I was going to get up early on Tuesday morning and head out before work. But I slept through my alarm, so that plan was out the window. Instead I decided to head west to Phillipsburg, NJ after I was done at work. Hopefully the 40 minute drive west would pay off and I’d catch some train action around the former CNJ PU tower.
Well, to be honest, Phillipsburg was a last minute change. I was originally intending on heading to Flemington first – it was closer, and hopefully I’d be able to catch a train or two. But as I got close to the exit I’d have to take off of I-78, the weather looked threatening to the south – where I was going. But to the west, it looked a bit better, so I changed plans and headed for Phillipsburg.
At first it seemed like a good decision – when I got into town, I was greeted by nice sunny skies, with a few clouds hanging around. No thunderstorms or complete overcast. OK, now for some trains.
With cameras and scanner in hand, I headed out onto the bridge that spans the tracks near the former CNJ PU tower. While waiting, I took a quick shot of the tower, which is being restored by The Phillipsburg Railroad Historians.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:9991]Then it was back to waiting.
After a bit I finally caught something meaningful on the scanner – the NS dispatcher gave NS train 20W, an eastbound UPS trailer train, a temporary speed restriction between CP-EASTON and CP-PHILLIPSBURG. Well, that was encouraging – at least I’d get something while I was here. So instead of hanging out on the bridge, I figured I’d head back to the car and sit down while I was waiting. With CP-EASTON over the Delaware River, about a half mile west of where I was, and the 10 MPH restriction, I’d just have to wait for 20W to call that signal, and I would have plenty of time to get into position.
A little bit later, I heard over the radio “20W clear CP-EASTON eastbound” – it was time to get my gear and get into position.
A few moments later I could see headlights coming across the bridge to the west, and 20W came into view.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:9990]Then the shot I wanted of the train coming through the interlocking, and including the east facing signals.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:9989]Another adavantage of the speed restriciton was that I’d be able to get shots from both sides of the bridge spanning the tracks. Once traffic cleared on the road, I made my way to the eastern side of the bridge, and got a couple shots of the train passing by PU tower.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:9988] [cpg_imagefixthumb:9987] [cpg_imagefixthumb:9986]A switch to the telephoto to get a shot with the PRRH museum equipment in the background
[cpg_imagefixthumb:9985]Then with the train rolling past the museum
[cpg_imagefixthumb:9984]And finally the markers passing by, as the train begins to accelerate after clearing the speed restriction limits.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:9983]With a few miles of single track to the east, no sign of other trains in either direction, and fading sunlight, I decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel.
Thanks for looking!
Tom
