For many years, my wife and I were volunteers at the Sandy Hook lighthouse. The naval docks, known locally as the Leonardo Naval Pier, were clearly visable from the top of the tower, although it was difficult to determine how many ships were present since the view was broadside to the piers and any ships at the closest pier blocked the view of the rest. We occasionally had sailers from the pier and from the ships there on our lighthouse tours. When we asked them what was happening there, we got smiles and silence. Even our very attractive young volunteers got nowhere.
In addition to being a naval installation, the piers and causeway are an integral part of a marine biology experiment. Several years ago, Rutgers University set up an experiment at a local fishing pier to see if oysters could clean up some of the water pollution in the bay. After the study began, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) ordered Rutgers to shut down the study, claiming that poachers would steal the (contaminated?) oysters and sell them, creating a health hazard.
Shortly after news of the DEP action became public, the Navy offered Rutgers the use of the pier structure for the experiment. The DEP insisted on holding a hearing to determine the "suitability" of this offer. It became obvious at the hearing that the DEP official conducting the hearing had no clue what the pier was and what it did.
Q: What is the name of the security company that you use?
A: United States Marine Corps.
Q: Do they have arrest authority if I were to sail my boat up to the oysters.
A: They won't arrest you; their orders are to shoot you.
To the best of my knowledge, the oyster beds are still there.
A significant amount of the water used in this area comes out of the lakes and rivers. That's the municipalities. I still get my water from a well.
There's been talk of putting in municipal water, but the nearest source is six miles distant, so there will be a lot of trenching just to get it here - through limestone.
There's also the matter of the cost. When they first proposed water for us, they told us it would cost us better than $600 per year - $200 for water and $400 for debt service. When I asked if the price would go down if we found additional grant funding, the answer was no. Some other source of funding would "disappear." That's when they lost my support.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
The water systems I have worked on out here have wells throughout the area served by the system. The well pumps turn on an off to maintain pressure within a range. Most new wells have variable frequency drives controlling the pump motors. Some systems also have ground level tanks and booster pumps to maintain pressure at peak times. The tanks are filled during low demand. All the wells where I have had a project had a back-up generator.
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
A lot of new higher end subdivisions around here suction standpipes installed in all their ponds even if there is regular water service hydrants.
BaltACDAnd even water towers can run out of water when there are no pumps putting 'new' water in as the 'old' water is used.
We get the local water department involved any time we get a major fire. They can kick in another pump, or let us know we need to find an alternative water source.
I was on our engine filling tankers for one fire, drafting out of a pond of about an acre and a half. Dropped the water level almost two feet...
Overmod BaltACD Overmod 54light15 But, they were not drills You're not supposed to confirm or deny that... Believe the statute of of limitations has been exceeded. But I don't believe the Navy's policy on the issue has changed...
BaltACD Overmod 54light15 But, they were not drills You're not supposed to confirm or deny that... Believe the statute of of limitations has been exceeded.
Overmod 54light15 But, they were not drills You're not supposed to confirm or deny that...
54light15 But, they were not drills
You're not supposed to confirm or deny that...
Believe the statute of of limitations has been exceeded.
But I don't believe the Navy's policy on the issue has changed...
It hasn't.
CMStPnP tree68 If you are served by a municipal water system, the same applies to you. As long as the pumps are running, you'll have water at your tap. In the suburb of Dallas where I live this issue has come up. We actually use water towers to provide the water pressure and the only surface pump houses exist in locations where no water towers were erected. So the pumps in our case fill the water towers with water and the gravity from the water in the towers maintains the pressure in some but not all cases. Each water tower is fairly massive and holds from 3-5 million gallons each.
tree68 If you are served by a municipal water system, the same applies to you. As long as the pumps are running, you'll have water at your tap.
In the suburb of Dallas where I live this issue has come up. We actually use water towers to provide the water pressure and the only surface pump houses exist in locations where no water towers were erected. So the pumps in our case fill the water towers with water and the gravity from the water in the towers maintains the pressure in some but not all cases. Each water tower is fairly massive and holds from 3-5 million gallons each.
