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  • Turning Trains at Summit...

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Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.

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 #1322713  by jetfixer170
 
Greetings all...

I have an few operational questions I'm hoping someone here can answer for me.

1) At Summit on the M&E, there are 3 tracks: 1, 2 and the wall track (I think that's the designation). Tk 1 is west, tk 2 is east and the wall track is normally used how?
2) Trains turning at Summit (63xx and/or 3xx) do so how? Do they land at the platform on tk 1 (or tk 2) and sit until the eastward return trip or are the moved west of the platform to clear up?
Do they utilize the wall track for turning as well? Because of the way the plant is configured east of the platforms, having an ewd train leaving off of tk 1 can cause some directional issues with other trains until he clears up at MILL. Ive seen some posts about turning trains west of Summit - is this a normal occurrence or only when traffic dictates?

Thanks in advance...

Jeff
 #1322722  by bleet
 
All of the answers may depend on the time of day, the other traffic or whatever special conditions may occur but generally...

West bound MidTown Direct trains that terminate in Summit will platform on track 1 then continue west past the interlocking where they layup on track 1 until they turn and head back to NY on track 2. (They are talking about building a pocket track west of the station to keep the through tracks clear when they do this.)

West bound trains from Hoboken that terminate in Summit will usually platform on the Wall Track. Depending on their return trip they may stay there or pull into the yard on the east side of the station.

The Wall track is generally just used for local moves either from Summit to/from Hoboken or from Gladstone to/from Summit although I've seen through trains from Gladstone to Hoboken stop there and even NY bound trains use that track -- again depending on what else is going on.

Stand on the platform from about 7:15 to 7:45 one morning and you'll see all of that happen and more.
 #1322861  by pumpers
 
bleet wrote:Stand on the platform from about 7:15 to 7:45 one morning and you'll see all of that happen and more.
Or, stay warm and watch from the indoor walkway over the tracks. If memory is correct (a big question) from when I lived there 40+ years ago, it has windows. There is always the Summit Ave bridge for a view of the yard, but not so warm. JS
 #1323465  by bleet
 
If you haven't seen the station in 40+ years, it's a bit different. The walkway you recall was demolished and replaced with a completely glass-enclosed one a couple of decades back when they also rebuilt and raised the platforms.

But yes to your point you can stand in the waiting area and see everything though at that time of the morning it's pretty crowded in there.
 #1323494  by pumpers
 
THanks Bleet, I do drive through Summit once very 5 years or so but not to the station. Just now I went on Google maps street view, and from the dropoff on the town green side you can get a glimpse of the new glass covered walkway. I don't remember much about the station from way back when (early 70s) but seem to recall it was pretty run down and have this recollection of the the door to the street on the town green side always squeaking. DOn't know why that would stick in my head for so long. I also see from Street View that the Maple Street and Summit Ave bridges were replaced. They used to be the classic RR overpass bridges with the big solid ironwork on both side, but now I see tall concrete walls. Maybe you can't even see over them to check out the tracks or the yard now. JS
 #1323783  by bleet
 
Yes, both bridges were replaced in the 90's I think and you can't see over the walls. The station was redone sometime in the 80's if I remember correctly. It's pretty heavily trafficked and probably could use another spruce-up but doubt that's in the cards. The Springfield Avenue bridge just west of the station has also been replaced so all that's left is the Morris Avenue bridge which is really in bad shape. (I think the work is supposed to begin this year or next.)
 #1324362  by bleet
 
NJT must have been reading my mind... one of the sets of stairs down to the island platform is being replaced this week. I'm guessing both sets will be replaced eventually.

Regarding the High Street bridge, that was redone a couple of years ago as was the Morristown line railroad bridge over Passaic Ave. Only thing left is Morris Ave which is probably the most complex since it appears there are water or sewer pipes that cross there as well. (Not to mention the traffic volume.)

Only other bridges are the railroad bridge over Springfield Ave in Northwest Summit and the Gladstone branch bridge across Passaic right before the New Providence station but I don't know of any plans to replace those.

And back to the original questions posed... yesterday morning the NYP bound train from Dover platformed as usual on track 2 at 7:45am while the late NYP bound train from Gladstone pulled across from it on the Wall Track. Many of us were trying to guess which one would pull out first... the Dover train eventually did.