NS to retain Lower Boonton line??

[blockline4180]

I'm very surprised about this, especially with Hartz Mountain closing and no freight traffic for over a year!

My question is what business exactly does NS expect??


http://www.baristanet.com/2010/08/railr ... _right.php

"The railroad runs some freight service on one track through the area and expects demand to grow."

"We think (a bicycle path) can co-exist with a one-track service," Webster says, "and with some alterations, a two-track service."

Norfolk Southern doesn't see it. It forecasts significant growth in freight demand and "we want to preserve as much existing rail capacity as possible"

[Ken W2KB]

(1) freight business may be under confidential plans or negotiations
and/or
(2) NS understandably posturing for exacting the maximum value in payment for the privilege of conveying the land for the trail

[blockline4180]

Probably most likely #2, sad to say!

[SecaucusJunction]

I don't think you'll see any significant freights (other than locals) in our lifetime but maybe NS is hoping for local business someday. With volitale gas prices and environmental sentiment, now is really not the time for railroads to be reducing capacity or branches to potential customers. I can't believe they think they'd ever need more than one track though.

[Roadgeek Adam]

I see honestly that a rail trail would only work west of WR. I mean, I've walked atop WR, its not a pleasant sight.


Without a lot of clearing, you won't get a bike trail past North Newark station.


I mean its overgrown to the point of no return. The rail trail could only work Forest Hill - Walnut Street honestly. Even with that I think its kind of a waste.

[Jtgshu]

Wasn't the Newark Branch given up for dead a few years ago? Now its being totally rebuilt.

What I think would be more interesting is how the ARC plans and the "Secaucus Loop" are going to be intergrated into the existing/abandoned Lower Boonton Line. Thats your answer there. If NJT makes provisions for switches and rebuilds/connects to existing track by DB draw and the connection to the freight line by West End, then there is a chance that the line will see service again - rebuilding the bridges isn't an impossible feat. However, if there are no provisions for connections to the existing trackage, then it seems like the line will be given up for dead, at least that section.

[Tommy Meehan]

As many times as I rode that line, starting back in 1967, it's sobering to see what it looks like now. Especially the second photo, thanks for posting Adam.

To me, though, it will always be 'the Greenwood Lake.'

[SemperFidelis]

NS' official Crescent Corridor map is still using the Boonton Line as its route into the east of Hudson New York metro area.

http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/ ... !620583448

I've always thought that the route was accidentally highligthed by an intern who perhaps didn't know any better but perhaps this is NS' way of saying to anyone who ends up objecting to the routing that they've had it advertised on their official site for a few years. I don't think NS would suddenly decide to use the Boonton Line rather than, or in addition to, the Lehigh Line but I've always wondered why it is they don't. The Lehigh Line is at/over capacity much of the time while the Boonton Line is barely used at all.

On the Boonton Line there are some clearence issues that would need to be addressed and significant rebuilding of the line west of Hackettstown would be required before anything could happen. The grade to Great Notch was a killer for EL through freight and nothing has changed there except better traction control and more horsepower on the locomotives. Also, the folks in Montclair would probably go simply insane if a dozen freights were to suddenly tie up their lovely town every day. I suppose the overhead wires on the electrified portions from Dover to Denville would need to be raised as would the wires through Montclair, but I can't say that for certain because I don't know all that much about the height of the wires vs. the height of a doublestack.

One way or the other, it's nice to see some strategic thinking from the good folks down at NS.

[SecaucusJunction]

Actually, on the map, it's not the Boonton Line at all that is highlighted, it's the Morristown Line through Summit. So maybe places like Morristown and Short Hills will be the places to be in the future.

[SemperFidelis]

My mistake. I thought it was the Boonton Line. Guess it's time for another eye exam.

Uh, oh... If the line is going to go through Summit then perhaps the Union County NIMBY crowd is right and the M&E is going to rebuilt the Rahway Valley to host mile long stack trains across Route 22...

You know what? Perhaps I should have a little fun with the stopthetrain.org crowd and let them in on that little "secret".

One way or the other (Boonton or Morris&Essex) I can't imgine NS ever using those routes for through freight.

[sullivan1985]

Actually, on the map, it's not the Boonton Line at all that is highlighted, it's the Morristown Line through Summit. So maybe places like Morristown and Short Hills will be the places to be in the future.

Who knows. Maybe NS has a crazy idea that they will rebuild the existing line from Phillipsburg to Hackettstown and run over the Morristown Line to Denville, over the Boonton Line to Wayne and then rebuild the old DLW Boonton Line along Route 80. Take a swing down the old Erie Main at Paterson, rip up the parking lot in Passaic and link up with the Bergen County Line!

