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This freshly repainted Conrail N20 caboose made its long-awaited debut on ME-2 after being repainted in Metuchen Yard. CR 22137 had been a tagged, rusting eyesore for a decade or more. For years there was talk of restoring it to some form of Conrail blue paint. What was accomplished has exceeded my expectations! 22137 is assigned to Conrail's Metuchen Yard and is a regular feature on ME-2 as it serves customers along the Northeast Corridor between Metuchen and North Brunswick. It's worth noting that 22137 is an actual caboose and not a "shove platform". Its presence is appreciated by crews for the frequent reverse moves that this job makes. 22137 was built for the Reading Company in 1970 by International Car Corporation in Kenton, OH.
The evening rush hour is in full swing while the crew of Conrail ME-2 waits in the clear on the Millstone Industrial Track just west of Jersey Avenue. Freshly repainted caboose CR 22137 made its debut out on the Northeast Corridor on this day after being repainted in Metuchen Yard. This caboose had been a tagged, rusting eyesore for a decade or more. For years there was talk of restoring it to some form of Conrail blue paint. What was accomplished has exceeded my expectations! 22137 is assigned to Conrail's Metuchen Yard and is a regular feature on ME-2 as it serves customers along the Northeast Corridor between Metuchen and North Brunswick. It's worth noting that 22137 is an actual caboose and not a "shove platform". It is appreciated by the crew for the frequent reverse moves that this job makes. It still wears the Conrail classification N-20 and was built for the Reading Company in 1970 by International Car Corporation in Kenton, OH.
Conrail ME-2:
CSXT 6160 GP40-2 (ex-WM 4261)
A Northeast Regional is enveloped by drifting snow during the windy aftermath of a daylong snow storm. The train is running on the slower track 1 as westbound traffic is lined up on tracks 2 and 4. Delco interlocking is a relatively new installation which features a modern signal bridge with Amtrak's color position light signals in place to protect a new crossover.
A remanufactured AEM-7AC leads a Northeast Regional train west through COUNTY interlocking in New Brunswick, NJ. A barricade is set up on 4 track just west of the switch that leads to Jersey Ave station and the Millstone/Delco industrial tracks.
AMTK 948 AEM-7AC
Amtrak's southbound Silver Meteor was led out of New York Penn Station by an unusual combination of an ACS-64 and P42DC on this day. The duo is seen racing through Jersey Avenue station on 3 track. 639 must have been washed recently as it sparkled in the late afternoon sun. The diesel was most likely deadheading between terminals and was not in use.
Amtrak 97 Silver Meteor:
AMTK 639 ACS-64
AMTK 183 P42DC
Amtrak 171 slows for a station stop at New Brunswick with the Phase III wrapped unit in the lead. Back when Amtrak regional trains on the Northeast Corridor still carried names, 171 was known as The Patriot.
Amtrak 171:
AMTK 662 ACS-64 "Phase III"
Once Amtrak's northbound Crescent reaches New Jersey it becomes a glorified local, stopping at Trenton, Princeton Jct, New Brunswick, Metropark and Newark. The southbound train calls on only Newark and Trenton which is more common for long distance trains. On this day the "all stops" Crescent slows for New Brunswick station with Phase III "heritage" unit 662 in the lead.
Amtrak 20:
AMTK 662 ACS-64
Amtrak's yellow Crayola-wrapped unit, also known as Dandelion, brightens an overcast afternoon at Jersey Avenue station in New Brunswick.
AMTK 620 ACS-64 "Crayola"
Amtrak's Phase III wrapped ACS-64 approaches New Brunswick station after crossing the Raritan River (out of view behind the trees). The curved wall to the left of 662 denotes the prior location of the spur into the Pennsylvania Railroad's New Brunswick freight house. That area is now occupied by Johnson & Johnson's employee parking garage.
Amtrak 147:
AMTK 662 ACS-64
The Public Transportation Act of 1979 established NJ Transit on July 17th of that year. 43 years later NJ Transit it still moving commuters across the state of New Jersey. On the carrier's 43rd birthday an ALP-46 shoves a late-afternoon Northeast Corridor local out of New Brunswick toward New York Penn Station.
NJTR 4610 ALP-46
A Northeast Regional crosses the frozen Raritan River shortly before sunset on a frigid winter evening.
AMTK 621 ACS-64
One of Amtrak's four short-lived Harry Potter wrapped ACS-64s leads the Vermonter east across the Raritan River viaduct between New Brunswick and Highland Park.
Amtrak 56:
AMTK 641 ACS-64
Yellow there
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An eastbound train to New York crosses the Raritan River between Highland Park and New Brunswick as an intense thunderstorm brews in the distance.
