New Jersey Freight Railfan Questions

[B&MJunkie]

Hey folks,
Trying to get back into Railfanning, but have no idea where to go to see, view, photograph and enjoy active freight trains here in NJ.
Moved here a number of years ago and let my passion slip a little bit, but now I am back and need some help.
Please let me know where I might be able to go to see some consistent freight and if you know any timetables, please send those along too!

I live in Monmouth County right now, near Red Bank.....and would be willing to do a little traveling for sure in NJ to re-ignite this passion.

Thanks for any assistance!

[lirr42]

Welcome to Railroad.net!

I don't frequent the NJ Freight lines, but from what I can deduce some good spots around NJ include the many rail yards in Hudson and Essex Counties (around Newark/Hoboken area). There's several freight yards around there and there's a pretty decent chance of seeing something buzzing around. The CSX River Subdivision (north of Hoboken along the Hudson River (west bank)) likely has lots of trains going up to Selkirk yard upstate. (one great place I've heard to photograph River Subdivision trains is Iona Island)

Another suggestion is to obtain a track map of some sort (you can PM me by clicking the icon underneath my name on the right if you'd like a detailed one of the North Jersey area, or find a more simplified one online like this) and scout out some places by Goggling some of the names you see on the maps.

Good luck!

[RailsEast]

Dude, don't do it! I've seen this addiction, er,uh, 'hobby' ruin people; today you're just 'getting back into trains', and tomorrow you're buying thousands of dollars of high-end photo equipment, and sneaking out of work to shoot NS Heritage units. And the toll it takes on family life is a whole other story ("Honey, Selkirk isn't that far, I'll see you in a couple of days").........

But....if you want to play with fire & catch some mainline action that's not too far away (45 minutes from RB), the NJ Transit station at Bound Brook is the place to start; NJ Transit tracks on one side, the Conrail Shared Assets portion of the Lehigh Line main on the other (NS & CSX freights together through this area, generally 8-10 trains from 7:00am-Noon).

If you want to start slow, catch the Conrail local (SA-31) through Red Bank every Thursday afternoon, between 3:00 and 4:30pm.

Welcome, good luck, and don't say I didn't warn you.....
Chris

[Jtgshu]

A few good places to "ease" back into it while still doing 'normal" people stuff would be at Bound Brook, there is a restaurant there (which is quite hit or miss, but overall decent lately) and you can sit outside on the old platform, which is now a seating area, and enjoy an adult beverage and food and watch trains go by.

Also, there is a nice park in Piscataway on New Market Road and the Lehigh Line grade crossing. Its easy to get to, take 287 to the Stelton Road exit, and follow Stelton to the end, and make a left, you will see park around the bend behind the lake.

Another place is Sherbans Diner is South Plainfield. Can sit on the "railfan side" of the restaurant and have lunch and catch a few trains going by.

All these places are on the Lehigh Line, so you will see only freight, except at Bound Brook, you will see NJT Raritan Valley Line trains as well.

But at each of these places, you can do "normal" stuff while getting a lil train fix....then the bug will bite and you will be like the rest of us wackos

[Ken W2KB]

A few good places to "ease" back into it while still doing 'normal" people stuff would be at Bound Brook, there is a restaurant there (which is quite hit or miss, but overall decent lately) and you can sit outside on the old platform, which is now a seating area, and enjoy an adult beverage and food and watch trains go by.

Also, there is a nice park in Piscataway on New Market Road and the Lehigh Line grade crossing. Its easy to get to, take 287 to the Stelton Road exit, and follow Stelton to the end, and make a left, you will see park around the bend behind the lake.

Another place is Sherbans Diner is South Plainfield. Can sit on the "railfan side" of the restaurant and have lunch and catch a few trains going by.

All these places are on the Lehigh Line, so you will see only freight, except at Bound Brook, you will see NJT Raritan Valley Line trains as well.

But at each of these places, you can do "normal" stuff while getting a lil train fix....then the bug will bite and you will be like the rest of us wackos

Plus you can take the train from Red Bank to Bound Brook for $21 or so dollars round-trip (less than $10 if a senior). Just buy your tickets as Red Bank to Bound Brook as a single ticket, as NJT charges only the higher of the fares to/from Newark if you do that.

[B&MJunkie]

Wow! Thanks very much to everyone who gave me a few ideas about the freight trains and possible locations to investigate.

One last question.....years ago freight traffic used to be quite active on the radio and could often be heard on many scanner channels.

Does that even happen anymore?

If so, where do I find the frequencies for those roads?

Thanks.

[bluedash2]

Wow! Thanks very much to everyone who gave me a few ideas about the freight trains and possible locations to investigate.

One last question.....years ago freight traffic used to be quite active on the radio and could often be heard on many scanner channels.

Does that even happen anymore?

If so, where do I find the frequencies for those roads?

Thanks.

If you have a little travel time to go south, there are a handful of CSAO locals in S Jersey that you also can catch every day. And you should also check out YPMOR-1 in Morrisville (part of SJ Shared Assets) on Sundays around noon or so which for the last part of the short trip runs in the street below the NEC bridge into Trenton.

[RailsEast]

160.860mhz, Oak Island west to Pt. Reading Jct. (Conrail North Jersey), 161.070mhz (NS Lehigh Line) west of Pt. Reading Jct.
160.935, Oak Island south (Conrail South Jersey, Chemical Coast) to Wood
160.800 Oak Island Yard
160.980 Pt. Reading Yard (Chemical Coast)

[Plate C]

Will any trains run tomorrow, or not on the holiday?

[LocoCam]

Will any trains run tomorrow, or not on the holiday?

Not a RR Holiday