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Some abandon tracks by Edison Station and an Arrow for your thoughts!


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I went to meet up with a friend at Edison. Now I notice that there is like about 2 tracks and it's not really active. Was there plans to make the NEC a 6 track rail line or this was some kind of spur or something? I got pics below and maybe this can give an answer.

 

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As a thank you to reading this message, here is a Arrow 3 leaving Edison Station heading eastbound!

 

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I've seen action on that line there. Various box cars and hoppers. Saw a blue conrail caboose parked there back in 2007! Yes i have photo(s).

 

They need to replace the ties and probably rework the bridge the tracks go over.

 

That is part of a multi-access type siding that had spurs every so often to serve the customers along its length. The old J&J factory has no less than 3 of these spurs all to itself on a different segment. There are people who want to put pax on that line and have the train stop near the old J&J place, but i'd rather see Adams rebuilt and re-activated & they can use the siding track there instead where it's not separated by grade and "landscaping" from the NEC.

 

- A

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Those tracks are used by Conrail out of Metuchen Yard. Its served by ME-2 there is a customer who receives Covered Hoppers.
No. The Metuchen Yard leads are on the east side of the NE, while these tracks are on the west. These tracks originally came from Camp Kilmer (now the Timothy Christian School and partly Rutgers University) to the LV Port Reading Secondary. They were abandoned when Camp Kilmer was closed in 1949.
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Hence why I said "used by Conrail out of Metuchen Yard". Meaning the train comes from Metuchen Yard. They are still used for a portion as I and Metsfan have mentioned. I did not give a location for Metuchen yard as I thought it was irrelevant.

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uh yes they are connected to the NEC. Go to the Edison station on google maps and you will see. The tracks connect just RR west of the station. In fact if you walk the Westbound platform you could see it.

 

I don't know where your getting the Perth Amboy Branch from. Thats down by Metuchen and is abandoned except for a small portion between South Plainfield and a business park. There is also the part thats still in use to the Raritan Center.

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I think and I maybe wrong but what R44 is talking about is the old bridge that crosses the NEC just East of the Edison Station, that was once a branch that did connect with the line in the photos a little into what is presently a business park.

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Those tracks are not even connected to the NEC. They are connected to the Port Reading Secondary, not the Perth Amboy Secondary.

 

the place where the interlocking used to be is clearly visible, but you are correct, there are no functioning interlocking to bring train there unless you re-work the blocks in that area to allow for the switch. Near edison there is a connection, but it is not powered and is used by MOW equipment.

 

There is a lot of history between monmouth junction (county) and the hudson river and it's very hard to keep track of because of the trackage being privately then publicly then privately owned then in some spots de-activated in favor of an alternate route but the tracks still being there. There are 2 interlocking segments where the switches are clamped into NEC only operation that connect to these freight sidings. Amtrak has to come out and do it manually when they need to run freight on that one section between the 2 areas in question, but it is rare as there are other ways to bypass it since conrail removed several of the connectors. Freight used to be a routine sighting on the NEC, but no longer since amtrak doesn't want it on their tracks with trains going 100+ mph nearby.

 

- A

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The tracks that are in the photos are connected to the NEC! I don't know what tracks your talking about anymore...I talked to an Amtrak Engineer today along with a NJT engineer and both told me the same thing I'll quote the transit engineer after I asked him, "You bet ya! I have been held up with HP(Hudson Protect) waiting for them(ME-2) to clear the corridor and get on the siding".

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You know what, i'll just take some photos and videos tomorrow. :cool:

 

- A

 

I don't know why this Camp Kilmer talk is coming up, but the line in the pictures the line behind the Edison NJ transit Station seen here in the map is connected.

 

 

* I know the map goes only to Edison but you can do the rest.

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Those tracks are used by Conrail out of Metuchen Yard. Its served by ME-2 there is a customer who receives Covered Hoppers.

Hmm... The tracks are well west of Metuchen so idk how it can get to that yard in question

 

I've seen action on that line there. Various box cars and hoppers. Saw a blue conrail caboose parked there back in 2007! Yes i have photo(s).

 

They need to replace the ties and probably rework the bridge the tracks go over.

 

That is part of a multi-access type siding that had spurs every so often to serve the customers along its length. The old J&J factory has no less than 3 of these spurs all to itself on a different segment. There are people who want to put pax on that line and have the train stop near the old J&J place, but i'd rather see Adams rebuilt and re-activated & they can use the siding track there instead where it's not separated by grade and "landscaping" from the NEC.

 

- A

Interesting piece of info! It sounds like it's used however not so often. I notice that 1 of the stairs at Edison takes you right by those tracks and I see plenty of people going through there. Across from the stair is a dirt path that cut's through some type of field and there's another dirt path on the other side of the bridge towards the easternmost part of the westbound platform.

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Daily(not really daily but routine sounded bad) ME-2 moves to serve the spur in the pictures:

 

ME-2 comes out of Metuchen Yard enters the corridor at Lincoln(in Metuchen), uses Lincoln Interlocking in Metuchen and moves to track 4 from track 1, takes track 4 to just past the Edison Station, switch is thrown for the spur they back onto the spur switch is locked. Work is done on spur.

 

Alternatively they can and sometimes will take tracks 1,2 or 3 as far as County Interlocking in New Brunswick and reverse from there.

 

 

Metuchen Yard is just where power and cars are stored, there is no actual physical connection between this spur in photos and Metuchen Yard there is a connection via a move RR West down the NEC. On another note; Sometimes these cars are also kept in the small yard right along side the corridor until final move. This yard is in between Metuchen and Edison right along the NEC. These days it seems more cars are stored along the NEC than it used to be.

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