WoH Port Jervis Line Service, Studies, Work, Status

Believe me, the last thing I want to do is institute bus operations for anything. I try to avoid it, but when you are dealing with single track and outages to do bridge decks, there is really no way to avoid it. I try to reduce it by consolidating everybody's outage into one. This is a train/bus/train outage for replacing the decks of the two bridges west of Tuxedo. The next outage (weekends also) will be for rock slope work which will have bussing from Port Jervis to Harriman and then trains from Harriman.

New railroad signals going in up in Port Jervis. Looks like this line will be in tip top shape by years end

Any idea why there are full bidirectional signals now on both sides the of PA crossover in POrt (which is to say, both tracks fully bidirectional and looking like PA will now be a CP instead of a hand crossover), or why there are two new west-facing masts WITHIN (which is to say, to far east to control movement through the CP, but also only about 300 ft east of the exitsing signal that DOES contol movement east through the CP) the interlocking limits at Sparrow? Esp. considering nothing but freight uses Sparrow ever, and PA is only seldom used for either freight or px as it is, and that the new masts at Sparrow do not appear to be located in the correct or useful location/direction for any purpose, I'm not sure what they may be trying to accomplish here. I get making everything fully bidirectionally signalled, but there is some odd stuff going on beyond that. Not sure if it is MN or NS or CNYK that is driving those changes west of the passenger territory (although technically still within, or at the entrance to, the MNCR leased and dispatched trackage), but regardless it's got me scratching my head.

that's why they have bigger heads figuring this stuff out, I am sure at time, there will be bulletins for those that need to know..

I read on another forum, the station will be relocated. Maybe this is the reason for the signal changes?

To where? Moving it somewhere west of town, and essentially only accessible by car, would seem to miss the point? (of course, gov't agencies never would do THAT....)

I believe it would be in the same general area, maybe a few 100 feet west?

It would be cool if the original depot were used, but vandalism probably prompted MN to relocate the station to the west, so it's probably a moot point.

Someone said trains will use PA to access the yard instead of the yard lead now. Station platform is supposed to be on the main tracks. They also look to be putting an interlocking at the east end of the yard so I don't know exactly what is going on.

I didn't see any evidence of a second new interlcoking when I was up there.

They already have BC. 4 interlockings in what, 3 miles of track, would seem a bit excessive. Sparrow is the last installation they are doing signals on, and Sparrow is basically done- so if it's not in place now signal-wise, it's not going in.

The PA Crossovers will become CP PA. This will allow movement into and out of the west end of Port Jervis Yard. There will be three CP's, BC, PA & WX (Sparrow). There is an automatic signal that is just east of the new boards at CP PA that currently governs westward movement on track 1, but that goes away when PA gets cut in.

Is WX a spring switch or a power switch?

a spring switch in interlocking ?? doubt it.

Sparrow is a spring, like all other CP's were from Sparrow to Deposit from the 1970s onward after single tracking (Nobody-Deposit under EL ca, 1974, NObody-Sparrow under CR in 1978). According to the signal contractor, Sparrow is supposed to become (if it hasn't already, been a month or so since I've seen it) a power switch.

MTA announced a new PJ train being added to the schedule in 2015. Train will be westbound in the afternoon. That either means they'll also add an eastbound or there will be some sort of daily deadhead move. Would be great to see an early evening eastbound but he would have to meet rush hour trains on every siding.