The tracks under Rt.78 in Irvington

[myfavscr]

Took photos of the area yesterday.Anyone know if this was once
part of the Lehigh Valley? I have not been able to find any maps
showing these tracks.

I started under RT. 78.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333154

Then head north toward the abandoned Amtrak car.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333155

Here is the car burned out and tagged.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333153
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333152
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333162

The double track just past the car. You can see this track if you are
in the right lane of RT.78 west(local lanes of course).

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333165
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333164
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333150

There's another track that hugs Rt.78 . It curves west and then
south,taking it back under Rt.78.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333161
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333151
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=333149

[metman499]

Yes, it is ex-LV. Part of the Irvington branch that you see swing off of the main by the car dealership right by route 22.

[pumpers]

What you are looking at is one of the sidings that come
off the Irvington Branch (LV IIRC). The customers that are still active
are closer back towards the LV mainline -- they were discussed
in another thread here a few weeks ago
as an offshoot of the main topic I think,
I can't find the thread now. Just on the east side of Ramsey Ave, just
south of 78, off another spur of this branch, is one of the active customers, a food processro that gets tank cars IIRC

Looking on old Sanborn insurance maps, the big customer
in the section of your pictures was American Can. It was straight ahead
from the Amtrak Car. The tall smokestacks in the background
of one of the Amtrak car photos are from there.
The building seems to be still there from
satellite photos, no idea what it is now. I didn't see the
"double track" section exactly in the maps -- it was just south of the
American can site -- I guess maybe it was a spare siding to hold
cars for them.

The track that curved back south under 78 went to a small
business on the NE corner of Glenwood and Sweetland called Ceco Steel.

Interestingly, there was another spur of this maze of industrial trackage
that branched off from the the tracks going to where your photos are,
with the junction near the Ramsey Ave crossing (south of 78). The spur went north under 78 just east of where
your photos were (well, 78 wasn't there then, but that is where the spur was),
passed American Can on the east side of it, and then went west just
north of American Can, to serve an industrial building that appears
still there from google maps, east of Sager Pl., opposite the end of Young Ave. This was labelled as "Lionel Corp", "manufacturing of mechanical toys" it said. Could it be the
Lionel trains I had as a kid came from there? Someone here must know.

JS

[Sirsonic]

Yes indeed, that is the same Lionel that you know and love. They were a customer of the Lehigh Valley at one time.

[CJPat]

As far as the AMTRAK car goes...I thought there had been a business at that location that rehabbed passenger cars for private customers. I am thinking that was around the time or shortly after American Can closed (late '70's or early '80's??). I would guess that when the car company closed, that piece of rolling stock was undesireable (burned out back then?) and hence abandoned rather than sold off.

[crnrailal]

As far as the AMTRAK car goes...I thought there had been a business at that location that rehabbed passenger cars for private customers. I am thinking that was around the time or shortly after American Can closed (late '70's or early '80's??). I would guess that when the car company closed, that piece of rolling stock was undesireable (burned out back then?) and hence abandoned rather than sold off.

There was a business that rehabbed passenger cars for private customers. I worked at Kaiser where the tracks went directly thru the property up towards Bristol Myers and there used to be vintage cars going thru all the time. Worked at that location till late 80's and believe it was still rehabbing cars.

[Eric Kreszl]

Great Photos! I have seen this passenger car before but I thought there was a NJ Transit/NJDOT Coach from the 1970's. Correct me if I'm wrong


Eric

[Railjourner]

Nice pics. I was having a hard time visualizing where these photos were taken from until I saw the one with the amtrak car and the smoke stacks in the background. These smoke stacks are a commonly used visual landmark to pilots and controllers at the Newark airport. Pilots often report having the "goal posts" in sight and then over fly them on approach to land rwy 11 at Newark.