Trenton question

Just found this site recently, and hope that someone can help satisfy a curiosity.

A year or so ago, I went through Trenton on the NEC. Just after we left the Trenton station going towards NYC, I noticed a stretch of track with what appeared to be new catenary curving off on the left side of the train. It didn't seem to be connected to the NEC trackage. What was it? I thought that it may have had something to do with the River Line, but that route would have been on the other side of the train, and th eother end of the station area.

Dick

It sounds like you're describing Barracks Yard, which used to be the passenger car storage area for Trenton. I believe it was also a freight yard in Pennsy days (back when the NEC had freight)

By the way, the River LINE doesn't have catenary. Nor does it have third rail. It's diesel powered.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/118 ... 4128uUIrQu

The short center section is the power car.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/118 ... 9973RUqSfQ

http://community.webshots.com/photo/247 ... 4597egcrma

I don't really think that spur with the catenary has anything to do with Barracks Yard. that might be a freight line. I do remember seeing a NS local on that section of track.

Track 5 is wired to Ham, and just east of it, (to MP55) and the south leg of the wye for the Bordentown Sec was wired at one time, the poles and some of the wire is there, but it's not new and not energized.

Track 5 is a main track, but is next to the 4 "main" tracks, 1 to 4, adn is more like a siding (feels like it too - 30mph speed limit, and quite bumpy), so it has its own cat poles in a lot of places - maybe thats what you saw?

Are you sure it was north of Trenton? There's new catenary for the Morrisville storage yard which would be on the left side of the train but that's just before Trenton station. I can't think of any other new wire in that area.

I've been looking at terraserver, and as far as I can tell, the track I saw might have been the south leg of the wye just before Whitehead Rd. I have no idea what the RR location or milepost would be. I grew up in the Trenton area but didn't do a lot of exploration of the old PRR. I'm a lot more familiar with the Reading West Trenton line.

When I look at the terraserver image, there appears to be new ballast on the south leg that ends just short of where it would have connected with the NEC. That fit with what I remember seeing - there was relatively new ballast, the catenary, and it did stop short of connecting with the NEC. Now, when I say "new", I mean something other than the old PRR stuff. For all I know, it could have been erected ten years ago. But I don't think what I saw was older than that.

Dick

Just before Whitehead Rd is the Millham Branch, originally built in 1876 by the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company to connect their old main line along the D&R canal to their much straighter new main line (both of which had been built by the Camden and Amboy Railroad as their Trenton Branch).
Closer to downtown is a connection between the two main lines, mainly built for Bel-Del traffic to get to the new line.

If he is heading towards New York after Trenton and it is on the left it might be the Princeton Spur at Princeton Junction.

themallard wrote:If he is heading towards New York after Trenton and it is on the left it might be the Princeton Spur at Princeton Junction.

That makes sense too; the Dinky is electric...

Absolutely not Princeton Jct. I am familiar with Princeton Jct., and the Princeton Spur comes off from the other direction.

What I saw was quite close to Trenton station. When I look at the topo map on terraserver, I see a track curving off to the left just north of the station. That, I assume, was the connection to the Bel-Del that SPUI mentioned. Then there's a yard- Coalport? Or Barracks? A bit further along, there's another track curving off to the left as the south leg of a wye just south of Whitehead Rd., and I'm almost positive that's the track I saw with relatively new catenary and ballast.

Back to the map, the tail of the wye continued around to the left and connected to another yard alongside of the freeway. Continuing through that yard also gets you to the Bel-Del.

Dick

themallard wrote:If he is heading towards New York after Trenton and it is on the left it might be the Princeton Spur at Princeton Junction.

I believe the first connector (Bel-Del extension) goes to Coalport, and the second goes to Barracks.

Just east of Trenton at MP 55 is the beginning of what is left of the former Bordentown Secondary (now called the RiverLINE) This is a Conrail (SAA) piece of territory. The track continues to loop around all the way to cross over the NEC (now the light rail) just west of Trenton station. This portion of rail serves three customers: Certified Steel, Mercer Wrecking, and The Trenton Times.

rawilkes wrote:Absolutely not Princeton Jct. I am familiar with Princeton Jct., and the Princeton Spur comes off from the other direction.

What I saw was quite close to Trenton station. When I look at the topo map on terraserver, I see a track curving off to the left just north of the station. That, I assume, was the connection to the Bel-Del that SPUI mentioned.

Just north of the Trenton station, this connection and the tracks between main line and the tracks along Route 1 are gone. This was indeed the main connection from the BelDel (which used to take off from the southwest end
of these tracks along Route 1)
and the main line. I think there is even new construction (parking lot) on
top of the former right of way of this connetcion just south of clinton St.

On the main line, just north of where this wye used to be was the
Barracks yard. I don't think there is much if anythign left.
About a mile north of the former wye just
mentioned, the south leg of another wye (called the Millham branch)
still exists. As Notch8 mentioned, this sounds like the wye in question, no idea why it has new catenary The Millham branch tracks go up towards route 1 and then loop back south (west) along route 1. The BelDel used to split off of this track around
where the canal is and cross over Route 1, and the Coalport yard used to be around there.

Going southwest past coalport area, the track curves south and goes
over the NEC without a connection -- the start of the River LIne light rail,
as Notch 8 mentioned.

To service the north end of the River line (bordentown branch), I think
freight locals come out of Morrisville(?) yard in PA, cross the Delaware,
go through trenton station on the NEC, then get off on the Millham branch
at the wye in question, go north towards Route 1 and
then southwest along route 1, and then head south to cross over
the NEC onto the Riverline/Bordentown secondary.
I think this is the only physical track connection between North Jersey
and South Jersey rails that still exists.

JS