Blue Comet Line Route "REDUX" 1968-2000 Era in Progress

[conductorchris]

Boy that looks good!
Even the water looks good, which I never really thought I'd see in MSTS.

[NW 2156]

I'll second Gerry.

Take care of yourself Mark.

Robert

[R. Steele]

Never cease to amaze, Mark. Master class work..thanks for your efforts! Please take care of your health, especially so ---since then you can work on your hobby that gives you so much enjoyment, and eventually the community at large. Be Well.

[MMSS]

Oo-ee, oo-ee baby, Won't ya let me take you on a sea cruise

The words of Frankie Ford in the title because they said this was like a Sea Cruise when you crossed it. As I stated in the previous post being that it is summer & to keep with the summer mood. I am going to start redoing the upper barrier island (aka Barnegat Bay Island) between South Seaside Park to Pt. Pleasant Beach.

If am going to be working this area of the route from the south (South Seaside Park) northward (Pt. Pleasant Beach). And the era I am doing where tracks are almost 20 years removed south of Bay Head. With the connection to the island already made in the route with the Manasquan River Drawbridge to the north. I do have to re-think & re-invent the PRR's Barnegat Bay Trestle between the island & the mainland. Here is the factual reason why.

Back on December 1, 1946, a 300'+ section of the trestle burned in the early morning hours by arson. The fire was more to the east side of the bridge about 600' from shore. By the summer of 1947 the PRR decided against re-building or repairing the trestle. In 1948 the ICC did approve the formal abandonment of the line between Bay Head Jct. to South Toms River. Then starting in the fall of 1949, the tracks were torn up between Bay Head Jct. & South Seaside Park on the island. Also, the tracks were lifted from Ocean Gate to South Toms River. By 1954 the tracks between South Toms River & Pemberton would also be abandoned because of the new Garden State Parkway & Route 9 realignment being built in Beachwood. After that all traces of the PRR Atlantic Division's ROW from Bay Head Jct. to Pemberton faded into history.

Needless to say, this part of the route will be one of the "What If?" or "Fantasy" lines if the ROW still existed into the 1965-1980 era. The PRR was considering back in the late 30's about building a stronger, more permanent bridge of concrete or stone after it abandoned the Island Heights spur back in 1935. With winter storms & the bay freezing over at times causing the splitting, cracking & lifting of pilings, the PRR use to spend most of the springs repairing & replacing pilings. Plus, summer season tropical storms & hurricanes wreaked its share of havoc on the trestle over time too. And with the trestle built just a few feet above sea level summer & winter squalls took their toll on it too.

So, I used a simple concrete ballasted deck design that was in the ET download library. It has a nice design & looks great with the low-level design of the mile plus crossing. The swing span of the trestle was in real life closer to the Barnegat Pier station as to the east side on the route. I didn't change this due to the fact I didn't want to mess with the routes .tdb. And with the bridge being a replacement to the original crossing & boat traffic a bit heavier in this location in summer, I left it. The original swing span was operated by the Barnegat Pier station agent. So, I put a bridge tender's house by the span because moving bridges on the NJ Shore open frequently in the summer months (On the 1/2 hour in daylight hours). Then add navigation lights to the span, proper signs, a few channel markers, watercraft, correct vegetation & a fisherman or two. And then you have a proper water level crossing of the Barnegat Bay for the new era of the route.

Now I can start the barrier island properly at S. Seaside Park from the entrance of Island Beach St. Park to points north. So, lots of motels, hotels, Bed-n-Breakfasts, marinas, night clubs, bars, parking lots, oceanfront mansions, bungalows, bait shops, restaurants, arcades, amusement rides, sundries stores, gift shops, Wawa's, 7-11's, Cumberland Farms & LIQUOR STORES to come this summer.

The view from the Seaside Park shore looking west.


This lucky angler got himself a striper on the Seaside Park side of the new bridge.


And on the other side of the bridge, someone in a flat bottom skiff trying his luck for some snapper blues.


You can do all this from the banks of the bay, but don't try it from the bridge.


From the swing span deck looking west.


Signs & navigation lights on the span & bridge fenders.


