New York New Jersey Rail, which operates Cross Harbor Railroad in New York Harbor, is one of the most unique operations in the United States, and the SIU members who work there continue to find it an exciting way of life.
A century ago, several hundred rail cars were floated across the harbor each day from the Greenville yard in Jersey City, N.J. to the Bush Terminal yard in Brooklyn, N.Y. aboard barges. Today, rail cars are making a rebirth by crossing the harbor on carfloats carrying nearly 8,000 rail cars each year and operating in much the same manner as they did in the late ’30s and ’40s. The trip across the harbor takes 45 minutes—much quicker than shipping overland, which can take up to 5 days round trip.The Seafarers International Union represents seven employees at New York New Jersey Rail: conductors, engineers, brakemen and bridgemen. Working with new management, the SIU recently was able to secure for the employees a one-year extension to their contract, which includes a wage increase, additional vacation day, guaranteed 40-hour work week and a longevity bonus.
Metropolitan New York is one of the largest consumer markets in the world, receiving goods at its ports that then need to be transported inland by way of truck. By moving much of this freight on the water, truck congestion is reduced (one rail car is the equivalent of four trucks) and so are vehicle emissions. Therefore, each round trip crossing removes 120 trucks from the local bridges, tunnels and roadways and also provides shippers—who don’t want to travel the extra 150 miles to Albany—with a shortcut across the Hudson River.
Rail cars that arrive at the Greenville yard are loaded onto the operating barge—called a carfloat—which then makes the crossing to Brooklyn, where they are offloaded. The cargo moved includes a wide variety of commodities— everything from food products, building and construction materials and paper to hay, scrap and oversized machinery that is too large for road transport. The New York City Transit Authority also utilizes the train-ferry facility to get old, new and refurbished subway cars in and out of the system.
New York New Jersey Rail recently made the news (The New York Times, Aug. 11, 2006) when it donated a 95-ton, 60-year-old engine locomotive to a project organized by the Department of Parks and Recreation. For the cost of the engine’s scrap-metal value ($30,000), the No. 25 was restored and will be the centerpiece of Manhattan’s newest public park.
Old No. 25 was not the kind of locomotive that powered sleek passenger trains; rather it was a rugged switching engine run by a 660-horsepower diesel engine built by the American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, N.Y. in 1946 for the Erie Railroad. It was in use in Brooklyn from 1967 until the 1990s.
A number of workers, including SIU members and volunteers, helped refurbish the old engine. One of the volunteers was Diane Mitchner, who shipped with the SIU for 10 years starting in 1979. A graduate of trainee class 278, Mitchner sailed in the deep sea division, last as a chief steward on the Sea-Land Express.
While working on the arts project (painting the interior of the car), she made friends with the railroad crew at the yard. And in talking with them, the subject of the SIU came up and she was surprised to find out they were members. She told the Seafarers LOG that she hadn’t known about New York New Jersey Rail when she was a member and was tickled to find out that even though she had stopped sailing, she had somehow found her way back to her union roots.
Layers of lead paint had to be stripped from the engine, and toxic fluids and batteries were removed in order to make it child-safe. The bright blue color was replaced with the black and yellow colors of the New York Central, and an “86” prefix was added to “No. 25” to recreate with historical accuracy the designation of trains in the original West Side rail yard.
In mid-August, the engine was barged from Brooklyn to Jersey City, where it was loaded on another barge equipped with a crane. It later was floated across the Hudson River and lifted onto a flatbed truck, transported and then deposited in its new location on a set of historic rails from another section of the city. A plaza will be built around the engine with a children’s play area. No. 25 and the new West Side park will officially open to the public next spring where children and adults alike will be able to walk into the two-person interior.
“It’s irresistible—everyone wants to play in a train,” said Tim Watkins, the project’s exhibit-design consultant.
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