Where can I catch freight rail operations on Metro north

[jpasson]

Like where does conrail and housitonic and csx interchange at and waht customers are left

[Backshophoss]

You will see freights on the Hudson line with CSX power,and on the New haven line with P+W power,
P+W uses the Danbury Branch to access their customers on the Maybrook Line near Danbury(trackage rights on HRRC)
HRRC interchanges with CSX at Pittsfield Ma(ex B+A mainline)HRRC not allowed on MNR trackage.
PAR(ex-Guilford,B+M side) has freight rights to Derby Jct on the Waterbury Branch.
As I understand it,there's no freight service on the Harlem Line between North White Plains and Wassic,
HRRC lost the freight rights,not sure about Noth White Plains to MO tower on the Harlem line.(CSX?)
Most freights run at night so as not to foul up commuter service.

Believe CSX runs a local freight out of Poughkeepsie, and possibly out of Croton west yard(aka Croton north)
and few locals out of Oak Point yard in the Bronx.

[Train2009]

On the Harlem line there is one Customer its Endico Potato in Mount Vernon.

[truck6018]

CSX will run tank cars from Croton West yard to Burnwell siding.

[RearOfSignal]

Just about every weeknight you can catch some kind of freight action on the Hudson line below Croton-Harmon. It doesn't even have to be very late, anytime after 7:30 pm you can see something interesting, local switcher, trash train, mixed freight, even Amtrak moving NJT multi's.

[Otto Vondrak]

Like where does conrail and housitonic and csx interchange at and waht customers are left

CSX local freight B-749 runs at night, originates from Croton, services customers on the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Line as far east as Darien. CSX B-750 is the one I think that runs north on the Hudson Line to service Burnwell.

CSX road freights from Selkirk down the Hudson Line to Oak Point run during the day, but there's no set schedule.

Housatonic does not interchange with CSX. Their operable track ends at Danbury station. They switch no customers on Metro-North track.

The Providence & Worcester stone trains between New Haven and Long Island are nocturnal operations in both directions now. P&W also has freight rights on the Danbury Branch, I think they switch whatever remaining customer is there in Bethel? That happens at night, too.

There's a CSX local out of Cedar Hill (New Haven) that serves customers on the New Haven Line west to Bridgeport, I don't know what it is called.

Boston & Maine/Springfield Terminal/Pan Am Railways has freight rights on the Waterbury Branch as far south as Derby Jct. There is the customer Kerite in Seymour that gets occasional service, the train is PL-1 and originates from Plainville, Connecticut.

-otto-

[AMK0123]

Just to add alittle bit. CSX has no more local out of Poughkeepsie. CSX locals operate out of the Croton West yard. B-749 is the daytime local that serves the Hudson Line. Usually I see it serving Burnwell in Peekskill (tank cars) and then running up to Chelsea (Dutchess county) to serve a lumber company (either centerbeam or box car) around mid morning and returning south around noon. There used to be a scrap dealer that would receive cars in the CNE yard (just north of Poughkeepsie station, however they have not received a car in well over a year or two. I'm not sure about customers south of Croton, but the B-749 will also serve the customers south on the line and even bring the road freights south from either Croton or Poughkeepsie if they pass there window. B-750 is the night local and serves the lower Harlem and New Haven. As for road freights, the Northbound trash train Q-703 is usually the first on the Hudson Line. I usually see that train anytime between 2130 and 2300 going through Cold Spring. The next is usually the Q-431 (southbound manifest) and then the Q-430 (northbound manifest) followed by the Q-701 (southbound empty trash train. Those other road freights I usually see rolling through between 1200 and 0330 hrs. Power for the locals is usually a pair of GP38-2, while the road freights usually have a pair of either SD60m's or SD40-2's (all ex-Conrail).

[Train2009]

In Milford there is a Waste Transfer Facility that is one of the customers west of New Haven.

[TacSupport1]

Don't the shop recieve fuel oild via tank car?

[jpasson]

I was biking up around the Putnam trail from the harlem line to Croton Harmon about 8 years ago late night and I saw a Hiosictonic train go under me on a bridge doing 40 MPG...that was 8 years ago and I now you tell me that HRC does not run on MT anymore? METRA trys to work with the freight railroads and indsutry to create jobs and there seems to be so much opertunity to create value on Metro Norths line as far as actrating industry and jobs. NJ transit has worked with Morristown and Erie and it should be donw here...what if we give one railroad like Conrail operating rights over all of MT lines?

