DRIVING THROUGH PHILLIPSBURG

I haven't driven on the former Main Street [ALT-22], now [NJ-122] through P'burg since they've completed I-78, so while I had time last Monday (Pres Day), I drove the old route through town. I noticed several very high embankments, and several RR tressles though the area. On Main Street, I also passed the former Phillipsburg RR station. Can anyone give me a history of this area, such as what RRs ran there, and particularly when NJ Transit withdrew from P'Burg. I'm also interested in the nearby Boro/Town of Alpha, since such a small town had enough political power to cause a major re-route of I-78 around their town, adding mileage to route I-78.

Wzlirr,
At one time there were 5 Railroads that converged on P'burg and was pretty much the Gateway West. They were the Pennsylvania, (BelDel), CNJ, L&HR, DL&W and the Lehigh Valley. Currently there are two, the NS and the Bel Del. The embankments you see are what's left of those lines. The NS runs on the Washington secondary and the Lehigh Main and the Bel Del is currently a Tourist operation.
As far as when Transit pulled out I do not know the date but it was a number of years ago. There have been talks about Transit returning to P'burg but nothing concrete yet. If you search this forum you will find a discussion thread on Transit's possible return.
As far as Alpha's moving Rt 78, I do not know the History on that.
I'm sure there are others on this Forum that can give you a lot more information than I can.
I hope this helps a bit.

80 or 81 was the last transit train.

jtaeffner wrote:80 or 81 was the last transit train.

No, it was Dec83, January 1984.

Thoriginal plan was to put a Pburg exit in Alpha which would turn Alpha into a big traffic circle. The people wouldn't sell their homes and so the plan was changed. In the minds of the Politicos they felt turning the town into a backwater by bypassing it would be revenge. That satisfied everyone. Result: a nice little untouched town in NJ.

Thanks. I had worked with a nice woman who told me she was from a small town that I probably never heard of --- and it was Alpha --- and she was suprised that I knew where it was. I still remember driving through Phillipsburg in the early 80's on trips to the TCA convention in York PA. It's quite different now, although the old church is still standing and South Main Street looks cleaner, and I got stuck for a traffic signal every 55 feet But it was a sunny President's Day, and I enjoyed looking at the RR tressles and embankments in wonder. And Easton PA has come a lonnng way from the 80s. I hope this area begins to flourish again.

Wzlirr,
You need to come down on a weekend during the summer and take a ride on the BelDel. The coaches we use are former Susquehanna Railroad, nee LIRR commuter coaches. If you want to check it out the website is www.877trainride.com

Did the DL&W and LVRR share the elevated station on Main Street? It sits right between the two lines, just before the M&E line junction with the LVRR Main Line. And how realistic are the prospects for M&E passenger service being extended there? It wasn't all that long ago that the westernmost stop on the M&E was Dover. Then Netcong, now Hackettstown . . . seems almost inevitable.

That station was shared between the DLW and the CNJ, NS uses the CNJ route through town and over the bridge, then directly back to the LV mainline at Lehigh Jct where the 3 bridges converge, by the big rock cut (known as "Mount Ida")

It is my understanding that the Passenger service, if/when it comes to P'burg will be off the Highbridge, old CNJ line. To take the M&E would be too long a trip. It would be shorter/faster by the High Bridge line.

NYS&W142Fan wrote:It is my understanding that the Passenger service, if/when it comes to P'burg will be off the Highbridge, old CNJ line. To take the M&E would be too long a trip. It would be shorter/faster by the High Bridge line.

That would be correct, with stops in Hampton, Phillipsburg and Bloomsbury. (According to studies) - NJ Transit is considering no to actually using Phillipsburg as a terminus, more like Alpha or something to that regard. The old station depot does not have the room for their equipment.

(If someone could fill me in, that's what I got from reading old threads)

While a stop in Alpha would be a nice thing, terminating there would be foolish. The depot in Phillipsburg is in a nice location, and there could easily be enough room for a small yard there. In fact, some satellite images show the remains of an old yard there. Of course, the real advantage would be if the Lehigh Valley studies return positively and the extension goes to Pennsylvania so a yard could be had there.

The Phillipsburg extension via the M&E will likely happen eventually, but only after the RVL approach occurs.

RWERN wrote:While a stop in Alpha would be a nice thing, terminating there would be foolish. The depot in Phillipsburg is in a nice location, and there could easily be enough room for a small yard there. In fact, some satellite images show the remains of an old yard there. Of course, the real advantage would be if the Lehigh Valley studies return positively and the extension goes to Pennsylvania so a yard could be had there.

The Phillipsburg extension via the M&E will likely happen eventually, but only after the RVL approach occurs.

Problem is is that the CNJ ROW is broken in Alpha because of the lack of an I78 bridge. Yes, NJT could make an agreement up with NS and run/install a second track into Phillipsburg, but personally I think NS isn't gonna be too thrilled about that, and that sooner or later, the Lehigh LIne is going to be double tracked from PRJ west for their own operation, and aren't going to want to tangle with NJT trains, how ever minimal the interference may be. Especially if NJT were to cross the river and head west into Easton or even further into Allentown or Bethlehem. Im sure NS wants to minimize NJT tangling with their own trains.

Jtgshu wrote:

RWERN wrote:While a stop in Alpha would be a nice thing, terminating there would be foolish. The depot in Phillipsburg is in a nice location, and there could easily be enough room for a small yard there. In fact, some satellite images show the remains of an old yard there. Of course, the real advantage would be if the Lehigh Valley studies return positively and the extension goes to Pennsylvania so a yard could be had there.

The Phillipsburg extension via the M&E will likely happen eventually, but only after the RVL approach occurs.

Problem is is that the CNJ ROW is broken in Alpha because of the lack of an I78 bridge. Yes, NJT could make an agreement up with NS and run/install a second track into Phillipsburg, but personally I think NS isn't gonna be too thrilled about that, and that sooner or later, the Lehigh LIne is going to be double tracked from PRJ west for their own operation, and aren't going to want to tangle with NJT trains, how ever minimal the interference may be. Especially if NJT were to cross the river and head west into Easton or even further into Allentown or Bethlehem. Im sure NS wants to minimize NJT tangling with their own trains.

Question, if RVL services terminate in High Bridge, why do we maintain the tracks all the way to the site of the Ludlow-Asbury Station? I understand extra room for Hampton and Glen Gardner to keep trains, but why all the way to Ludlow-Asbury? Is there something out there important?

NYS&W142Fan wrote:It is my understanding that the Passenger service, if/when it comes to P'burg will be off the Highbridge, old CNJ line. To take the M&E would be too long a trip. It would be shorter/faster by the High Bridge line.

That's actually the old CNJ Main Line, the old CNJ Highbridge branch off the Main Line up to the Lake Hopatcong area disappeared years ago, save for a stretch at the northern end. Anyway, the M&E is actually only about 5 miles longer out to P'burg. Plus there is the problem of the broken CNJ ROW between Bloomsbury and Alpha mentioned above. Hackettstown to Hoboken is about two hours now, and while P'burg is another 23 miles out on the line, what is that with two intervening stops, another half hour plus? (The 2 1/2 hour trip to Port Jervis on the old Erie main line has been around forever.) Also once you have service on the RVL to Hampton, you're only 3 miles or so south of Washington on the M&E, the stop after Hackettstown.