New York Division-Bergen Line

[minerman146]

Italian Battalion - Glad you are enjoying the ride - we have more, much more in store.

NOTICE:
This week's update is being deferred as there is not enough of a scenery change or hotfixes that warrant doing so. What I did manage to get done is setup for scenery work for next week. From the picture below you can see the expanse that is be filled. This is the Route 87 / 17 and Route 6 interchange in Woodbury, NY. On the bottom right is the edge of the Woodbury Common Outlet Mall. At the top of the image and 1.5 miles away is the Village of Harriman that you have a good part of. You can also make out Newburgh Junction as well. I would say I have 2 weeks work here, but we shall see. I will try to blow this out so we can move on. From the bottom of the picture is just 3 miles to where the route previously ended. Getting to Highland Mills would complete the rework of 18 miles of scenery and track. From there ... its the Moodna and beyond!
Enjoy the weekend.

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[BKRR605]

Fabulous minerman, just took a spin on the Piermont Branch

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[minerman146]

Well since its been repaint-palooza all week, here is a picture of a repaint. Courtesy of XDriver and in the glorious grey, maroon and yellow of the Erie Lackawanna.

If you folks have been doing your reading, and I know you are. You will remember a gentlemen I spoke of a while back that worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. As you know the core of the Bergen is Sherman Hill and that is, of course, Union Pacific. I have known for the past 3 years there was one sign and only one sign that I could put on a station on the New York Division. I have worked and worked and worked and then hemmed and hawed over what year it is on this route. Well, I just built the darn station from pictures and slapped that sign on anyway.

So now you know why this town is named this way!

Ta-dah!

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Now I got my 1974 shot I always wanted but was on the train and not railfanning. If you squint your eyes and have a wild imagination - some kid is in the fireman's chair.

[mmss1]

Well since its been repaint-palooza all week, here is a picture of a repaint. Courtesy of XDriver and in the glorious grey, maroon and yellow of the Erie Lackawanna.

Now I got my 1974 shot I always wanted but was on the train and not railfanning. If you squint your eyes and have a wild imagination - some kid is in the fireman's chair.

And if you squint even harder, you will see some chubby 12-1/2 year old kid standing trackside with a Kodak 126 Instamatic camera . Haven't been around lately because of things in life that took priority, but have to say WOW on the last updates. And I agree, I do miss those colors running through Bergen County & the Southern Tier myself. I was standing trackside on Hobart place in Garfield this past weekend looking towards the Saddle River Trestle & I was transported back to seeing an "E" unit pulling some Stillwells or even some ex-ATSF SS coaches making up our own "E-L Capitan". Those were the great days of being a kid railfanning Bergen County in the early 1970's. Thank for bringing it back again !

[minerman146]

mmss, Its great to hear from you. (It has been kinda quiet around here). You know, one of those little assets I always wanted was a child asset, so I could put little boys and girls around in strategic locations. We have quite a few schools modeled on the Bergen. I really want to put my son and I on the route somewhere. And for you, a chubby 12 year old. I think 12 is the "chubs" year for just about everyone!

We do try to get our 1970's on around here wherever practicable and applicable, while maintaining some continuity with today. I had been thinking of all the years I have represented and I do know we are no later that 2001. That's due to the towers of course, so we try to keep it consistent.

Glad you like our last update. I am sure you like the new NJ and track alignment. For this week, we skipped the update last week, we have the entire Village of Harriman installed. Its a village so it actually could be done. New roads, and interchanges, and detail that goes as far as the game will allow. It will be a two square miles of scenery that will be introduced. As always, when I run into tricky topo or dense scenery we slow to a crawl. Harriman is turning into East Rutherford with all of its pitch and trees. Its starting to look good in there and you will enjoy the view from within or without the train.

I inadvertently left myself online on steam last night and had a visitor watching the magic happen (uh sausage making) - Gorbi! What a great guy, he hung out for about 2 hours watching me prep the terrain to plant some trees. I love show and tell, so I showed him a preview of the work in Harriman and some route 'secrets'! I was glad he was there.

Tonight's build session approaches - have a great night!