And even water towers can run out of water when there are no pumps putting 'new' water in as the 'old' water is used.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
tree68If you are served by a municipal water system, the same applies to you. As long as the pumps are running, you'll have water at your tap.
Murphy SidingCan someone explain this sentence from an online story about that explosion? Larry? "...raging fire that took firefighters — called in from all over the county — about 11 hours to bring under control. Their job was made more difficult by the fact that the explosion had knocked out the electricity that powered the hydrants on the site. "
The hydrants themselves wouldn't be electrically powered.
However, pumps would maintain the pressure, including keeping standpipes/water towers supplied. Standpipes serve two purposes. The main purpose is to maintain a consistent pressure in the system. The second is to serve as a reservoir.
If you are served by a municipal water system, the same applies to you. As long as the pumps are running, you'll have water at your tap.
Facilities often have back-up pumps, powered by Diesel engines, possibly from back-up water supply sources.
Many cities (Detroit being one) had special hydrant systems, separate from the utility water system. These were often known as "high pressure" systems, possibly allowing firefighting to be done direct from the hydrant, without having to have a pumper to boost the pressure.
Those of us who fight fire in the country, with no municipal water, deal with this on a daily basis. We have the equipment (hoses, port-a-ponds, tankers) to deal with this. We also have water sources identified (and sometimes with drafting equipment specially installed) to allow us to put the wet stuff on the red stuff. For a major incident we might have a dozen tankers running, and thousands of feet of supply (large diameter) hose in use.
Suddenly losing that fixed resource in an area without the necessary back-up would be a problem.
mudchicken Meanwhile, over on the Delaware River just SW of New Castle, the Navy had another such facility (Army/Mill Creek south of Deemers Beach/Doddinsville) and successfully retired it - Amoco Chemical moves in and it goes BOOM! in 1980 .... end of PRR/PC/CR traffic on that branch. The long piers and most of the DuPont munitions transloading facility just disappears.
Meanwhile, over on the Delaware River just SW of New Castle, the Navy had another such facility (Army/Mill Creek south of Deemers Beach/Doddinsville) and successfully retired it - Amoco Chemical moves in and it goes BOOM! in 1980 .... end of PRR/PC/CR traffic on that branch. The long piers and most of the DuPont munitions transloading facility just disappears.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
They loved their scissors cross-overs. Nine just on the pier alone. I gave up counting the wye tracks there.
Found the same story in "The Drive " on line publication! @www.the drive.com authored by Kristin V. Shaw published 14 March 2021
I hand failed t gp back and read the OP's riginal post, and story origion! [My fault ]
I simply knew I had been there...delivered a number of times to USNWS at Colt's Neck [Earle] NJ. Back then., the pier was used to remove and load ammo supplies to docked ships.... I failed to realize that the Navy had improved and explained their, in the interveaning ( 40 or so years).facility.
Noted, in Ms. Smith's piece that the Navy has had some problems with ammunotions on their ships and ts handl;ing. THe ex[p;losion at Black Tom in 19156 and the explosion and sinking in Jan,1943 of the Destroyer, USS Turner, at the mouth of N.Y. Harbor, [loss approx 125+ SAILORS ] to mention a couple.
FTA:"...A self-described ferroequinologist (one who studies trains), Jeremy Zorek detailed the two-mile-long pier that shuttles ammunition from Naval Weapons Station Earle to warships at the monolith. The unusual structure is packed full of incredible details and Zorek broke it down for his Twitter audience with the help of Google Maps..."
So I owe Blue Streak 1 and Mr. Zoraek each, at tip of the Kromer Cap, Nice Catch!
From reading the link, it appears to me that the "3 miles" includes the length of the main pier, along with the extra arms of the trident.
Interesting...Some unrated thoughts:I'm pleased to see that the roads at the Naval installation are named after battle the USN has fought. Now I get to go down that rabbit hole on the internet to learn about Throckmorton Hill?It seems like there would be a fair amount of houses located close to that rail line. I live and work about a half mile off a BNSF mainline that hauls a lot of ethanol and fertilizer. That spooks me sometimes, but at least they're not hauling things that intentionally go boom!MSN now uses peoples' Twitter sites for news filler? I hope the author gets paid well for his work.
