Late Sat. nite and still no service between Port Jervis and Suffern NY on MNRR's NJT operated NS Southern Tier LIne, nee CR, nee EL, nee Erie main line. E'bnd train Fri morn (second scheduled out of PJ) hit a tree west of Salisbury Mills and all other service was cancelled. Understand trees down across the tracks the enitre lenght. Rather than risk problems all trains have been annulled in hopes of cleaning up and operating normally by Monday morning commute. Only two trains departed Port Jervis Friday morning so equipment is there to cover. Possibly one or two additional deadhead moves late Sunday or after midnight to get all in place. (There is one deadhead and a regular train alread scheduled after midnight or Monday morning). Notice on NJT and MNRR websites tonite say service suspened Sunday, too. (I believe NYSW has a westbound (SU99) stuck near Sparta, NJ but couldn't get onto the NS Southern Tier Line anyway.) This is the worst snow conditions NJT/MNRR have had to deal with in years on any lines; LIRR has done similar battles east of Ronkonkoma and Babylon several times recently.
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Yes, but it seems that that's the only major problems they had (have).
Bus Operations, OTOH, completely shut down yesterday, but resumed at 1pm.
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As of 11:45AM Sun 2/28 bith NJT and MNRR web pages report line continues out of service for today. They point out "storm damage" as the reason but do not say what specific damages occured. Earlier reports were that trees were down across the tracks (one train damaged and annulled because of it Fri morn). But trees down could be anything from obstruction to downed power and communication lines. (Odd thing is that, at least along former EL lines, those pole lines with copper wire and glass insulators may still carry some kind of communication or signal message. Only when downed or damaged is when it is found what the line actually controls. At least that was the way it was through the Conrail years.) So whatever I say here is only speculation.
Finally finding snippets here and there as to what happend. Orange Co.NY was very hard it by the storm with up to 30 or more inches of snow. A 50 mile stretch of I84 was even closed down so you can imagine what the non superhighway paths were like. MNRR/NJT train #42 left Port Jervis at 3:52AM but became disabled around Salisbury Mills when it struck a tree which got lodged under the cab car rupturing hoses. Assumidly that would have been air hoses and was why the train stopped. Time was around 4:30AM so some newsmedia termed the train an overnight train and that those aboard had suffered the whole night on the train in a storm. That being the first train out of PJ in the morning, all others were annulled (cancelled) as it was found that many trees had fallen and in fact the disabled train could neither go forward or reverse because of the trees (and some of them were apparently buried in the quickly falling snow thus unseen). NJT did walk a party of "officials" a mile and a half from a highway crossing to the train by 10AM (some reports include GM James Meade amongst them), climbed under the train, found the broken hose or pipe and repaired it with "debris from the train" well enough to move back to the crossing. Eight passengers and crew were given a free breakfast at the Salisbury Mills F.D. Apparently 30+ inches of snow will take some slow digging and poking if downed trees are there. Being single tracked there is plenty of ROW to throw the snow except where there are sidings. I wonder about snow loadings on the two high bridges, Moodna and Woodbury, how does one safely clear them off? Otisville Tunnel is the one respite but has cuts leading into it that may or may not have gathered drifts. It is pretty old fashioned railroad and man vs storm in modern times; its been a while here in the northeast.
Also no word on NYSW movements from Campbell Hall west (last heard SU99 stuck near Sparta since Thurs. nite) nor, of course, NS local at Campbell Hall to Warwick and to Maybrook or the turn from Jersey..
Yeah, I wonder what they do about snow removal on Moodna Viaduct...
God forbid they just send a train up there to clear it and it derails... That's a long drop to the bottom...
30" of snow is no problem for a train, the shutdown is mainly because trees have fallen and damaged signal lines etc.
one train over moodna will clear that viaduct up without any additional risk.
I figured one train would clear the snow...evidently the real problem is trees hidden under the snow in addition to the damage to communication/signal lines. I assume there are quite a few crews out doing their duty today...probably line can be cleared of snow and trees as there is plenty of room off the track in most places. And with radio they should be able to dispatch ok but switches will probably be hand thrown. Would they go so far as to put people out to man block stations or would that not be necessary?
NJT reporting full service tommorow except for first train #50
MTA Service Notice Advisory from NJ TransitAlertFeb 28, 2010 07:22:34 PMPort Jervis Line will remain suspended between Port Jervis and Suffern in both directions on Sunday Feb 28, due to storm-related damage.AlertFeb 28, 2010 07:22:29 PMPort Jervis train #50 (5:55 a.m. departure from Port Jervis) is cancelled on Monday.AlertFeb 28, 2010 07:22:24 PMPort Jervis Line service will be restored Monday. Visit njtransit.com for details.
Late Sunday 2-28 NJT announced PJ service would resume for Mon 3/1 morning peak. Later still they posted that #50, the 5:55AM departure from PJ is cancelled. Unsaid is #42 at 3:52A, #44 the 4:34A, #46 at 5:05A and 48 at 5:37A would run then #52 at 6:55A, etc. Over 50 trees were removed from the tracks and generators have been placed for signals. Unknown is whether 41 will run from Hoboken at 12:40AM arriving PJ at 3:08AM or X05 from Suffern arriving at 2:02AM. Lack of equipment from either of these trains could be reason for no #50, but which one is running? Further they say off peak trains may have bustitution during the mid day.west of Harriman. At least this is how I read the announcements.
Q: (may be 'off-thread' a bit, but...) What would it cost M-NR to restore the old Erie main between Otisville and Harriman, along the "major" population centers of Middletown, Goshen, (Greycourt?), and Monroe? A much shorter route, and they are by-passing a lot of potential customers. Connecting passenger service, at Middletown, over the MNJ to Unionville? Well, just kidding there... Does anyone really live in Campbell Hall and Cornwall-S'bury Mills?
Hays
I wondered about that too, Hays. But since 184 and Super 17 lace the area, populations are outside city and village limits, plenty of malls and easy access to the "new" stations, it doesn't seem to be a problem and nothing, at the moment, would be gained. At present all parking lots are full early in the morning and trains are full for the most part. Even the 8:49AM Sat. morning train is full and often loses time on dwells. That being said, I could see a major problem should something happen especially to Moodna Viaduct and perhaps Woodbury, too. Cost of rebuilding or replacement versus cost of realigning to the old Erie passenger main would be an interesting conundrum.
Dutch...thanks for the update. NJT shows the latest on #50 but MNRR didn't. Still wonder how equipment all got in place. Did #41(?)(#69) and X05 run?
The old Main Line between Harriman and Middletown is totally obliterated in many places. It is a bike trail in Monroe through Goshen and the trail is being built points west to Middletown. There is no infrastructure left in most of Monroe, Goshen, and Chester. There are very many grade grossings (also obliterated) and hundreds of homes wayside. The bridges are in disrepair. The ballast was mined and sold by the ton to the locals. This line is simply not coming back.
Though the Graham Line may be six miles longer, the trip is shorter because it's faster and has no crossings. Moodna Viaduct might be the slowest part of the trip, actually.
CORRECTION: Stuck train stopped short of obstructing tree but in backing up the locomotive (on west end, the hind end of the eastbound train) got banged up by a tree on the tracks.
Upcoming Thursday (3/11) a Ridewithmehenry party is set to ride PJ to Sec. jct and Gladstone...join us at PJ or enroute if you wish (please try to let me know in advance). Will probably see and hear more about the route's problems and will bring back any news.
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