasons -- making the latest claim by the august Springfield representative more questionable than ever.

The game is far from over, we keep reminding ourselves. But NJ-ARP likes the way it's evolving, yes, indeed.

Douglas John Bowen wrote:The game is far from over, we keep reminding ourselves. But NJ-ARP likes the way it's evolving, yes, indeed.

Twirling your handlebar moustache, Mr. Bowen?

We're human here at NJ-ARP. It's good political strategy in general not to gloat, and certainly not to count chickens before they hatch. But when things begin to break the way one anticipated -- and in some ways helped to precipitate -- then yes, it can be difficult to resist a touch of "sore winner" syndrome.

That's the case here with the Rahway Valley Railroad -- something NJ-ARP has pursued for 20 years, something we helped find the money for, and something that transcends our own fragile ego(s) in terms of what's needed for New Jersey's future.

And it's not solely self-serving, as well. Some of our pleasure derives from the hard work of others -- including many here on this thread -- who have succeeded in making a difference, and putting anti-rail forces on notice that "status quo ante" (post-1950) won't cut it anymore.

Not all of us have that metaphorical mustache. But our hands are warm from rubbing them with anticipatory glee ...