You can see the main trip photos at:
http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics/06-02-04_NJT_BINGE/-Thumbnails.html
And the Tower photos at:
http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics/Towers/-06-02-04-Thumbnails.html
Pigs and I met at Newark and proceeded to take an early RVL train to Raritan. I was impressed about the frequency of inbound rush hour trains. Conrail SA must have a mighty headache during every peak period trying to get trains movin along the Lehigh Line. Unfortunately the segment from NK to CP-ALDENE is no longer controlled from NK tower, which has also been demolished. All the signals were also freshly painted silver and black. I also saw the new Union Union Station complete with gauntlet tracks for the freight trains.
We pulled onto the RVL proper, cutting in front of an eastbound waiting at the base of the Aldene Ramp. The NJT RVL is a haven for Bracket Signals. The RoW is 4-6 tracks as it was the old CNJ main line into Jerey City. Only two tracks remain today and NJT erected bracket masts on the empty roadbeds. The first station on the line, Cranford, was built by the CNJ as a pair of high level island platforms and so at that point the tracks have to widen to meet the platforms.
Along the line I was surprised to see that QUEEN tower was still standing as well as BOYD tower in Raritan, which is now a crew base.