The bridge's operating schedule sign. Notice that from Memorial Day to Labor Day it opens on the 1/2 hour in daylight hours.
A look at the swing span as you approach it on the water.
Looking east towards Seaside Park from the span.

[NW 2156]

Hi Mark,

I'm looking forward to your progress.

There was an announcement from the original author about some work he was doing on the route. I will see if I can find it.

Edit, Here is the link. https://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showth...ghlight=Jersey

I still look forward to our little monster Easter egg as well LOL!

Robert

[MMSS]

I'm late to the party, but Mark I am VERY glad to hear from you. I feared the worst.

I have a new (rail related) job that is keeping me busy and a new computer that I have yet to fully set up and just got burned out. Hearing that you are back, inspires me to get moving on installing things. The CNJ set is basically done, but there are a great many little problems to fix. That of course is the least fun part of it.

I hope you will share an "in-progress" copy of the route with somebody as kind of a back-up in case either you or the route should be unable to proceed. It is really beautiful.

Christopher

Hi Chris! Glad to see you here too! Glad you like what I have done so far. If it wasn't for redoing the route with the pandemic & my other health reason. I would be in Greystone in Woody Guthrie's old room on high levels of Zoloft.

Between the physical part of working on it. I been working on laying out some activities for the upcoming CNJ set. These are based on actual runs in that era. One even humorous like when the CNJ embargoed part of the Seashore Branch between Atlantic Highlands & Leonardo by NWS Earle because of track conditions back in 1972. When they did that, they forgot a CN boxcar that was at Highlands Lumber for a few months. They had to use a payloader & a truck to push & pull the boxcar a mile or so to Earle. From there the CNJ took it away to E'port. Only in NJ LOL.

And a shout out to Robert too. I see he posted below your post here too.

Have an updated I will be posting here later today on the work on the barrier island I start for summer. It is on the new Barnegat Bay Bridge I put in replacing the old wooden trestle that burned in Dec. 1946. So, look for it here.

[conductorchris]

I'm late to the party, but Mark I am VERY glad to hear from you. I feared the worst.

I have a new (rail related) job that is keeping me busy and a new computer that I have yet to fully set up and just got burned out. Hearing that you are back, inspires me to get moving on installing things. The CNJ set is basically done, but there are a great many little problems to fix. That of course is the least fun part of it.

I hope you will share an "in-progress" copy of the route with somebody as kind of a back-up in case either you or the route should be unable to proceed. It is really beautiful.

Christopher

[NW 2156]

Hi Mark,

Glad your back.

Stay safe and sound.

Robert

[MMSS]

Welcome back, Mark!

Glad to see your still alive and kickin’. Now Chris and I need to get back to work as well!

Rick

Thanks Rick,

It is great to have time to be back among the gang here again too.

Glad to hear that second part too ! I seen the screens you posted in the past of the CNJ RS's units in their multifaceted looks. Plus saw a preview of Chris' work on the rolling stock & it is above my expatiations. When the route is set to be released on here their will be a separate folder of activities that is based on the use BLW/ZT stock. Includes for the future set, the past set & all the CNJ bonuses in the BLW forum sections. They are based on actual runs back then. Already have 12 drafted for the new & original sets on what I know will be included.

[rfranzosa]

Welcome back, Mark!

Glad to see your still alive and kickin’. Now Chris and I need to get back to work as well!

Rick

[MMSS]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the update - be well - sir!


Regards,
Scott

Thanks Scott. I keep trudging along like everyone else. Like I told Gerry on the other forum topic. I am starting the barrier island between Bay Head & South Seaside Park. It is almost summer & I am in a summer mood. So it is a perfect location to work on for this route.

[scottb613]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the update - be well - sir!


Regards,
Scott

[MMSS]

I'm not dead yet & neither is this route project !!!

Hello again all in ORTS & MSTS land!! It has been a while (I know a long while) since you heard from me. Now hoping the pandemic is behind us now with fingers cross. I figure I give you an update on me & the Blue Comet Redux 1965-1980 (The now proper name of the project) route. No, it isn't vaporware as I bet many of you might have thought. In fact, with the pandemic & not being able to do much plus 2 additional surgeries on my leg, I had a bit more time to work on it than normal.