NJT 7856 @ Raritan River Viaduct, Highland Park, NJ
NJTR ALP-46A 4656
A Conrail Metuchen-based local, which I assume was ME-2, works the lead to Integrated Packaging in New Brunswick. 5314 is crossing Jersey Ave. on what I believe was called the Mengel Lead. This lead once served several industrial customers, but by the mid-2000s it was down to one; it would become dormant by the end of the decade. Today there is no trace of this grade crossing or the rails leading to it from the east, as that area has been reconfigured. There are or were still rails in the weeds west of the crossing. The Integrated Packaging site still exits but it has been subdivided and, as is typical today, the tenants no longer require rail service. Jersey Avenue once hosted a series of grade crossings as there were many rail-served industries in this area south of downtown New Brunswick. 5314 had been tagged at some point, and the NS logo on the long hood was mostly obscured in an attempt to cover over the graffiti. It remained logo-less for several years.
Conrail ME-2:
NS 5314 GP38-2 (ex-CR/PC 8132)
As the sun casts its last rays of light a westbound train to Trenton makes its way over the Raritan River between Highland Park and New Brunswick, NJ.
Amtrak's Phase III wrapped unit leads a westbound regional train across the Raritan River viaduct into New Brunswick, NJ.
AMTK 662 ACS-64
Conrail ME-2 crosses the frozen Raritan River shortly after sunset on a frigid winter evening. A pair of CSX GP40-2s sandwich the short consist of covered hoppers, most of which are hauling salt to a customer on the Delco Lead in New Brunswick.
CSXT 6159 GP40-2 (ex-WM 4260)
CSXT 6228 GP40-2 (ex-BO 4329)
Conrail OI-85 crosses the Raritan River viaduct behind a three-unit consist not often seen on the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey. Picking up where the previous photo caption left off, OI-85's two GP40-2s returned light from Midway to County interlocking in New Brunswick where they grabbed an outlawed ME-2 consist off the Millstone Industrial which included CSXT 4406, caboose CR 22137 and 16 cars. The entire train was headed back to Oak Island yard where this odyssey began earlier in the day. I assume at some point overnight the 4406 (or another geep) and 22137 were returned to Metuchen Yard where they would be needed for Monday's ME-2.
Conrail OI-85:
CSXT 6228 GP40-2 (ex-BO 4329)
CSXT 6242 GP40-2 (ex-BO 4343)
CSXT 4406 GP40-2 (ex-CR 3295)
Westbound Conrail ME-2 meets an eastbound Amtrak regional train at New Brunswick station. ME-2 would soon exit the Northeast Corridor at COUNTY interlocking where the crew would work the Delco Lead and perhaps the Millstone as well.
Conrail ME-2:
CSXT 4451 GP40-2 (ex-CR 3398)
Conrail ME-2 works the Delco Lead adjacent to the Northeast Corridor. The last rays of sunlight on a frigid day illuminate the scene while an NJ Transit Trenton local passes on 4 track with a cab car leading. NS 5311 seems to be following me, as I caught this unit at the Enola diesel shop on December 4th.
NS 5311 GP38-2 (ex-PC/CR 8128)
Conrail ME-2 rests in the clear on the Back Lead adjacent to the Jersey Avenue Station to allow commuter traffic to pass. A set of NJ Transit Arrow III EMUs departs eastbound after discharging passengers at the station.
NJ Transit ALP-46A No. 4648 leads Northeast Corridor Line train 7830 through New Brunswick, NJ through a fresh coat of snow. Notice both pantographs are up. Most NJ Transit trains were using both pantographs, using the front one as an "ice scraper", since it is de-energized to protect the train in phase gaps, removing ice and snow from the catenary for better connection to the rear pantograph.
A Trenton bound Northeast Corridor Line train crosses the Raritan River between Highland Park and New Brunswick, NJ.
The Northeast Corridor was relatively quiet the weekend of May 17th due to the NJ Transit locomotive engineers (represented by the BLET) going on strike as of the 16th. The strike effectively shut down the entire NJT operation, including dispatching, which meant tenants such as Conrail were unable to operate over any NJT routes. This effectively isolated Browns Yard in Sayreville, NJ as it is primarily accessed via the North Jersey Coast Line. Conrail's solution was to operate an extra on Amtrak's NEC from Oak Island to Midway interlocking in Monmouth Junction where a rarely used connection to the Amboy Secondary remains in place. Of course, I missed the westbound move of OI-85, but did catch the return. OI-85's light power is seen in the distance at County interlocking waiting on 2 track for Acela 2253 to clear the interlocking. OI-85 will then reverse onto the Millstone Industrial Track to pick up an outlawed ME-2 consist. Sets of idle NJ Transit Arrow III EMUs can be seen in County Yard at left. They would be put back to use soon enough as the strike was settled Sunday evening.
