Re: (erielack) Mainline passing sidings on the Susquehanna Div. (was: Local traffic in Endicott and Johnson City

[ShepRail_@_aol.com]

Paul B and List,

    The Center Siding at Sterlington, New York held
65 multi-levels. The east end of this siding consisted
of a trailing-point turnout off the Eastbound Main 
Track to the siding, a crossover from the siding
to the Westbound Main Track and a derail on the
siding itself. 

    This configuration provided access to the siding 
and allowed trains tocrossover from one main track 
to another. In fact, the east ending of the siding was 
known as "Ramapo Crossover".   The other end of the 
Center Siding was just west of the old station at 
Sterlington ("SW"), approximately where CP-Sterling 
is located today. At that point, there was a trailing-point 
turnout to the Westbound Main Track but there was 
no connection to the Eastbound Main Track by 1974.

    For security reasons and track conditions, the Center
Siding in later years was generally used to store empty 
multi-levels for the Ford Assembly Plant at Mahwah. 
Eastbound trains would set off excess empty multi-levels 
on the siding and a crew from Mahwah would later run out 
and retrieve them. At other times, a road crew with Ford 
traffic would pick-up some empty multi-levels before 
proceeding to Hillburn Yard and/or the Ford plant. 

    Years later, as traffic levels declined, empty auto racks
were held at Port Jervis and were brought down as 
required. As a result, the Center Siding at Sterlington
was retired.

    It should also be noted that the west end of the siding was
proximate to Sterling Junction, where the Sterling Mountain
Railway interchanged traffic with the Erie. Whether the
Center Siding was built to support those operations is
unclear.

Bill Sheppard


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