A blog about living in Aberdeen, New Jersey.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Brushfire Halts Train Service Through Matawan-Aberdeen Station

A brushfire near the railroad tracks at County Road is keeping NJ Transit trains from passing through the area. This writer is cooling his heels on a shore-bound train at South Amboy. 

UPDATE: Trains moving again. Delay was nearly an hour, 8-9 pm. 

2 comments:

  1. I was on a train that stopped just before the Morgan Drawbridge and then returned to South Amboy.

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  2. We were evidently on the same local train. The fire marshal wouldn't let us proceed past the Morgan draw and NJ Transit didn't want to clog the railway, so NJT sent us back to South Amboy to join the express train sitting at the station. The local turned around and headed back towards NYC, something it would have done anyway if it could have reached Matawan.

    Did you notice that the conductor referred to the brushfire at County Road as being east of Matawan station? If you're familiar with the area, you will know that County Road is actually west of Matawan, but this isn't a routine geography issue. No, this is train talk. Since trains traveling to New York cross the Hudson River going eastbound, that is the direction County Road is from Matawan - east. If you're at the Matawan station, you will notice that trains heading to the Shore are on the Westbound track and NYC trains are eastbound. Go figure. I actually never considered this situation beyond boundedness and wouldn't have thought a conductor would say what she did.

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