First about me & keeping it short. Being an exempt fireman-EMT-Para, I did a lot of volunteering at COVID-19 testing sites & vaccine sites. And when I had time in between, the wife & I helped out at local pop-up food markets to help one's have a meal on their tables. Then later in 2021 my leg that had the diabetic ulcer decided to make it presents known again. So first this past January was a deep surgical debridement then another with a graft. I am scheduled for one more surgical debridement with graft at the beginning of July sometime. But enough about me because I am a boring person in general (Ha!).

P. Tyler Bundy's great CNJ SD40 set from the download library here running just south of Chatsworth, NJ in 1972. I hope he makes another set with different road number & a bit more weathered. Maybe include #3067 in its "Red Baron" scheme .


Now about the route. It is going along real smooth, in fact I am always waiting for something to go wrong with it. Progress on it to date is as follows.

1) The former CNJ Seashore branch is done from the Route 35 overpass in Keyport to Atlantic Highlands. Still have to put in the Garden State Parkway in Keyport to complete the section to the NY&LB interchange & then run south from Atlantic Highlands to North Long Branch & West End to the connector for the NY&LB once again.


2) The Southern Division between South Lakewood to Winslow Jct. is about 90% done at the point. Still looking for an object that is OK to use for the Zeppelin Hangers at Lakehurst NAS. These are really noticeable in this area. The scrub pines are more or less all in place & ground cover needs a bit more fill between Pine Crest to Elm. And a bit more detailing needs to be done at Elm, Winslow Jct. & Axion.


3) The Barnegat Branch is about at 50% done. Most of the work is needed from Lanoka Harbor to Barnegat. That includes the JCP&L Oyster Creek Nuke Plant in Forked River, Waretown & Barnegat.


4) The CNJ mainline from the Jersey City passenger terminal to the Grenville section of Jersey City is 95% done. Next is from the Grenville section by the PRR's overpass to the Newark Bay Bridge approach in Bayonne.


5) The PRSL main from Atlantic City to just west of Winslow Jct. is about 50% done. Takes time to retexture buildings & billboards with new signs. This is needed in the areas of Atlantic City, Egg Harbor City, Hammonton, Pomona & Absecon-Pleasantville areas because the downtown & main road areas are right by the tracks & very noticeable.


6) Haven't really touched the NY&LB except for the Bay Head, Bradley Beach, Asbury Park & Long Branch areas. Again need a lot of resigned billboards & buildings signs for the line from Bay Head to Perth Amboy.


7) The former Elizabeth & Perth Amboy (Today's CAOS Chemical Coast Secondary) is planned out & started a bit at Barber. Hardest of this area to do is along the Kill Van Kull between NJ & Staten Island. Many different industries in this area & is great for switching activities.

That is a short list of what is going on. To get the feel of this area in that era I feel that having local businesses that are in view when you are in the cab is crucial. Stores, industries, billboards of the time give the real feel to the route.

The other hard part of this project is doing the historic trackage of the route. As I stated when I took on the project, I don't want to mess with the route's .tdb by removing track. So I am not removing the tracks that are OOS or removed over the years, like the former PRR's Atlantic Division between Whiting & Bay Head, The Tuckerton Railroad between Tuckerton & Whiting, The PRR's Freehold Secondary between Farmingdale & Sea Girt, The CNJ's Seashore Branch between Atlantic Highlands & West End, The Fort Hancock RR on Sandy Hook & The CNJ's Barnegat Branch (What is now know today as the Toms River Industrial Track & is exempt as of now.) between Lakehurst & Barnegat.

The Tuckerton RR was the easiest for figure out. It will become the "Tuckerton RR Museum Railway", a tourist line of the whole route. There was talk of doing a tourist line on the former Tuckerton's ROW back in the 1960's & early 1970's but again it was all a pipe dream. And the real museum for the railroad in Manahawkin would died to have a part of operational ROW today.

