Delaware and Raritan River Railroad-General Discussion

Well… Tom’s River has been contaminated for many years thanks to Tom’s River Chemical (Now BASF) A definite possibility.

Heard from someone else that Farmingdale to Freehold will be fully open and operating by September. Think they’ll make it by then?

Baju- I’ve been here all my life. NJ culture wasn’t always that bad but it sure has gotten that way over time in many parts of the state. I don’t think the dense population is much of a factor. It’s people’s attitudes. Maybe something in the water.

@Railcar1 Pretty much this, although I will say circumstances vary. There are areas of the state where the people are friendly. From what I’ve seen, it’s usually in areas where the population is spread out and traffic is generally light. A lot more peaceful in these areas…

"@Railcar1 Pretty much this, although I will say circumstances vary. There are areas of the state where the people are friendly. From what I’ve seen, it’s usually in areas where the population is spread out and traffic is generally light. A lot more peaceful in these areas…"

I agree with bracdude. As a lifelong resident of Monmouth County, I've seen how more people and residences equal more traffic and congestion, leading to longer wait times whether in highway traffic or checkout lines at the store, and the resulting shorter tempers and general grumpiness. "Me first" at all times, all others can wait.

Now, back to our show. I was by Southard Ave the other day but couldn't get through due to the water main work. I'm pleased to see the work being done. I always had one of those "If I had unlimited funds" dreams where I'd take over the Southern and F&JA, plus the remnants of the Camden & Amboy, and run it as a big "H" shaped system. That will never happen from my bank account, but I'm sure happy to see it come alive finally. (Yes, my dreams included running steam. Don't yours?)

I think they will make their 31 July date. Fairfield - Yellowbrook has been cleaned, needs final grading work, ties and rail. Prestone switch - Okerson Rd is ready for ties and rail. Adelphia - Southard should be a piece o cake. They are apparently doing prelim work (switch install) and stockpiling material Southard to Railroad Ave. I suspect more than one crew are working, They have 6 weeks to do it. The biggest hangup might be the timing for the Adelphia Rd. crossing.

PS Steam would really light up my life, but alas - - Just in my memories.

Are there any markouts for the railroad ave wye leg?

Will check tomorrow.

CharlieL wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 2:45 pm I think they will make their 31 July date. Fairfield - Yellowbrook has been cleaned, needs final grading work, ties and rail. Prestone switch - Okerson Rd is ready for ties and rail. Adelphia - Southard should be a piece o cake. They are apparently doing prelim work (switch install) and stockpiling material Southard to Railroad Ave. I suspect more than one crew are working, They have 6 weeks to do it. The biggest hangup might be the timing for the Adelphia Rd. crossing.

PS Steam would really light up my life, but alas - - Just in my memories.

Thanks for your factual posts.

AWSmith wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 4:16 pm Are there any markouts for the railroad ave wye leg?

No discernable markouts as of this afternoon. I suspect a wye is in future plans not covered by the contracts let according to the RFPs issued. And yes, it was marked in as a dotted line but not mentioned otherwise.

As you may know, there is a Facebook group named Freehold Secondary Railfans, and for some time I have been following the RR progress via that group too. This afternoon Pat Conover posted a new photo of the Southard Avenue crossing showing a new switch in the same spot as the old one. It seems obvious to me that they would not have installed a switch there unless they were planning to install the wye in the future. To me that is thrilling!

We are almost certainly gonna see a wye built, but I can’t help but wonder what they plan to do with the 50-100 feet of the old PRR main next to Railroad Ave. (The part that crossed the Southern going towards Sea Girt)

Would be nice to see steam in these parts. Hell, even a Doodlebug would be nice.

The closest you'll get to seeing steam around here is checking out Pine Creek's steam locomotives in storage - which haven't ran since the early 2000's.

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 11:06 am Well… Tom’s River has been contaminated for many years thanks to Tom’s River Chemical (Now BASF) A definite possibility.

Heard from someone else that Farmingdale to Freehold will be fully open and operating by September. Think they’ll make it by then?

They will highly likely make the July 31st date for the connection. Maybe that someone meant that the project + the wye being done will be in September? They have a ridiculous amount of ties on Railroad Ave to NOT build a wye anytime soon.

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 6:36 pm We are almost certainly gonna see a wye built, but I can’t help but wonder what they plan to do with the 50-100 feet of the old PRR main next to Railroad Ave. (The part that crossed the Southern going towards Sea Girt)

That's a good question. My bet is either DRRR is going to build some sort of office and storage facility there to store the engines and whatever else is needed (as well as have a base camp for the employees), or it will be some sort of transload yard. From where the PRR main ends near Railroad Ave to Southard Ave, you have quite a bit of room to put cars and whatnot there for customers to load and unload.

They had 5 for Woodhaven. 2 sheet rock loads, 3 lumber loads.

North at DCS LAKEWOOD through the apocalypse.