[DutchRailnut]

Harmon ?? nope it gets it by tank truck

[SouthernRailway]

I've seen CSX freights come southbound through Tarrytown around midnight on Saturday (to Sunday) night.

[Otto Vondrak]

Yes, that would be the local.

-otto-

[AMK0123]

That would be one of the Road freights - southbound either Q-431 or Q-701. Sometimes the northbound Q-703 will run on Saturday's with garbage cars on the front end and a few manifest cars on the rear in a combination Q703/Q430.

[MNR's #1 Conductor]

Here is the freight run down on MNR. Just keep one thing in mind, with very few exceptions, most freights on MNR run after hours to avoid conflicts with passenger service. This is a line-by-line breakdown........

Hudson Line :

CSX B750 (night)/B749 (day) - Both based out of Croton West Yard, these are the the evening/day locals, the evening switches out industries on the Hudson Line in the Peekskill area, Burnwell Gas; used to work Domino Sugar in Yonkers, but Domino Sugar has not received any rail service in at least 4 or more years. Harlem Line, Tulnoy Lumber in Tremont (Bronx) and ACE Endico Foods in Mount Vernon West. New Haven Line, Marval Industries in Mamaroneck and Rings End Lumber in Darien. The day counterpart largely stays north of Croton and the Poughkeepsie area, but occasionally will make runs down to Oak Point and even on occasion switch the Harlem River Waste Transfer Facility in the South Bronx, and the B749/750 crews do occasionally also get used to cover any outlawed (surpassing the FRA mandated 12 hours on duty rules) CSX road freights (road freights will be discussed shortly). B749/750 run 5 to 6 days a week.

CSX Q430(northbound)/431(southbound) - Manifest road freight, pretty much daily, between Oak Point and Selkirk and back.

CSX Q703 - While on the Hudson Line, it runs north to Albany, but this train is a SOUTHBOUND train, Oak Point Yard & Harlem River Waste Transfer Facility to Collier VA (via Acca Yard, Richmond), runs about 5 days a week, occasionally will show up 6 days, unit trash train.

CSX Q701 - Selkirk Yard Albany to Oak Point Yard, South Bronx. Empty trash containers, though it does occasionally carry mixed manifest. Empty trash containers come off of CSX Q702 in Selkirk, Q702 runs between Collier VA and Selkirk.

Additional sections, or second sections, of the above mentioned road freight do run as needed, using either S or X prefix symbols (i.e. S430/431, X701, etc)

Harlem Line :

Virtually no real freight except when B750 works ACE Endico in Mount Vernon West and Tulnoy Lumber in Tremont, Bronx. North of Mount Vernon West, there is NO freight service, and Housatonic, who used to run on the Harlem many years back to service King Lumber in Golden's Bridge, pulled out.

New Haven Line :

CSX B750, as mentioned above, does work on the west end of the NH at Mamaroneck and Darien (Marval and Ring's End, respectively). No road freights. Cedar Hill Yard (New Haven) yard based locals B747 (day) and B746 (night) work industries on the very upper, or east end, of the New Haven Line in the Milford and Stratford area, more or less 5 to 6 days a week.

Providence and Worcester runs local CT-2 to work as needed on the Waterbury Branch (Tilcon) and at Ring's End in Bethel. Not sure how much, if any, work CT-2 does in the Danbury area. Freight is relatively devoid in Danbury. Road freight CHFP/FPCH runs more or less 3 to 4 times a week, unit stone train, between Cedar Hill Yard, New Haven CT, and Fresh Pond Yard (CSX/NYAR) in Glendale, Queens NY. This train regularly rates P&W's newly leased SD60 engines.

Housatonic is a once in a blue moon appearance in the Danbury area, if ever that often. Most industries they used to do business with in Danbury either stopped with rail service or went out of business.

That's just about everything. West Of Hudson (operated by NJT using MNR equipment) yields Norfolk Southern locals out of Campbell Hall and Suffern, and occasionally one from Croxton Yard in Jersey City. NYSW runs on the Port Jervis from roughly the Campbell Hall area thru Port Jervis (NYSW continues on the old Erie Southern Tier to Binghamton), with NYSW road freight SU-100/99, Binghamton to Park Yard, Ridgefield Park NJ and back respectively.

Hope you find this helpful. Best be a nocturnal railfan if you wanna see freight, sadly!!