Mystery siding near Annandale

[raced1111]

Always wondered about this but always forgot to ask.

In Annandale on the NJT, just North of I-78 there are the remains of a siding. Google map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&g ... 3&t=h&z=17

Was this siding used for the youth correctional facility, or was there some other building there before?

[CAR_FLOATER]

Sorry, but I'm not seeing what you are seeing....Can you be more specific? Also, I know of no "mystery" spur, but that means nothing, either.

CF

[pierrerabbit]

I don't see a siding, but thats where the main goes to two tracks, towards High Bridge. Maybe thats what you're seeing.

[CarterB]

Way back when, (late 19th Cent.) a siding in Annandale just South of Main St., but not where the now I-78 overpass is that I know of.

[CJPat]

Using HistoricAerials.com, you will see the siding as early as the 1972 photo but not in the 1963 photo. It is crystal clear in the 1988 photo immediately (map) north of the I-78 overpass over the railroad right where Raced1111 was showing. The 1995 photo has horrible resolution so you can't see anything.

At the end of the siding is a small building and a wide parking lot. It looks like some kind of small freight station. I can't tell what the other few structures are that are within a few hundred feet.

[raced1111]

I think I may have stumbled on something while looking for more info about this. See the link below:

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T ... linton|nj|

The date of this topo map isn't clear, but note the purple line curving off the RVL just north of I78, right where I have seen rail while passing by on the highway. You can make out a few hash marks indicating that this is track. Based on what I know about topo maps, purple lines and structures indicate things added since the last topo map was made of the area. I78 is shown in purple, which means it was new in this map. Perhaps this was a temporary siding put in place during the construction of I78?

If any of you ever get the chance, look closely at this spot the next time you pass it. It will be easy to see this time of year.

Maybe this thread would be better in the New Jersey Railfan or NJT forums?

*EDIT* I posted this before seeing the post by CJPat above.

[IRN750]

The siding I believe you are talking about was for a power company I don't remember which one but they got electric generators in there and also some poles the siding wasn't used very often at least in my time. If it was used for anything prior to that I don't know about it. It only held a few cars and swung away from the main so they could unload the cars without fouling the main tracks

[CarterB]

I stand corrected. Historic Aerials are clear, as are a very zoomed in view from Live Search Maps It would appear that the area around where the 'freight house' was is a large paved area (still there today). The tracks are still showing on the Live Search map as in place by the paved pad, but not where the stub curved into the main. The only road leads directly and only to the Correctional facility, so perhaps for a construction project there??

[pierrerabbit]

I never realized it was there. Too bad it was never extended to the garbage transfer station just East of its location, they could be hauling trash/recycling out of there.

[pierrerabbit]

Edit: sorry, I duped this by mistake

[CJPat]

After re-examining the 1972 Aerial phot on HistoricAerials.com, I am starting to think since the track clearly runs up along the entire length of asphalt pad, the "small freight house" may actually be a box car on the siding.

What I find interesting is that the property looks like it belongs to the prison and has so since atleast 1956. It looks like they did some minor excavation in the area - possibly digging up big rocks for the convicts to break into little rocks? - more likely they neded a small source of fill for somewhere else on the property.

There was never anything more than a dirt road that connected to the asphalt pad. The question is what would justify dragging asphalt machinery all the way "back there" to pave a pad in the first place? Why wouldn't a gravel pad be sufficient? Evidently the justification didn't warrant paving the road.

The tracks look like they were only used for about 20+ years. Perhaps the prison was importing enough of a product to justify periodic railcars? (or maybe they were exporting license plates). Does anyone have any archived CNJ or Conrail documents that shows revenue in terms of how many cars/yr were spotted at the prison? (the switch was pulled after 1988).

[Zeke]

I belive that was the original High Iron siding your describing,it runs almost paralell to the west bound lane of I-78 for a few hundred feet. Ithink it was Ross Rowlands first place before he bought the Lebanon station.There was a building back along 78 also on that property. I will ask one of my CNJ buddies about it.