Monday, April 4, 2016

Railfanning March 30, 2016, the EL Heritage Unit

Hi, I ventured up to northern New Jersey with friend Jim Kleeman last Wednesday in an attempt to photograph Norfolk Southern's Erie Lackawanna heritage SD45-2 in the sun. SUCCESS! Fortunately Jim knew the territory from a prior visit, and he both drove and navigated.

Our first location was in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  While we waited we heard the dispatcher clear 20R and he soon came into view.  The New Jersey Turnpike is on the other side of the wall in the background.

About 45 minutes later OI16 led by the EL unit came south.

Next we went to Joseph Medwick Park in Rahway, NJ.  After a short walk during which we passed under the New Jersey Turnpike we came to the point where the tracks crossed the Rahway River.

The train paused at Carteret, NJ to obtain permission to enter Port Reading Yard (above and below).  The first three locations are on the Garden State Secondary.  It is former Central Railroad of New Jersey trackage.


After receiving clearance from the yard and

getting the signal the train took the west leg of the wye,

pulled beyond the signal and switch off the west leg of the wye and backed into the yard (above and below).


Having dropped most of most of its cars at Port Reading the train came out of the yard and backed around the west leg of the wye (above and two below).



Once back on the Garden State Secondary he again headed south (above and two below.)



At Perth Amboy OI16 had to wait for some New Jersey Transit traffic to  clear.  The 4500 class of locomotives are dual mode while

the 4600 series are straight electric.

The above three photos were taken at the New York City end of the Perth Amboy station platform.

After leaving NJT's North Jersey Coast line (former New York and Long Branch) OI16 headed down the Amboy Secondary (originally built as part of the Camden and Amboy), shown passing through Sayreville, NJ.

Destination for OI16 is Brown's yard.  The train is shown here just north of the yard entrance.


The train stopped just north of the classification tracks and

the power cut off.  Thanks for looking.