NS Lehigh Line Action In New Jersey, Railfanning, Phillipsburg - Readington, NJ 5/9/22

On Monday May 9th, NS was running all their freights in daylight due to some bridge work at MP LE57 on the Lehigh Line the night before closing the line for a little while. I figured since the Line doesn't see too much activity during the daytime on a normal day, I'd take the opportunity to explore some parts of the Lehigh I haven't shot before. I started in Readington at Strawberry Curve off of Stanton Station Road. Not realizing ahead of time the lighting would be poor, I only shot one train and moved on westward to Lansdowne Road in Annandale. After that I shot West to Phillipsburg, one of the more scenic locations on the Lehigh Line, and a town rich in Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) Heritage. Phillipsburg is home to the old Phillipsburg Union Signal (PU) Tower, used by the CNJ to control the movement of trains on their mainline through Phillipsburg. The tower stood in disrepair for many years following its abandonment by NJT in 1983 after they discontinued service of the Raritan Valley Line from High Bridge to Phillipsburg, but was recently restored by a preservation society to its original state when it opened to serve the CNJ nearly a century ago in 1921. I also took the time to shoot 294 crossing the former CNJ Delaware River Bridge from atop the abandoned former Lehigh Valley Railroad Delaware River Bridge, with the town of Easton, PA as a backdrop. Also seen is the old Phillipsburg Union Station, and like PU Tower, was closed in 1983 after NJT cut RVL service The station was also restored at a later date by the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center. Lastly, I took some shots near the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians nicely painted CNJ wooden caboose, as it makes a nice foreground prop for passing trains. On my way back East towards home I stopped by the West Portal of the Musconetcong Tunnel in Asbury. Originally double tracked, the Musconetcong Tunnel, also know as Jugtown Tunnel or Pattenburg Tunnel by locals is a 1 mile long railroad tunnel that was bored through the Musconetcong Mountain for the Lehigh Valley Railroad starting in 1926. It opened in 1928 after nearly two and a half years of construction, and has since served the Lehigh Valley and its predecessors both Conrail, and Norfolk Southern. NS modified the tunnel in the early 2000's to accommodate double stacks, and in the process single tracked it, leaving two sidings on either sides of the Musconetcong. The siding on the West slope between CP 67 and CP 64 known as the "Long Siding" and the "Short Siding" on the East slope between CP 64 and CP 62. For the last train of the day you'll see 11N emerging from the West Portal with a long train of empty autoracks out of Newark. Hope you enjoy the video!