Planning a trip to NY, are there any Hotspots for freight operations close to NY? The Port Jervis line passing Harriman, is this for commuter trains only? Coming from Norway, and without any knowledge about NY, it would be nice with some advice on where to go, and perhaps not to go.
Regards O.T.
Sent you a PM regarding this…but you’re going to need to drive and get permissions to take pictures on private property…Port Jervis is a commuter operation by New Jersey Transit with some local freight usually at night. Most freight yards are well out of the city and not accessable from passenger rail stations but can be seen from the trains. Check my Private Message for more detials and ideas for you.
There are two primary freight routes in and out of North Jersey. One runs north along the west bank of the Hudson River. CSX operates this line. It has quite a bit of traffic for a mostly single track route.
The second route runs out to the west and handles NS traffic for points south and west and CSX traffic for points south. There is a moderate amount of traffic on this route. There are actually two lines that run west but meet before splitting for points west and south. The confluence of routes is at Bound Brook, NJ, which you can reach by NJT commuter train.
I agree your best bet is Bound Brook. Take the Raritan Valley Line of NJT which you pick up at Newark’s Penn Station. You can Take NJT from Manhattan’s Penn Station to Newark’s Penn Station or PATH from the station about a block away from the New York Station, 34 th St., I think. I think the PATH route is more scenic and you may see freight parallel to the PATH train around Jersey City. When you get to Bound Brook you will be at an NJT Station. Also walk about two blocks east of the station for a good overpass. You will see lot’s of NS on the old Lehigh Valley route and a good deal of CSX on the old Reading branch and of course NJT on the old Jersey Central line.
Will you have a car or rent a car? The CSX West Shore (né New York Central) sees quite a bit of traffic, but is not near any transit, being on the “wrong side” of the Hudson River. Most lines that have frequent passenger service limit the freight operations to nighttime. Ha en fin dag!
Hays
I guess Bound Brook is the place that is most easy to reach without a car, so I’ll go there. Thank you everybody for your responses!! [:)]