NEWARK, N.J. — The Dover & Delaware River Railroad, New Jersey’s newest short line, is planning upgrades to allow it to move larger, heavier cars — changes the railroad outlined as part of a presentation last week to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
The railroad, based in rural Rockport, N.J., operates 27 miles of leased Norfolk Southern Washington Secondary track between Phillipsburg and Hackettstown, N.J., and has 80 miles of trackage rights on NJ Transit’s Morristown, Montclair-Boonton, and Gladstone lines. The NJ Transit lines had previously been served by the Morristown & Erie.
Kean Burenga, president and managing director of parent company Chesapeake & Delaware, said the month-old Class III railroad will need to upgrade its route to Plate F standards (17-foot clearances, 143-ton equipment) by upgrading three bridges between Hackettstown and Dover and increasing clearance at the South Main Street Bridge in Phillipsburg. It will also improve the interchange with the NS Lehigh Line at Phillipsburg.
Burenga said the changes will allow the railroad to keep existing shippers and obtain new ones. Currently, Plate F equipment must be transloaded by truck in Bethlehem, Pa., depriving the railroad of potential revenue.
The largest online shipper is Borealis Compounds near Rockport, a plastics firm that is part of an Austrian chemicals conglomerate. It will benefit from a runaround track added in Rockport to facilitate operations.
The railroad operates six days a week from Rockport — three days eastbound and three days westbound — with a 10-mph limit on its tracks from Phillipsburg to Hackettsown and 40 mph on the NJ Transit tracks. It also serves an industrial area near Paterson, N.J. via NJ Transit trackage rights.
The Dover & Delaware River is one of four Chesapeake & Delaware short lines in New Jersey. The others are the wholly-owned Dover & Rockaway River Railroad and affiliates Belvidere & Delaware River Railway and Black River & Western Railroad.
Penelope, New Jersey may be small, but there is much more to it then what you would see on the “Corridor”. It takes me less than an hour to reach very rural country in the northwest part of the state. Also of note: both the Black River & Western and Belvidere & Delaware River host operating steam engines in regular tourist service.
I did not know the State of New Jersey has any rural area left. The areas between New York City and Philadelphia are heavily developed.
Just a clarification, The 80 miles of rights on NJT were operated by Norfolk Southern. Sister road Dover and Rockaway River operates on three branch owned by County of Morris. These branch lines were operated by the M&E