[goddrauG]

Gorbi told me about you streaming, but I didn't see the message until too late. Would have been nice to see how you put everything together! You and mmss sharing memories makes me think about something. I feel like the real main difference between our route building and why we do it is you like to show people who have distinct, clear memories of the Bergen, or even just people who are curious about it like me, the line in it's glory days (mixed with today), maybe trigger some flashbacks of happier railroad times. I build my routes to show the community a commonly overlooked portion of railroading-New England. Keep doing what you're doing. I doubt I will ever see all the Bergen in my life, so show me it in a virtual reality. Make it as great as it has been. Give me memories of a line I've never been to.

PS: Sometime this year or the beginning of the next, I'm headed down to New York City for a week. Is Passiac far from there? If not, I'm asking my parents to bring me to the Dundee.

[minerman146]

goddrauG,

Its so true what you say ... we do bring up the glory days of sadly the end of the line for our railroad. I agree in particular about what you said about building the "overlooked". I am with you 100 percent and do the same. I appreciate the work you do for that reason and, well, because you do it with care. You keep posting pictures - I keep thumbing them up and commenting. I encourage you to keep it up and most of all, please make it public. Show the world these little nooks and crannys of life. Edit: I am very touched by what you say about 'showing you this place" Its my honor to do so and I will do everything I can to make it a real as possible.

As far as me an mmss1 are concerned ( I hope he understands this). With my memory and my father and my appreciation for the men who worked the Erie Lackawanna I am dedicated to this task. What I wanted to do, and have done, was put special details in, in a way that only someone who knows the EL would know. The route is a beacon to these rapidly aging men - to know that I am grateful for what they did, and for the food my father put on the table. Mmss1 totally picked up on what I am doing and he knows because he was there, right there at the same time I flew by on a train. I got some signalmen from the EL,a Conrail guy and several commuters from the 1970s who have 'figured' it out. I hope to find more and please them with this work.

The beacon thing was my Dads idea. He thought it would be cool if some of the 'old timers' could see the line ... just one more time.
That's pretty deep Dad!

Shoot I forgot:
Guarddog Step 1 you MUST go to Hoboken, if nothing else. If your choked for time, take a train to Waldwick and back on the Bergen - ask the conductor and make sure you are on the Bergen - then do what I did ... gawk and shake your head. Its really scary you WILL recognize it.
If your doing a field trip - shoot just drive to Suffern, stand on the platform and to a 360. IT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY. If you are a total nut and you bribe your parents, hit Croxton, Rutheford, Garfield - Passaic for the Dundee then do Glen Rock and the rest. I always wanted to hear about some one visiting these places. If you make it up past Tuxedo - drop me a line I ll buy your family lunch at Legends in Sloatsburg.

Edit: Wow, I cant read! "Is Passiac far from there?" Nope not far at all Garfield is 14 miles from Hoboken! Suffern is 30 and Harriman is 45! (in case you were curious.)

[mmss1]

PS: Sometime this year or the beginning of the next, I'm headed down to New York City for a week. Is Passiac far from there? If not, I'm asking my parents to bring me to the Dundee.

Nope now far at all. Just take a Bergen County Line NJT train from Hoboken to Garfield station. And about 400' north on the line is Monroe Street which starts the Dundee. Though the line is more or less idle right now, it still is a great walking tour which I do every so often because I don't want to come back one day and say, "Where did it go?" A fun part is touring the parts of the line that once existed, up by the Dundee Canal heading towards Monroe Street on the Passaic side & the old interchange with the NYSW & down 7th Street towards the Passaic River. Just remember when you start down South Street, it starts, parts of the neighborhood there is known for crime (I know, I lived on the corner of Wall St & 8th Street during the 1980's, less than 100' from the line). So just be careful.

And Minerman is correct, a trip to Waldwick is essential, The old tower, the yard, remnants of the wye, Collin's Curve, it is a must ! I use to work in Waldwick on Hopper Ave which is actually Chestnut Street in Allendale at the grade crossing by the north end of the Waldwick yard. I remember such a cool thing back about 1989 -90 at Waldwick Yard. NJT back then took all the OSS GG-1's they were storing around the system that were waiting disbursement to museums or scrap and stored them at the yard. I could remember about 15 G's in the yard there for months. I do have some photos from then and when I find them I will post them.

What Minerman has done here is amazing. Blending both the modern & historical aspects of the Bergen in the same route. A very hard task indeed and he has done it amazingly ! I know because I am trying to do the same for a route for ORTS (The Blue Comet Route to be exact). And to blend two aspects or eras is very hard & he does it flawlessly. But the Bergen, it stirs memories a lot because of growing up here, getting to know the trainmen & learning the operations of both older and modern. In my opinion, it is far the best route for TS2017 and beats any of the payware routes available.