Oh how I love inventing pipe dreams!

[Roadgeek Adam]

Actually, on the map, it's not the Boonton Line at all that is highlighted, it's the Morristown Line through Summit. So maybe places like Morristown and Short Hills will be the places to be in the future.

Who knows. Maybe NS has a crazy idea that they will rebuild the existing line from Phillipsburg to Hackettstown and run over the Morristown Line to Denville, over the Boonton Line to Wayne and then rebuild the old DLW Boonton Line along Route 80. Take a swing down the old Erie Main at Paterson, rip up the parking lot in Passaic and link up with the Bergen County Line!

Oh how I love inventing pipe dreams!

I honestly could see NJ Transit attempt the idea of extending light rail from Branch Brook Park west to Montclair, at a new Highland Avenue-Montclair (across from Bay Street by a couple blocks), stopping at Benson Street, Rowe Street, Belwood Park and Forest Hill after BBP. I would also think they could attempt a NLR extension eastward to Arlington. This direction needs a lot more glass and tree clearing. The Arlington Cut is absolutely dismal atm. In return, tie in the Newark Light Rail on a new LR extension along the Newark Branch to Paterson. I think WR with maybe 50% repairs could sustain the lesser weight of a light rail vehicle over full diesels, but I think at some point WR and DB both need to be inspected by contractors.

This would make the Boonton Line better used, and along with my proposed idea in the DL&W, Erie forum about extending from Grove Street to at least Watsessing Avenue (maybe Brighton Avenue-East Orange), the Newark Light Rail would do what the HBLR does now, connect major communities together, since my proposal would connect, Kearny, Montclair, Newark, Paterson and Harrison together and into Secaucus (pipe dream) someday as a LR line.

[blockline4180]

Actually, on the map, it's not the Boonton Line at all that is highlighted, it's the Morristown Line through Summit. So maybe places like Morristown and Short Hills will be the places to be in the future.

Hahahaha, trying to tempt me to get into the conversation huh???
If trains were to use the Morristown line then NS would have to modify every six axle engine to fit through the low clearances of Summit and Roseville cut. Forget about stacks as it would rip out the catenary from Denville all the way to west end. It would create some nice fireworks though!

Maybe if there is an atomic World War III or a federal emergency we might see NS ship some "war trains" via this route!

[SemperFidelis]

This all still begs the question: Why does NS' map remain inaccurate? Almost everyone I have reason to work with from NS knows thier railroad backwards and forwards. It doesn't seem at all like NS to have incorrect promotional material and advertisements for a project that is recieving national attention.

With the rebuilding of the Panama Canal, and the assumed shifting of traffic patterns arising therefrom, NS will eventually need a route with better capacity into and out of the New York metro area. The Southern Tier is still there and is probably a potential candidate for the future, but if they want a route to the south and west the only realistic option is upgrading the Lehigh Line. If the traffic levels warranted such an expensive move, I'm certain that NS could use the Morris & Essex or Boonton Line but I can't imagine such a massive spike in traffic occurring.

Dreamland here: If we were to just assume that there's no way the Boonton Line or Morris & Essex could be used for freight, the best option I see to expanding east-west capacity is to dump a ton of money into upgrading the Raritan Valley Line so the entire length could be used for through freight. I would guess that some stations would need gauntlet tracks and the last dozen or so miles from High Bridge to near Alpha on I-78 would need to be totally rebuilt. This only makes sense as an option (in my liittle world) because the Lehigh Line will almost always be hamstrung by the tunnel at Pattenburg. When I lived in Bethlehem, I almost never passed that tunnel on I-78 without seeing a train waiting for another to clear the single-tracked tunnel. The Raritan Valley line avoids the mountain and has room for double track, but the line would be limited by NJ Transit schedules.

Kind of got off track there...

So why is NS' website wrong?

[Jtgshu]

There are plently of routes all over the country that handle lots of freight trains but can't handle double stacks. Its not a proverbial nail in the coffin, but there are some clearance restrictions that might be on that line that would be more restrictive than other routes which would be a drawback.

However, I think NS might be holding out for more cash, and not going to give away the land. Land in Northern NJ is too expensive and ROWs are too rare to just give (donate or sell for little cash) to a trail group. Like I said earlier, how NJT handles the loop track for ARC on the lower Boonton Line from West End area to the NEC, and if there is a provision for a seperate freight track or at least a ROW for it, will show that NS is serious about keeping the route intact and the POSSIBILITY of a reactivation of service for their own needs in the future sometime.