Pavonia Yard

Last updated
Classification bowl at Pavonia Yard. In the foreground is the hump control tower and two retarder tracks. Pavonia Yard hump control twr 2010.jpg
Classification bowl at Pavonia Yard. In the foreground is the hump control tower and two retarder tracks.
Location map of Camden County, New Jersey.svg
Red pog.svg
Pavonia Yard

Pavonia Yard is a Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) rail yard in Camden, New Jersey.

Contents

The yard begins just north of where the Vineland Secondary tracks cross the Cooper River near the intersection of State and Federal Streets, and continues north until approximately 36th Street, ending near the 36th Street River Line station on the Bordentown Secondary.

History

It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and opened in 1888. [1] The yard was used to interchange with the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) during 1896 to 1932, and with the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (P-RSL) during 1932 to 1976. [2] Initially the PRR operated large locomotive and car repair shops at the yard. In later years the engine work was discontinued, but the car repair shops remained in operation through the late 1930s. [3] [4] The yard was rebuilt in the 1960s. [5]

Conrail

Pavonia Yard serves as CSAO's main classification yard for the Southern New Jersey area. It is a double-ended hump yard with a 32-track classification bowl. [6] [7] In 2009, Conrail Shared Assets significantly downgraded the yard, reflecting its changed status from a major hub to a regional classification center. Most of the hump's height was removed, and the tower was torn down, replaced with a "switching kiosk" which crews use manually to throw switches. Conrail builds two CSX and one Norfolk Southern train there every day. (Info from a Trains Magazine article on Conrail Shared Assets Operations)[ citation needed ]

See also

Engine house and diesel locomotive service area (left) at Pavonia Yard. Pavonia Yard engine house 2010.jpg
Engine house and diesel locomotive service area (left) at Pavonia Yard.

Related Research Articles

CSX Transportation Class I railroad system in the USA

CSX Transportation, known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track. The company operates as the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was so named because it was established in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

NJ Transit Rail Operations Commuter rail division of NJ Transit

NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service in Orange and Rockland counties in New York under contract to Metro-North Railroad. The commuter rail lines had an average weekday ridership of 306,892 from June 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, making it the second-busiest commuter railroad in North America as well as the longest by route length. This does not include NJ Transit's light rail operations.

Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Railroad that operated in southern New Jersey

The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in southern New Jersey in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region.

Conrail Shared Assets Operations or CSAO is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail, an American railroad company. It operates three networks—the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas, where it serves as a contract local carrier and switching company for its owners, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. When most of the former Conrail's track was split between these two railroads, the three shared assets areas were kept separate to avoid giving one railroad an advantage in those areas. The company operates using its own employees and infrastructure, but owns no equipment outside MOW equipment.

Timeline of Jersey City, New Jersey-area railroads

For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater, South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east of Newark are listed here.

Delair Bridge

The Delair Bridge is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy Ross Bridge. The two-track bridge is part of Conrail Shared Assets Operations and is jointly used by Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation freight trains, as well as by the New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line service.

The Bordentown Secondary was originally a freight railroad line in New Jersey, running from Pavonia Yard in Camden to Trenton. Today, a large portion of the line from Bordentown to Camden is used for New Jersey Transit's River Line light rail service. Conrail Shared Assets Operations continues to operate freight trains on the line, but these operations are restricted to overnight hours.

Southern Railroad of New Jersey

The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight trains in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate between Winslow Junction and Pleasantville, and between Winslow Junction and the Winslow Hot Mix asphalt plant in Winslow Township. In Salem County and Gloucester County, the company operates on the Salem Branch between Salem and Woodbury.

Enola Yard

Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

West Jersey and Seashore Railroad American railway company

The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) was a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary in the U.S. state of New Jersey with a connection to Philadelphia. It was formed through the merger of several smaller roads in May 1896. At the end of 1925 it operated 379 miles (610 km) of road on 717 miles (1,154 km) of track; that year it reported 166 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 332 million passenger-miles. The railroad became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933.

