@CJPat there were no car stops on the night of the crash. They put ties on the track after the crash, but that’s it.
Gee, maybe it wouldn’t have happened at all if they kept another 500 feet of track open? Or use the large siding in Lakehurst to turn trains around?
But why would they do that when they could save money by cutting it off at Milepost 61 and forcing crews to figure out how to turn around 18 car trains there? Nevermind all the trouble it causes to crews and all the traffic backups it causes.
Sure SA38 screwed up, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if Conrail had spent just a little more money to keep enough track open for them to fit the whole train down there properly. Then they could have fit the entire train down there with room to spare, decreasing the chances of an accident. But no, you can only fit 8 cars down there. What if you have more than 16 cars? Gooooood luck!!
Conrail North Jersey is a complete and utter joke. If someone who actually cared or knew what they were doing was calling the shots in North Jersey this line would never have been as bad as it is now.