But if you wind up in the area and tour to ole Dundee you will enjoy even if it is idle right now. Heck, even let me know if you go. I gladly do another walk of the old line & show you some highlights of the line.

BTW Minerman... There is your South Street switchstand of controversy in the photo LOL. I was looking around some old photos I took of the NY&GL back in 2004 and came across one of it & "The Cowboy" LOL

[minerman146]

*Route Update Notification* DEFERRED
Route Update Number 139
New York Division-Bergen Line 9.8.2: Village of Harriman

As usual, I bit off more that I could chew and there is some missing scenery around Nepera that needs to be completed before release. This looks to be a Saturday afternoon or evening release. But this will fill out the work area I had planned to release with sufficient detail work to make it worthy of all you subscribers.

Lets chat a bit. The image below shows the current work area. The areas bounded in blue are untouched and will be completed in the next week or 2. Just look how big that is. Wow! This entire box, excepting the blue area has scenery on it. I hate branch lines for this reason as it expands the visual area dramatically. This one was a doozy and I had to run 2.5 miles West to hit the next mountain range so the scenery would naturally disappear. Normally it would be out of visual distance, but because of Nepera and my track for the old Erie Main, I had to go far. I have dumped a boatload of detail around Nepera and the old Harriman Station. This was not just because of the history and it being the old Erie Main, but because Nepera is our only consignee between Suffern and Campbell Hall. I want you to go here and deliver and receive tank cars. Its a 30 mile round trip of Suffern, so I made it worth you while.

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Lets recap what went out last week. You got a reworked Newburgh Junction and about 85 percent of Harriman. This week if you hit the Erie QD I made just west of Nepera, you will now have scenery to your West and North and trees on the mountains to your east. Plus, you get the interchange at Harriman for NY17, Route 87 and US6. I have to say - it looks beautiful - it really does. In the picture below we have the scenery as of this morning. ON the right there is a gap between US6 and Woodbury common. This is the blue area on the Harriman Map picture.

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The is a boat load of real railroad history right here. If you have been following along on this thread you have a good idea of what that is. As always its a ton of fun to do this and to talk about it. I really enjoy chatting up about the Bergen. I also am dying to finish his route. What's left? Its 3 miles to complete the rework of the original Bergen Line. Then comes the extension. ALL the work, this rework, the elevation and track change for the past 3 months is to get to this extension. NYWhiskey asked for the Moodna - He's gonna get it. And because the Bergen Line will have the highest and longest railroad trestle East of the Mississippi! (I so lucked out with the interesting scenery on the Bergen) and I will build it -- from scratch - by kit-bashing it.
So after next week, we start on the 3 miles to finish the rework, after that is 5.5 more miles to get over the Moodna, another 3/4 mile and we pickup another station at Cornwall-Salisbury Mills and another 11.5 Miles after that at Campbell Hall, NY I end it. Yeah another 20 miles. I think I can do it. Then the Bergen would be 65 miles long and all with scenery on it - of course!

I hope to see some screenshots and read your comments - you are my fuel to keep going!

[buzz456]

Shortly the return of the Phoebe Snow. How's that for some history?

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[ErikGorbiHamilton]

Coming from a kid who was born into the Modern rail era when it began in the mid-late 90's i have to say...


That is the coolest Paint Setup i have seen. Ever.

[goddrauG]

Seconded. I like the almost Maroon-Gold paint on the side. Reminds me of a little something from home...

[minerman146]

Thirded - I am trying to find the quote that says to this effect " The EMD paint shops came up with most beautiful design they every did for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western RR" Absent my quoted source you will just have to take my word for it. But you can quote me on this one....

"Buzz has executed the most gorgeous, complex and visually appealing EMD repaint ever for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad"

Stunning! This repaint oozes history all over the interwebs!

Edit: Geez, and he took on the Bergen too.. I love this guy!

[ErikGorbiHamilton]

I wonder how that paint would look on the EL SD45

One can wonder!

[sully7302]

Running train 53 on the Tier...after being inspired because I was up there this morning...because of this...

H08 with an interesting duo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/117062958 ... ed-public/