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(erielack) CX-99

Paul Brezicki's comments about the UPS traffic that CX-99 picked up in Port 
Jervis are "spot on", as the British would say.  My rough understanding of 
UPS operations in the 70s is that trailers left UPS "sorting hubs" in the 11 
PM to 2 AM range loaded with packages picked up during the day by the 
familiar brown vans, sorted for common destination (i.e., another hub where 
the packages would be sorted for local delivery).  A trailer could leave 
Stratford  or even Hartford around 1 am and make it to Port by 4, giving at 
least 3 hours to tie the trailers down at the small drive-on ramp and be 
ready for CX-99 at around 7.  From Boston, a trailer would have to leave by 
10 PM, somewhat early for UPS.  I don't think the Port Jervis traffic was 
very heavy; the handful of times I saw the pickup, it was only 2 to 4 flats 
with 4 to 8 trailers.  So yes, the Port Jervis TOFC pickup for CX-99 was 
most logically from southern Connecticut points.  I have made the correction 
on my westbound symbols list.


I appreciate comments and corrections like this, so as to make the symbols 
list more accurate and informative.  If I'm missing any regular symboled run 
from any phase of the EL's lifespan, I'd appreciate knowing about that too.  
Not long ago I found out that I had missed a lot of very early EL symbols 
like LI-98 and XC-75; have since tried to correct for that.


Regarding Mr. Brezicki and Mr. Burts' comments about the effect of 
Interstate 80 on the EL, that is certainly an important contributing factor 
to keep in mind regarding the EL's demise.  I-80 was opened across 
Pennsylvania in late 1970, and the western stretch in New Jersey was opened 
in 1973.  (I well remember the detour via Route 46 east from the Gap after a 
hard day railfanning in Pennsylvania; how could one ever forget scenic 
Buttzville and Great Meadows at dusk.)  The immediate effect was probably on 
TOFC traffic, especially the Plan 1 traffic discussed by Mr. Brezicki.  By 
1974, NY-99 and NY-100 were largely UPS trains, not much different from 
CX-99 and 2-NY-100.  But in the 1960s, NY-99 and NY-100 carried traffic from 
a variety of motor carriers, including Navajo (as mentioned), Cooper-Jarrett 
and Spector Freight.  (IIRC, Spector bought a fairly large block of EL 
common stock in the early 60s, possibly because of its interest in TOFC 
services).   Had the EL held on to that traffic somehow, there arguably 
would have been a third set of daily TOFC runs between CX and 51st Street in 
the 70s.  (There was a third TOFC w/b in the mid 70s, ACX-99, but I believe 
it only ran three days per week).  And conversely, had the EL not held on to 
UPS traffic, CX-99 probably would have been abolished and NY-99 would have 
become a mixed TOFC / general freight train, as NY-97 / NY-77 were in the 
60s.  (In the 70s, NY-97 carried less and less TOFC, being pretty much all 
boxcar / misc freight / autos by 1974).


Jim Gerofsky



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