Who here...

Greg wrote:

better use of the Boonton-Montclair Line beyond MSU with double track to Denville

Henry,

Don't you think that it might be difficult to get a project like double tracking this portion of the line between the old DLW/Erie diamond in Mt. View and the the end of double track where the Caldwell Branch joined the NY&GL approved?

From an engineering standpoint this could be done, but at an exceptional cost and a protracted NIMBY battle. The Passaic River bridge / embankment at Willowbrook would need to be widened, as would the Peckman trestle and enbankment, the entire embankment over US 46 + I-80 would need to be widened, and a mile of track in Little Falls would be built closer to hundreds of homes.

Crisp dispatching could give you a very similar result for a total expenditure of a few hundred dollars. Extend the Little Falls MW track (under $5mn) and you'd have much of what you need.

(I'm a fan of tight, skilled dispatching. A knowledgeable DS, who understands the track and the people, is worth her/his weight in platinum. NJT tends to take a very conservative, very cautious, approach to most operations issues, which hurts ops significantly. In contrast, they take a very expansive stance toward repairs, wheel reports, maintenance, etc. Go figyah!)

edited for spelling and to expand on the issue

A good time on the Corridor was in the late 70's. You could find one of those nice spots along the line in Edison, and sit all day, not being bothered, and witness GG1s, E44s and lots of diesel freights. There were still a few sets of MP54s, also. Yes, things have changed.

Hallelujah...
Those really were great days! I treasure the pics I have from back then. Even from the 80's when the E units were still flying around and "something interesting" would occasionally appear. But the 70's were the best, no doubt about it...


Great point though, in this forum, about the lag in time... Newark - NYPenn has become a SLOW ride... almost unbearable. Add to that all the extra stops for Airport/Secaucus etc (although my morning express skips them all - yet it still crawls...). That used to be a "fly" into the city from Newark - I remember taking the last banked turns before the tunnel "at speed" and really feeling like we were moving. These days it just seems a crawl all the way through. They can rationalize and excuse it all they want, but it really is a frustrating ride anymore...
BigDell