NJT Brain Teasers

questions for yourselves to think about...

1.) Does anybody know the lowest point on the M&E West of Broad Street?

2.) What is the only place on NJT that has two identical mileposts?

3.) What is unique about Short Hills station than any other NJT station?

4.) What does "ALP" stand for?

5.) Where is the highest point on the M&E? and explain why!

6.) What is significant about the cruve west of Berkley Heights on the Gladstone Line.

7.) M&E question...why do they call the cross-overs CORT, DREW, PARK, BAKER?

Think about it...

I'd say the lowest point on the M&E west of Broad Street is a spot on Track 3 at Maplewood station. When I used to run train #7, The Westerner, we'd have an A-B-A lash up with 9 to 11 cars, crank it up out of Brick Church, get up to 65mph on Track 1 just east of Mountain Station, notch it way back and roll through South Orange climbing to 70, then just west of Maplewood we'd have trouble from going too fast. The curves both at and west of the station had 65 mph limits. We always exceeded both by 4 or 5 mph. And we'd coast through the first curve east of Millburn which had a limit of 65 at that time. We'd be braking a little anyway for the track 1 and 3 converge at Millburn. Then I'd start notching it up for the climb to Summit.

Re the curve west of Berkeley Heights, I'd say it is the bridge over the Passiac River while also being under the highway bridge. BTW: in 1960 someone broke the speed signboard west of the BH station (facing for westbounds). Bob Hanville, the then section crew chief, replaced it rather than fix it. He dropped it off at our house in Gillette. I have moved that thing to Pennsylvania, Georgia, back to Pennsylvania. I gave it to a friend when we moved out to Arizona, and it's in his garage in Lancaster, PA.

The DL&W had two numbers. The upper yellow diamond was the speed for the next curve. The lower one, a black rectangle, was the speed for the curve after that. These speed signboards were the brain child of Perry M. Shoemaker, when he became president. He was a fan of neatening up operations and the property. He wa proud of the legacy of the MUs running 99% on-time for entire years.

rushhour wrote:questions for yourselves to think about...

4.) What does "ALP" stand for?

According to the NJT plaque on the wall of Nwk Penn, it's "American Locomotive-Passenger."

ryanov wrote:

rushhour wrote:questions for yourselves to think about...

4.) What does "ALP" stand for?

According to the NJT plaque on the wall of Nwk Penn, it's "American Locomotive-Passenger."

funny that they are built in Europe...lol

Short Hills? No advertising.

Duplicate MPs? With no differentiation? Beats me.

DREW University.

The Italian BAKERy North of the X-over.

Never heard of CORT, though. Is it near Court X-overs East of Chatham by Atlantic Brick??

Anorexic Loco Passenger, because they're too damn light?!?

1. I would actually think it might be Broad St itself, as once you get west of the station, you are climbing most of the way west.

2. Well, there are two now. From MP 34 to 36.4 on the M&E are duplicate mileposts, as the miles west of Denville are based on milage via the Boonton Line. Also, with the Montclair Connection, there are now two MP 12s on the new Montclair Line.

3. Short Hills station is the only NJT station with no advertising billboards.

4. A = Asea Brown Boveri (Later changed to American when ABB was taken over by another company, ADTranz, I think) L = Locomotive P = Passenger.

5. Well, Port Morris is the highest point on NJT property. There are higer points on the Southern Tier, but that is not owned by NJT. However, I get the feeling that some would say that Port Morris is technically not on the M&E, and so in that case, I would think Summit.

6. Known as "dead horse curve", a dopey rider on horseback took the horse down the railroad, and tried to cross an open bridge. The horses leg fell between the ties and was stuck. The rider managed to make it off the bridge, but the horse was struck and killed by a train. There also was for some time a whistle post east of this curve indicating to westward trains to blow the horn coming around that curve. That was after a young boy was hit and killed by a westbound train while fishing from that same bridge.

7.

-Court (Yes BigC, this is by Atlantic Brick) is named for the nearby tennis courts on the south side of the railroad
-Drew is named for the nearby university in Madison.
-Park is named for the small park located next to the railroad on the north side.
-Baker is named for the nearby, and previously mentioned, bakery.

Also, for extra credit, now removed, formerly located just west of Morris Plains --
-Warner, was named for the adjcent Warner-Lampert, now Phizer.

Too bad ALP isn't flipped around to be "American Passenger Locomotive" (which sounds better anyway) because then we could call them "Apples" (APLs)!

Sirsonic wrote: -Court (Yes BigC, this is by Atlantic Brick) is named for the nearby tennis courts on the south side of the railroad
-Drew is named for the nearby university in Madison.
-Park is named for the small park located next to the railroad on the north side.
-Baker is named for the nearby, and previously mentioned, bakery.

Also, for extra credit, now removed, formerly located just west of Morris Plains --
-Warner, was named for the adjcent Warner-Lampert, now Phizer.

Yes, I'm familiar with Court crossover having used it quite a few times. I was just having fun with the typo


Speaking of extra credit, let's not forget Gold crossovers, West of Brick Church. Named for the Rheingold brewery, of course

rushhour wrote:

4.) What does "ALP" stand for?

Another Lousy Product.

"MY BEER ............ IS RHEINGOLD .............. THE DRY BEER"

:D

Thats all that my grandfather would drink - that and Pabst Blue Ribbon - a Newark raised man through and through!!!!!

bigc -

Re: 'GOLD'

Those were the only high-speed crossovers the Lackawanna had between Newark/Broad and Dover, were they not ?

AIR, they were used almost exclusively by the Phoebe Snow particularly westbound upon leaving Brick Church.

The larger/wider catenary structures continue to mark the spot of GOLD today.

BTW, never knew till today it was designated 'GOLD'.

When I hired out, Gold was just a set of handthrown X-overs equipped with catenary. Maybe they were interlocked at one time during DL&W times but I don't know for sure.

It is not totally correct to say that there are no advertising billboards at the Short Hills train station. While there are none on the platform the walkway under the tracks is lined with them on both sides.

Let me give everyone the correct answers...

1.) Mountain Station
2.) Summit, Gladstone Line and the M&E
3.) Short Hills doesnt have any advertisments
4.) American Locomotive-Passenger
5.) Port Morris....because lake Hopatcong was a man-made lake for the canal
6.) "dead horse curve"
7.) COURT = by the court of course Sorry for the typo in my last message
BAKER = the bakery
DREW = the univeristy
PARK = by the park

Hope these brain teasers had ya going. Stay tuned as to I might give out more in the future.

Take care everyone