The Robbinsville Industrial Track is a short freight line that runs between Bordentown, New Jersey to the Yardville section of Hamilton Township, New Jersey. The line was originally part of the Camden and Amboy Railroad and later served as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central Transportation and then Conrail. It is currently operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO).

Conway Yard is a major rail yard located in the boroughs of Conway and Freedom, Pennsylvania, 22 miles (35 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. It was the largest freight yard in the world from 1956 until 1980. It is currently owned by Norfolk Southern (NS) and is one of the largest yards in the United States.

Penns Grove Secondary is a rail freight line in the Delaware Valley in the southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States. Part of Conrail's South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets it runs for approximately 20 miles (32 km) between its it southern terminus at Penns Grove and Woodbury at the north where it joins the Vineland Secondary about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of Pavonia Yard in Camden. At its southern end the Deepwater Point Running Track continues another 3.7 miles (6 km) through Carneys Point to Deepwater.

The Vineland Secondary is a rail line owned, operated and maintained by Conrail Shared Assets Operations for the use of CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway. It begins at Pavonia Yard in Camden and heads south, with a spur serving the Port of Camden. At Woodbury it junctions with the Salem Branch and Penns Grove Secondary, and continues to Millville, passing through namesake Vineland. At its southern end it connects to the OmniTRAX-owned Winchester and Western Railroad. The line is used exclusively for freight, however, the northern portion is planned to be used for the proposed Glassboro–Camden light rail line.

Salem Branch

The Salem Branch is a rail freight line in the southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States between the Port of Salem and Woodbury Junction where it and the Penns Grove Secondary converge with the Vineland Secondary approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of Pavonia Yard in Camden.

Lehigh Line (Norfolk Southern) Railroad line in central New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania

The Lehigh Line is a railroad line in central New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The line runs west from the vicinity of the Port of New York and New Jersey to the Susquehanna River valley at the south end of the Wyoming Valley Coal Region. Administratively it is part of Norfolk Southern's Keystone Division (Harrisburg) and is also part of the Crescent Corridor. As of 2021 the line is freight-only, although there are perennial proposals to restore passenger service over all or part of the line.

Freehold Secondary

The Freehold Secondary is a partially active rail line in New Jersey, the active portion of which is owned and operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO). The portion which is in use runs from Jamesburg, NJ, to the current end of service at Freehold, NJ. Technically, the line continues to a junction with the Southern Secondary in Farmingdale, NJ, but this portion has been out of service since the early 2000s.

Glassboro station

Glassboro is an inactive train station in Glassboro, New Jersey which served passengers from 1863–1971. Its station house was restored circa 2015. It is located at the edge of the Rowan University campus.

References

  1. Dorwart, Jeffrey M. (2001). Camden County, New Jersey: The Making of a Metropolitan Community, 1626-2000. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. p. 78. ISBN   978-0-8135-2958-5.
  2. Schafer, Mike; Brian Solomon (2009) [1997]. Pennsylvania Railroad. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press. p. 85. ISBN   978-0-7603-2930-6. OCLC   234257275.
  3. "Maintenance of Electric Railway Stock, West Jersey & Seashore Railroad". The Street Railway Journal. McGraw. 30 (15): 623. 1907-10-12.
  4. Ball, Don (1986). The Pennsylvania Railroad, 1940s-1950s. W.W. Norton. p. 77. ISBN   978-0-393-02357-2.
  5. SJRail.com. "Cooper Tower and Interlocking." Accessed 2010-11-29.
  6. Rhodes, Michael (2003). North American Railyards. Minneapolis, MN: MBI Publishing. p. 163. ISBN   978-0-7603-1578-1.
  7. "North America's Hump Yards". Trains. Kalmbach. 2006-07-08.

Coordinates: 39°57′04″N75°05′28″W / 39.951°N 75.091°W / 39.951; -75.091