AMTK 2253:
AMTK 2011 Acela
Conrail ME-2 heads up the Delco Lead with a single car and caboose in tow. This lead parallels the Northeast Corridor for roughly two miles, allowing Conrail to serve local customers without interfering with passenger traffic. The lead begins at NJ Transit's Jersey Ave station and bisects the large commuter parking lot. ME-2 is negotiating the second of two public crossings in the lot.
CR ME-2:
CSXT 4451 GP40-2
Conrail ME-2 rolls across Amtrak's Raritan River viaduct with CSXT 2798 leading long hood forward. I was here to shoot the eastbound NJ Chamber of Commerce Amtrak Special which had crossed the bridge minutes earlier and decided to wait for ME-2 after hearing them re-enter the NEC at the National Can Lead in Edison. That tired old ex-Reading caboose soldiers on!
NJ Transit's Pennsylvania Railroad heritage unit has finally been set loose and is starting to make revenue runs, almost a month after being unveiled. Here the unit shoves an afternoon westbound toward Trenton on the NEC. Fittingly, the unit is crossing the former PRR Raritan River viaduct while operating under former PRR catenary.
NJT 3853:
NJTR 4636 ALP-46A "PRR"
Conrail ME-2 passes through New Brunswick station with 16 cars (plus another engine) in tow. The lengthy local will exit the NEC a short distance from here at COUNTY interlocking where the crew will spend some time working the Delco Lead. A large cloud shadow crept over the Raritan River viaduct in the distance as the train approached, but thankfully it did not cover the station area as well.
The crew of ME-2 is maintaining a time-honored tradition of storing their drinking water supply on the nose of their ex-Penn Central GP38-2. On this frigid day it will certainly be kept cold.
NS 5311 GP38-2 (ex-PC/CR 8128)
Moments before sunset the sun has peeked through the clouds just long enough to illuminate a passing NJ Transit express heading west on Track 3.
NJTR 4612 ALP-46
Amtrak ACS-64 656 leads a Northeast Regional north through the heart of New Brunswick. The NEC is elevated over city streets here, and the many bridge girders visible denote the location of various underpasses. The dim headlight of the trailing unit on Conrail ME-2 can be seen in the distance at COUNTY interlocking as that train exits the corridor.
At the time of this photo the Raritan River was at a point of low tide while an eastbound train to New York crosses the massive concrete viaduct spanning Highland Park and New Brunswick.
Four trains are in view from the platform at Jersey Avenue. Starting with track 1 (right to left): eastbound NJ Transit local from Trenton, Amtrak Acela Express 2164, Conrail ME-2 and a westbound NJ Transit local from New York Penn Station. Moments earlier ME-2 had shoved off the Millstone Running Track onto track 3 where they were held for the two eastbounds seen here. ME-2 must proceed west against the current of traffic on track 1 to access the customer siding at Deans.
Conrail ME-2 has left the NEC and is about to pass through NJ Transit's Jersey Avenue station. The short train will clear up on the Millstone Industrial Track.
NS 5640 GP38-2 (ex-CR/PC 7939).
Conrail ME-2 has just arrived at Jersey Avenue on the Millstone Runner. The crew is preparing to run NS 5282 around the train so they can work customers on the Delco Lead and the Millstone Industrial. The Northeast Corridor can be seen in the background.
NS 5282 GP38-2 (ex-CR/PC 8079)
Well, I wouldn't call it a "Limited"...but this westbound Northeast Regional was passing through New Brunswick just before sunset on a bitterly cold February evening.
Amtrak 626 leads weekend-only train 152 across the Raritan River viaduct. The shady north shore of the Raritan River was a nice place to cool off on a warm summer morning.
Conrail ME-2 slowly rocks 'n rolls along the Delco Lead while NJT 4605 quickly breezes by on the Northeast Corridor in New Brunswick.
Operated by: New Jersey Transit
Built in: 2011
Manufacturer: Bombardier
Model: ALP-46A
Notes:
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Time to head down to Trenton.
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Please do not use this image without first asking- for permission. Thank you.
Amtrak "Holiday Extra" 1054 crosses the Raritan River viaduct while heading for New York Penn station from Washington, DC. The train, led by Amtrak 609, has a borrowed set of MARC coaches in tow. Amtrak has a long-standing tradition of borrowing equipment from regional commuter agencies to cover extra service on the Northeast Corridor during the busy post-Thanksgiving holiday travel period.