The PRR's former Atlantic Division will just become part of the Penn Central into the Conrail takeover in the route. With local freight traffic still in effect. The commuter service south of Bay Head will be handled by the PC also because CNJ commuter traffic ended at Bay Head Jct.. This is very easy to model for me because growing up in that era I spent a lot of time on the barrier island there. My memories of that area are very vivid in my memories & family photos. The area west of the Barnegat Bay Trestle are to with family & friends we visited in Pine Beach, Ocean Gate, Beachwood & the Crossley section of Manchester Township. Lots of scrub pine & retirement villages between Beachwood & Whiting on this stretch of the line. The Island Heights Branch from Pine Beach to Island Hts. is an adlib because their was nothing much left after the PRR abandoned it & torn it up in 1935. But I know the area of the wye in Pine Beach well along where the station location in Island Hts. was.

The former PRR Freehold Secondary with be just like its last days in 1962. Commuters between Sea Girt & Trenton (Farmingdale on this route). Addition to the area will be NJ's Allaire State Park in Wall Township.

The CNJ's Barnegat Branch will have the feel of 1972 how I remember it growing up. I had relatives that lived close to it in Beachwood & remember it greatly. Then I moved to the Pinewald area of Berkeley Township in 1981 right across the street from the ROW. Two weeks before we moved in the tracks were taken out from the nuke plant in Forked River to Admiral Blvd. in Beachwood (Just my luck!). But the whole area there didn't change much in almost 10 years. It will run a 1965 freight schedule & a 1950 passenger schedule using motive power & passenger rolling stock of the 1965-1976 era.

The CNJ's Seashore Branch is a challenge. First off the bat is the scissor bridge between Highlands & Highland Beach. With Route 36 built in the 1930's the road & rail combo of the bridge became obsolete. A double & higher bascule bridge for Rt. 36 was built in 1932 on the south side of the old bridge's swing span until the branch's abandonment south of Highlands in 1945. But the rail bridge stood up for almost another 4 years & was taken down in 1949. So the rail part of the scissor bridge will be left intact & Route 36 will be constructed from Highlands into West End. North Long Branch, Long Branch & West End was pretty built up at this time with part of the ROW becoming streets & part of Rt. 36 so I will run the roads parallel to the ROW as best as possible.

P. Tyler Bundy's CNJ SD40 #3068 coming into Chatsworth, NJ with JS-1 in 1972

The last few months I been re-texturing a lot of billboards, road signs & buildings for local businesses crucial to the feel of the route. Because many parts of the ROW's on the route run parallel to major roads & arteries, I feel it is worth the time. Buildings that have liberal reskin rules for I been using most if the building looks close to what is/was there. Some I put in inquiries for reskinning & got some replies (For the good) and some have gone on deaf ears. I guess from builders no longer active on the forum or have a abandoned e-mail address because of daemon error replies. Lucky I found some stand-ins for them on other sites that I can make a sign for to place on the buildings in case I get no replies from the others. But my limited skills at reskinning (I still can't do alpha channels correct but I haven't given up !) makes me a bit slower than the average person who is blessed with the skills. But I keep plugging along at it.

In fact before I posted this I uploaded into the file library a few buildings based on John "ATSFDUDE" Tackett's goodfood.zip set & Jerry (SMMModels) Conaway cremodri.zip set. Thanks to their very liberal reskin & release rules, I can release them ahead of the route's release in case you can use them. They are fast food & business chains both national & local from back in the 1965-1980 era with some that exist today. So for route builders & those who enhance other routes privately, I hope you can use them. I even added snow textures to the sets so they can be used anywhere. Just don't make fun of my limited reskin talent, I am joking they don't look bad I promise.

So that is it people. I missed you over these last months. I should be back in full after the 4th of July because of more doctor's visits before my last surgery. After than I am homebound for quite a while. I will be posting updated screens of the newly worked areas later this week. So you get a glimpse of what I did over this time away. And to any who think the project was just "Vaporware", guess again. The project never lost steam, just lost communication because of a virus & non-virus health issues on my part.

[NW 2156]

Hi,

Just wondering how things are going on this impressive project?

Thanks.

Robert

[conductorchris]

I too have been thinking about you, hoping everything is ok.
Christopher