Detours-rare over the years?

[northjerseybuff]

I was thinking about how some detour moves are rare and over the years we've had some extrememes..here are 2 that I came up with

Back under Conrail in the early 90s HX bridge on the NJT bergen county line needed to be repaired. Conrail shot all of their freights(that were operating at the time) up the MAINLINE- h
How rare was that?

Also remember when MN derailed just north of Suffern and Conrail had to detour down the NYSW because the trains were east of Binghamton aleady? ML440/TV 20 and BUOI were the trains to detour that time

Any others?

[blockline4180]

A few trains in early CR, I'd say 1980 to 1981 detoured from Croxton over the Boonton line thence down the Washington Sec. to Allentown... This was before October 1981 when CR stopped the Croxton-Port Morris turn...

[Wanderer]

My three cents for the moment...

1. 212 over the Raritan Line last weekend.
2. Detours over the Raritan Line when ALSE went on the dirt in South Plainfield due to a handbrake.
3. Washouts on the D&H Freight Main Line around Sunbury, PA back in 2002-ish. Brought detours via Southern Tier/NYS&W/CR/NS.
4. Back in the late 60's (the historians can fill in the details) after the hurricane flooded some of the EL, a bunch (including the Phoebe Snow) detoured via the LV at Philipsburg and beyond.

[sixty-six]

A few trains in early CR, I'd say 1980 to 1981 detoured from Croxton over the Boonton line thence down the Washington Sec. to Allentown... This was before October 1981 when CR stopped the Croxton-Port Morris turn...

That must have been a sight to see, freights over DB!

[Jtgshu]

The last train I personally saw go over DB was a freight, and a pretty good sized one too - I dunno where it was going/coming from, but it was a sight to see. I think the next day was when they swung the bridge open for the last time......

[peconicstation]

Someone may remember just what caused the NEC to be shut down, but back in the early Conrail years (76), either a acccident or breakdown(s) caused the NEC to be shut at rush hour.

At this point Raritan/Phillipsburg trains were getting through, and some very quick thinking dispatchers lined up a detour route for the former CNJ Bay Head trains. They were routed via Hunter to Aldene, then onto the CNJ main, over the CNJ main to E-port, down the Perth Amboy branch, and finally onto the the coast line to start making their stops.

Needless to say a detour route that today would require some massive track repairs to the CNJ main between Aldene and E-port.

Ken

[henry6]

You could write a whole series of books on "railroad detours"! Hurricane Hazel of 1955 I believe, sent all Eastern roads scrambling but worst hit seemed to be the DL&W in the Poconos. This resulted in Phoebe Snow detours via the LV via Hazelton to P'brg. Also, and I have RDG orders, DL&W freight via Harrisburg! LV and Erie also had damages then.

Erie used to detour over the DL&W when something fouled the Delaware. There is an old, and unconfirmed, Railroad Magazine repoart of the NYC 20th Century over the LV's Dushore line during a late 30's flood.

The question is how far back do you want to go. And how much research do you want to do. But volumes are possible.

[Tri-State Tom]

Back in the 50's-early 60's, the ERIE Greenwood Lake branch would often get flooded down in the meadows.

Eastbound commuter trains led by RS3's and GP7's hauling Stillwell coaches would terminate at Walnut St. station in Montclair where folks would board a fleet of Public Service busses for the short ride over to the Lackawanna's grand 6-track Montclair Terminal. Once there, 6 and 8-car MU extras were waiting on tracks 4,5 and 6 to run EXPRESS to Hoboken.

The moves were reveresed for the evening westbound commute.

THAT was something to see as a youngster !!

[Wanderer]

You could write a whole series of books on "railroad detours"! Hurricane Hazel of 1955 I believe, sent all Eastern roads scrambling but worst hit seemed to be the DL&W in the Poconos. This resulted in Phoebe Snow detours via the LV via Hazelton to P'brg. Also, and I have RDG orders, DL&W freight via Harrisburg! LV and Erie also had damages then.

I knew someone would come up with it! That's what I was trying to think of in my number 4 detour from my previous post! Thanks Henry! I have a copy of someone's production on the LV that includes footage of the EL detours at various places, including turning The Snow on the wye in Hazelton for one reason or another. I think they say it was due to the awkward routing.

[RAHWAY VALLEY]

During June 1978 Conrail piled-up a freight train along the Northeast Corridor in Metuchen. Amtrak detoured trains via several odd-ball routes, including at least two trains running via the Aldene Ramp, Raritan Valley Line to CP Brook, and the Trenton Line to Philly. The most interesting Amtrak detours operated via the North Jersey Coast Line to ESSAY, the Amboy Secondary via Brown's Yard to Jamesburg then to Monmouth Junction and back onto the Northeast Corridor. Those trains operating via Brown's Yard were powered by GG1s. Photos of those detours were published in the Tri-State RHS Block Line sometime in 1978.

[henry6]

You could write a whole series of books on "railroad detours"! Hurricane Hazel of 1955 I believe, sent all Eastern roads scrambling but worst hit seemed to be the DL&W in the Poconos. This resulted in Phoebe Snow detours via the LV via Hazelton to P'brg. Also, and I have RDG orders, DL&W freight via Harrisburg! LV and Erie also had damages then.

I knew someone would come up with it! That's what I was trying to think of in my number 4 detour from my previous post! Thanks Henry! I have a copy of someone's production on the LV that includes footage of the EL detours at various places, including turning The Snow on the wye in Hazelton for one reason or another. I think they say it was due to the awkward routing.

Pics abounded at the time with newspapers and TRAINS magazine. But The LACKAWANNA Magazine had quite extensive coverage in one or two issues.

And we can't forget Agnes of '72 forcing EL reroutes to Syracuse and west over PC. Then there was the ICC enforcement of PC interchange at Maybrook after the Pkpski Bridge fire by forcing a PC turn Utica to Binghamton to hold the tariff! I better stop here because I am both out of state and outside the forum.

[Wanderer]

Cool. Thanks again Henry. The ELH&TS is beginning to put up back issues of Lackawanna magazine from the era. Hopefully that issue is among them. I'm still looking. Hurricane Hazel hit in October 1954 by the way, if anyone wants to look for themselves.

Here's the link:
http://companypubs.elhts.org/magindex.cgi?LACK

[myfavscr]

RAHWAY VALLEY wrote:

During June 1978 Conrail piled-up a freight train along the Northeast Corridor in Metuchen.

Here are photos of that wreck I found on the Metuchen/Edison Historical
Societys website.

http://www.jhalpin.com/metuchen/wreck.htm

[nick11a]

Last year or so, 212 I think ran the NEC once during some bridge work on the Lehigh.

[pdtrains]

Here's one for you....

Late 1960's NYSW was OOS in patterson area.

NYSW "road" freights, with 2 GP18's elephant style,

ran (eastbound) Hawthorne, connector to the EL main, back up
to WJ, track 4, then forward down BC line to BT.

Westbound was opposite.

Trains operated westbound at 10am or so, and eastbound around 4pm.

As for freight on the "NJT main", or over DB
This was a daily occurrence up till late 70's