upcoming railroad repair?
- Thread starter BarrensMike
- Start date
These upgrades are part of DOT's annual upgrade program. From what I recall, that RR line was going to be used fto supply material or the new Hudson River tunnel project, but that got cancelled.
From the DOT.
hello everyone,
I just wanted to add my 2 cents. the rail road has constructed gates and lights at several crossings in whiting. the train "will" be running soon from ASARCO on rt.70 to Claytons' pit in woodmansee. who would have ever thought that we would have a train running on this line again?
I just wanted to add my 2 cents. the rail road has constructed gates and lights at several crossings in whiting. the train "will" be running soon from ASARCO on rt.70 to Claytons' pit in woodmansee. who would have ever thought that we would have a train running on this line again?
I'm never a fan of progress.I liked the tracks the way they were.Another noise intrusion into the Barrens Wilderness of my mind:-(
I was reading this forum because I was hiking in the pine barrens between Batsto and Atsion yesterday. I hiked across the old CNJ trestle crossing the Mullica to reach the Mullica river trail. The trestle looks pretty rotten. Also,I have hiked a small portion of the tracks at the Batona trail crossing. This whole section has trees growing in the middle of the tracks. Does anybody know if there are plans to reactivate this portion of the RR? Seems like it would take a LOT of effort! I hope this portion thru the pine barrens is left alone as it is a nice secluded hiking trail!
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I can`t find Woodmansie on any NJ map but from what I`ve read,it appears to be near Chatsworth. If the work is being done from Woodmansie north,it would appear that the section running from the Batona trail crossing(near the Carranza memorial)to Atsion is safe from development. I`ve seen no evidence of work there in recent months while hiking in the area.
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In any event,I will be hiking there again this weekend with my dog and will see firsthand if any work has been done near the Batona trail crossing.
I did an overnite backpacking trip last weekend and managed to hike along the CNJ tracks from the Batona trail crossing to Atsion. The tracks were too overgrown to hike in most places but we always found a dirt road or path paralleling them. Interesting hike as we crossed 4 wooden trestles along the way. Literally thousands of trees growing along the tracks here,it would take a herculean feat to clear this section!
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From what I saw today the crossing at Rt 539 is more than a simple upgrade. There are crossing gates, warning lights, a shed and everything has power. It looks to me that in due time the rail will be active. If not can someone explain why so much effort was put into upgrading a road crossing for a dead section of track. (Please excuse me being so blunt I am miserable with a head cold)
Actually, this issue is reminiscent of the “railroad-themed” Richland Village concept. To be Smart Growth Centers of Place in the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, transportation is key. NJ Transit gave up rights to rail passenger service on the Cape May and Jersey Central Branches in 1979. In Richland’s case, a private tourist railroad was a convenient “Trojan Horse” to get around the costly Pinelands reapplication for passenger service. There was no long term expectation for the Richland tourist railroad, which would have been replaced with modern passenger commuter service. It is my understanding that the same tourist railroad trick was proposed to open up the Jersey Central.
The property bounded in yellow lines is owned by NJ Transit. The green barn and red-roofed building are the remains of Richland Grain Co, vestiges of my father's chicken business. Much of the "redeveloped" land was never developed in the first place. There are big plans brewing, and we are publicly paying for hatching them. The pipeline is only one of several Pinelands issues that you should be aware of.
S-M
Proposed Richland Village Train Station Complex.
Oblique aerial of the proposed Richland Village Train Station Complex.
The property bounded in yellow lines is owned by NJ Transit. The green barn and red-roofed building are the remains of Richland Grain Co, vestiges of my father's chicken business. Much of the "redeveloped" land was never developed in the first place. There are big plans brewing, and we are publicly paying for hatching them. The pipeline is only one of several Pinelands issues that you should be aware of.
S-M
I'm pretty sure this was discussed in an earlier, long post. As i recall, the crossing maintenance, amongst other maintenance, are required by the feds for all line not abandoned. That section of track through Ocean Cnty up to the Burlington Cnty line is not 'dead', just not used. It is still considered acitve on transportation maps. I was out in Whiting on Thursday and saw what appeared to be construction guys checking things out at a couple of rail crossings that had overgrowth on the rails to either side.
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/freight/rail/safety.shtm
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/gis/maps/railroads.pdf
The NJDOT Rail Freight Assistance Program just granted $1,502,577 to the New Jersey Seashore Lines (9-26-13) to improve the CNJ route, which is owned by the same person who operates the intermittent tourist train at Richland Village. I would wholeheartedly support his projects if it could be assured that he was not simply a pawn in a much bigger scheme to circumvent Pinelands rules.
FY 2013 NJDOT Rail Freight Assistance Program
Most of the money behind Richland Village redevelopment was NJDOT provided.
We can do so much more than turn the Villages into shopping malls. I'm happy to see Archie (Richland General Store) interviewed in Legendary Locals of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. It's been an important cultural resource for our community since 1908.
This is why I fight hard to save the Pine Barrens.