[quote user="JC UPTON"]
According to measurement taken in Goggle Earth, the pier at Earle is a little over 2 miles long. Landside crosses over a nearby highway...
[/quote]
I suspect that it might be[have been(?) ] slightly longer(?) I' had to back out on it several times [Ship load and Unload pier at Colt's Neck- USNWS(?) @ area off Earle Nj.] Late 1980's . The place was a hotbed of armed 'security'...
54light15But, they were not drills
When my ship would deploy to the Med in the 1970s, before we left port we would anchor out in Hampton Roads for a "nuclear weapons handling drill." But, they were not drills, not with guys with locked and loaded .45 pistols guarding the hangar deck.
from the Far East of the Sunset Route
(In the shadow of the Huey P Long bridge)
blue streak 1 Any one know more about this ammo pier 3 miles off the New Jersy coast ? This Trident-Shaped Munitions Rail Runs Three Miles Off the NJ Coast (msn.com)
Any one know more about this ammo pier 3 miles off the New Jersy coast ?
This Trident-Shaped Munitions Rail Runs Three Miles Off the NJ Coast (msn.com)
It's in Sandy Hook Bay/Lower New York Bay.
The Kings Bay Naval Base near St. Mary's, GA, is now the East Coast homeport for the Navy's guided-missile submarines (I think; some class(es) of submarines). It was originally built as an ammunition-handling facility for the Army. I don't know how close it is to the town, but it is separated from anything else by miles and miles of empty swampy woodland. A large explosion there would annoy some alligators and birds, but it wouldn't damage anything but the base itself.
Flintlock76One thing the article left out was the REAL impetus to build the facility during WW2 was the disaster at Pearl Harbor. All those ships blowing up (Not just the USS Arizona) demonstrated it was a good idea to remove all the munitions before the ships came into harbor. The practice has been followed to this day.
The decision would have only been reinforced by this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_disaster
rixflixShades of Centralia, PA.....eh?
Obviously the people who came up with that cockamamie idea never heard of Centralia! They probably play with matches too.
Here's a similar over (mostly) the waves operation: https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p07cjvmc/the-tiny-german-island-with-a-population-of-16
It is used for passengers these days, I suspect it was originally constructed to haul materials for the stone breakwaters mentioned in the piece.
When I first saw the title for this thread I thought of Glace Bay, Cape Breton. Possible undersea coal mine trams going out 3 miles? The metalurgical coal mines, the steel mills and the wonderful surface railroading in that area are all gone now. Knowing that the mines extended under the sea, I double checked. Turns out there were 3 miles of tunnels alright but not necessarily going that distance out to sea.
If mining under the ocean sounds scary, check this out. There is apparently an enormous vein of that coal extending from Nova Scotia to Labrador. A 2010-2012 proposal was afloat (ahem) to gasify the coal by burning in situ. It would never leave the mine or perhaps more accurately, coal well, and just turn to ash.
Shades of Centralia, PA.....eh?
Rick
rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.
blue streak 1Any one know more about this ammo pier 3 miles off the New Jersy coast ? This Trident-Shaped Munitions Rail Runs Three Miles Off the NJ Coast (msn.com)
It would appear that the weapons center that sevices it is several miles distant. There is rail that runs to the piers. On Google Earth at present it shows one vessel docked at a pier and about 20 rail cars in various locations on the pier.
https://earth.google.com/web/search/Naval+Weapons+Station+Earle,+New+Jersey+34,+Colts+Neck,+NJ/@40.42911752,-74.0634028,1.61466986a,10361.67150908d,35y,-0h,0t,0r/data=CigiJgokCUH9418_HkRAEbubgOfkGERAGQetarlhgVLAIQ-CGDeyiFLA
Coming from New Jersey I certainly know about it, and the article pretty much says it all.
One thing the article left out was the REAL impetus to build the facility during WW2 was the disaster at Pearl Harbor. All those ships blowing up (Not just the USS Arizona) demonstrated it was a good idea to remove all the munitions before the ships came into harbor. The practice has been followed to this day.
Every kind of naval munition is in Earle, and I mean everything.
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