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(erielack) NY Harbor Interchange (was: CNJ Interchange)

So as not to bore the non-rail-marine list members too much, I will try to keep this as short as possible. 
 
As Jim Guthrie said, the only Bay Ridge float traffic was PRR-NH, all the other railroads were forced to interchange via Oak Point, which was an 18 mile trip, one way from the Bronx via Hell Gate to Jersey City.
 
As set up in the tarriffs governing interchange in the harbor area, the Erie (and DL&W) had the ability to interchange with each other via carfloat, though as we all know, there would be no logical reason to in most cases, since that was more easily done via a direct rail connection. All the port area railroads were forced to use an expensive (and some would say wasteful) mode of transportation in the harbor area for interchange, but they weren't that wasteful! The one exception to this "rule" was the NYC 60th St West Side float connection, and even though the Erie had the direct Weehawken NYC interchage, still had a float that went from Pavonia and back every day. This also applied to the CNJ and LV, who had the NYC rail connection via the Nat. Docks.
 
Since the Erie and DL&W had the superior Maybrook interchange connection to the NH, interchange via carfloat wasn't so important to them as it was to the PRR, CNJ or LV, the L&HR involvement not withstanding in the DL&W's case. Avoiding the harbor connection to the NH if at all possible made good sense to the DL&W. Thus, in every NH, CNJ and PRR Arranged Freight Train Service books I have ever seen, there are never any mention of symbol freight/float connections with any of the other railroads like the Erie or DL&W. Of course, you have to factor in any LIRR interchange traffic, and interchage with the Brooklyn contract terminal railroads, which did not typically run on published float runs, but all the trunkline railroads did business with them. 
 
As to what Paul asked, by the time of the Poughkeepsie Bridge burning, the practice of interchage via carfloat was so mortibund along with the railroads that did required using it (not to mention the poor shape of the equipment needed to do so) was so small, it really didn't matter. Heck, it didn't take Conrail long to abandon all marine activities, so that should just go to show how little it mattered by then.
 
As an aside, in 1945 the Anthracite coal shipments in NY Harbor were primarily handled by the CNJ and reading to the LIRR, while the LV handled the NH traffic, and the Bituminous to the LIRR by the LIRR by way of the B&O.
The full chart breakdown can be viewed at - 
http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirr%20freight/1945coalbyroad.gif
In 1941, the CNJ-LIRR percentage of all floated interchange traffic was 11.5%, the Erie's at 7.0%, and the DL&W at 6.3%.
All this info comes via Steve Lynch's LIRR website. 
 
OK, you can all wake up now!
 
Ralph Heiss
S. Plainfield, NJ
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railmarineops/
 




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