Eastern Railroad Discussion > You can choose your days off, but not the weather

As many of you know and can attest to.  On September 1st, I had the afternoon off leading up to a nice,long Labor Day Weekend.  My goal was to photo the Oak Island to Browns Yard transfer train, the Conrail Shared Assets OI16, probably at Port Reading, NJ, and then catch the Conrail Shared Assets SA31 on the Church Running Track in South Amboy, NJ.  The weather forecast on Thursday originally called for morning clouds giving way to afternoon sun.  That was fine by me as I worked in the morning and had the afternoon off.  An updated forecast Thursday morning said another round of afternoon showers/storms were possible.  I took note, but didn't figured most of them would be in the northern part of the state as they usually are.  As I headed north after getting off from work, I was happy to see blue skies peeking through the clouds.  

I got up to Port Reading just as the OI16 was sitting in the yard with a cut of cars and NS SD45-2s 1702 & 1700 (in the Erie Lackawanna paint).  I chose the baseball fields across from the yard on the old Reading line as my spot to wait.  I also notice that any blue in the sky had vanished and darker clouds were moving in.  A moment later, the OI16 pulled out onto the old Reading line to clear the track they were working on.  I got some photos of the train approaching and then shoving back into the yard.  By the time they finished their work in Port Reading Yard, the rain had started falling.  The train pulled past the switch to allow them to shove from the Port Reading Secondary to the Garden State Secondary (ex-CNJ).  So I got one more photo.  These three photos are all from Port Reading, NJ.

1.  Pulling their cars up past my location
2.  A going away photo of the NS 1700
3.  Shoving from the former Reading to the former CNJ in the rain

A few more to come.  

---

---

---

Due to the weather and wanting to catch the SA31, I opted to skip Perth Amboy and a chance for the OI16 there and headed straight to South Amboy, NJ.  For New York and Long Branch, as well as PRR fans, South Amboy was the engine change location for the PRR from steam/diesel to electric.  Currently, the SA31 utilizes the track where the GG1s would have been sitting above the NY&LB and come down to couple to a NY bound train or two decouple from a Bay Head bound train.  The SA31 was waiting on two eastbound New Jersey Transit trains.  The weather was still very cloudy and a light rain continued to fall.  My photo of the SA31 on the Church Running Track came out darker than I expected, so I just opted for a black and white look.  Here are two photos and one video of the SA31 in South Amboy.  The SA31 had CSX GP40-2 4412 and eight cars bound for Woodhaven Lumber in Lakewood.  

1.  Waiting for clearance onto the North Jersey Coastline.  
2.  Once a second eastbound train cleared, the SA31 was given permission to open the switch and head west on the NJCL,  Here's a photo just a bit south of the original South Amboy station.
3.  Video of the SA31 accelerating onto the NJCL once the conductor was back on the train,  The original station can be partially seen under the pedestrian overpass.  A new center tracks station has been built as well as a new pedestrian overpass, so the originals are both closed.

Hoping for better weather next time.  Enjoy the photos and video. 



 

---

---

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

Thanks for posting photos and video. Especially like Photos 1 - 3.
Agee with your heading. The same went for me, the weather did not always cooperate when I chose a day off. However, I always went ahead and took my photos because photos in less than ideal weather are always better than no photos at all.
ALLEN

You stuck it out. I like photo #3 with the rain.
John

A wet day of railfanning is better than being at work.  Nice series.

For power like that I'll go out in any weather!  Excellent catch on that pair of SD45-2's.