Work on the Lodi branch?

As of Saturday afternoon, there was a NYS&W work gondola parked on the track near Elio's...Looks like work will continue this week...

i drove past a few minutes ago coming from visiting my g/f. I saw the gondola, wish i knew about them taking it across 17. Im sure someone got a little freaked out last night.

drove past tonight and the gondola is stil there. But there is an excavator too. It looks like they shoved the existing track from mccain to the cut off section closer to maccain. Im guessing to make room for the second track going in. Also there is a large pile of new rail sitting along the gondola and a whole pie of plates for the ties.

slowly its getting done, for what who knows.

Took some pics of what's been done over the last few days. Also noticed somebody took down the light post at the rt.17/gregg intersection. Crew was working on it today.

Shoved track
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=374635

New rail
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=374634

Work crew at it again today. Had a couple of guys with shovels removing debris off ties and rails. Also had truck with the claw on it removing some beatup ties and replacing with new ones. Gondola is gone.

The busiest of days since this started. The large pile of ties has been spread out across the area in smaller piles. Rails have been laid 2 at a time with the joint connector/nuts/bolts too. I wouldn't be surprised if all these rails are laid by tomorrow.

Ties were laid as close to garibaldi as possible. Only 20 feet away.

Looks like they layed down a new track all the way down to the parking lot before Garibaldi. They were working till 6:30 last night. Maybe today they'll start on the second track going down there. Wonder how many tracks in total they will add. Finally, I wonder if they will do any work to refurbish the original trackage back to essex st and beyond. It's in very sad shape, to say the least.

Second track is almost completely in to the lot behind dux paints. Only temporarily set in place with 1 plate and 1 spike every other tie. I'll see if i can get some pics when i goto the g/f's house.

and its a lil bumpy looking too. I know the ballast and what not needs to be laid but its goes up and down pretty good in some spots.

Here's some shots of the i'de say almost complete new track work.

Looks like a kiddie coaster. And that white van in the background, he was staring at me like i was a terrorist when i had my camera at my side while walking back to my truck.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=383783

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=383782

I passed by last week. The track does seem very rickety. But I guess they figure, hey, the rest of the branch is in horrible shape, this will be better, so we're ahead of the game. I do wonder who is going to use it.

Anyone know what those two platforms with equipment on it are for? You would almost think they are platforms for passegner service ala Mount Plesant on the Harlem Line (which of course they aren't).

that platform in the background has something to do with the newly installed sewer/flood control. Its only about 4x4 platform.

This may be apples and oranges, but when the RJ Corman folks installed the welded rail up in NW Bergen County, additional ballast was dumped after the rails were positioned, and soon after regulated. It may be the same procedure there, just waiting on the ballast equipment to be in the area somewhere without paying a lot of additional transportation expense.

I don't think the line in Wyckoff had seen real ballast in forty years prior to all this activity, so Lodi may have a wait.

I had a chance to pass by, and nothing much seems to have changed from the pictures posted above (probably because of Memorial Day weekend). I must admit that I too am puzzled as to the intended usage of this new double track - is it possible they will pave it over and make it a micro-transfer yard? I did notice the plant on Girabaldi to the east of the tracks (former chemical plant maybe - I forgot the name) is 'Available' (<rant on>as is seemingly every single industrial, commerical, and back-office building in the NY Tri-State Area - 'AVAILABLE!' 'CBRE!' 'FOR SALE! Zone Commerical!' '50,000sf Sublets!' 'Immediate Occupancy' and so on freaking everywhere - heh, when I was a kid growing up in the Northeast, I thought every parcel of agricultural land was for sale and I was stunned when I saw actual agricultural land WITHOUT a 'Prime Real Estate - Will Divide' sign on it. Of course, that was simply prophetic, as all agricultural land in the Northeast WAS indeed for sale, has indeed been sold, and then over the past 3 decades has been covered by rows of townhouses and gated communities... And now I am stunned to see any agricultural land, with or without a 'Prime Real Estate' sign</rant off>).
Once you get to the pre-existing switch to the plastics place, looks like no work has been done on the track (except to dump a few piles of ballast here and there, maybe with an eye to eventually tamping it in the foreseeable future).

I dont think lodi would like a waste transfer facility on top of hte garbage one they have on main st. But you never know.

2005Vdub wrote:I dont think lodi would like a waste transfer facility on top of hte garbage one they have on main st. But you never know.

I said 'micro-transfer' yard, meaning 2 tracks with pavement between them for any type of 'to-truck' transfer, like plastic or asphalt or vegatable oils etc. Trash facilities, especially MSW (solid waste), should be indoors, like the Susquehanna has in North Bergen. Too much dust, smell, particules etc otherwise.