Eastern Railroad Discussion > Shared Assets Lehigh Line on 3/13-the wait for the circus train

This past Monday, March 13th was the calm before the storm on the Shared Assets Lehigh Line.  For several reasons, I haven't been trackside on the Lehigh Line in several months.  So aside from generally looking forward to it, I was anticipating the move of the RBB&B blue unit circus train as the circus moved from Newark, NJ to Trenton, NJ.  Most of the NS trains seemed to have run early, as I didn't see the usual trains I would expect to see.  The one exception was the NS 212.  I started my morning in Edison, NJ at the location of CP Potter on the Shared Assets Lehigh Line.  Here's a recap of what I did see.

1.  CSX K610 with a trio of Union Pacific engines and a pair of buffer cars behind the engines
2.  CSX Q409 with a Gevo, Dash 9 and a GP40-2 

There was a two hour gap between the K610 and the Q409.  Things seemed to be quiet again after the Q409 passed so I relocated west to Piscataway.  The next train rolled by about an hour and a half after the Q409.

3.  CSX K144 with a pair of BNSF Gevos and a CSX (ex-Conrail) SD60M

More to come. 

 

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Continuing the photos..

4.  After a two-hour wait from the passing of the K144, the next train would appear in Conrail Shared Assets local MA1.  The MA1 comes out of Manville Yard and works customers along the Shared Assets Lehigh Line.  That GP40-2 was moving!
5.  The next train was the NS 20K with a SD70ACe leading a pair of Dash 9s
6.  After the 20K, the next train was the NS 18N with a trio of Dash 9s.

As you can all relate to, patience is needed, and a virtue, for railfanning.

The circus train is next...


 

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The last train I saw was the one I was waiting for all day.  So without further adieu, here is the circus train.

7.  CSX P923 with a GEVO, Dash 8, SD60 & SD40-3
8.  One of the coaches for the circus train
9.  A few of the flatcars for the circus train

(My video of the circus train is the last post here: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,4248327)

That's all for the photos, I have a few videos to share. 
 

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Some videos from Monday.

1.  At CP Potter, the first train I saw meets the second one.  NS 212 heads east as CSX K610 heads west.  This is at a quiet zone grade crossing, so no horn blowing here
2.  At Piscataway, Conrail Shared Assets local MA1 heads east to work a customer in South Plainfield

I ended up seeing eight trains throughout the day spent trackside.  It was nice to be trackside and enjoy the calm before the storm.  For me, living at the Jersey Shore, the storm was a very wet one and no snow for us.  Hope you enjoy the photos and videos!  

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Last but not least, also at CP Potter, mixed freight CSX Q409, the third train I saw, rolls by.  Again, no horn blowing

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It looks like you had a good day.

Well, my belief that tank cars are less frequently vandalized than boxcars just got crushed by that video.  I guess they spent some time in storage and got hit.