Hike #207 3/5/6
Along the Middlesex County Greenway
3/5/6
For my next jaunt, I had planned once again the furthest east continueous section hike todate. Beginning in Metuchen where we’d begun walking earlier in the year, we wouldwalk a long loop in Middlesex County focusing on the old railroads.
Underpass on former LV rail bed in Metuchen
LV rail bed in Metuchen
LV Rail bed in Metuchen
LV railroad bed iN Metuchen
LV rail bed, now Middlesex County Greenway
Underneath the NJ Turnpike, former LV railroad underpass
Under NJ Turnpike on Middlesex Greenway
NJ Turnpike underpass
LV rail bed in Woodbridge area
Along former Lehigh Valley Railroad near Woodbridge
LV rail bed in Woodbridge area
LV rail bed bridge over the Garden State Parkway
We met at theMetuchen Railroad Station. I felt confident enough to drive there this time. I was nowworking for Vance Calvin, owner of Works Data Ltd. helping him install phone systems,and I was able to see some of the driving route I would need to take a few days earlierwhile on a job with him. Also joining me for this hike were Fred Hafale, and newcomers Mitch Max, Bill Rundle,and Ira Gardner. We began by stopping at the deli in Metuchen as we did last time, andwalking to the abandoned Lehigh Valley Railroad right of way, this time headingsoutheast. This section of it is officially open to public, part of the Middlesex CountyGreenway, though it has not been improved at all as it seems. We passed under the activerailroad tracks and began heading east. Most of this section paralleled Amboy Ave, thoughwe could’nt see the road at any time. We went through a deep cut soon on our way out ofMetuchen. We crossed Rt 1, and passed under a large underpass for the NJ Turnpike.
View of the Parkway from the LV tracks
View of the Garden State Parkway form the former LV railroad bridge
Garden State Parkway from the abandoned railraod
Former LV railroad
Former LV railroad nearing Perth Amboy
Foley Hydrolics place near Perth Amboy
Old LV railroad coming into Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy NJ
Approaching Perth Amboy on the old LV tracks
Perth Amboy station
Perth Amboy station
View of the Garden State Parkway form the former LV railroad bridge
Clock at Perth Amboy Station
Beach at Perth Amboy
The beach in Perth Amboy
View across the Raritan Bay in Perth Amboy
Boardwalk in Perth Amboy
Beach in Perth Amboy
Beach in Perth Amboy
Beach in Perth Amboy
Boardwalk in Perth Amboy
Beach in Perth Amboy
Beach in Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy wave breaker
Perth Amboy view across the Raritan Bay
The beach in Perth Amboy
The beach in Perth Amboy
On the beach in Perth Amboy
On the beach in Perth Amboy
View onto the Raritan Bay from Perth Amboy
View into Raritan Bay from Perth Amboy
Mouth of the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy
Mouth of the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy
Raritan Bay view from Perth Amboy
View up the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy
Along the waterfront in Perth Amboy
Waterfront walkway, Perth Amboy
Waterfront walkway in Perth Amboy
Outerbridge Crossing as seen from waterfront in Perth Amboy
Along the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy
Outerbridge Crossing over the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy
View of the west side of Staten Island from Perth Amboy
Along the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy
Old trestle site in Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy approaching the Outerbridge Crossing
View beneath the Outerbridge Crossing
View of the Outerbridge Crossing, Perth Amboy
View of the Outerbridge Crossing, Perth Amboy
Leaving Perth Amboy
It's a happy day in Perth Amboy
Lift bridge in Perth Amboy
Lift bridge in Perth Amboy
WTF? Delotto tries to determine if "smoking permitted" or "no smoking" is the correct signage.
Railroad tracks heading into Woodbridge
Woodbridge NJ, civil disobedience
Rahway Station, Rahway NJ
Thomas Edison's laboratory site
Edison tower
Edison tower
Edison Tower
Edison tower
Theright of way soon bagan ot open up more, with some views of industrial areas in thevicinty of Fords. We crosses several streets as well. At one point, a fence had been erectedover the right of way, but it had been knocke down enough to go over it. I felt we werenot trespassing anyway, as this section of the railbed was still included in the book “24Great Rail Trails in NJ”. Just before reaching the Garden State Parkway, there was a spur line breaking off to thesouth, and an overpass over a small road. I dropped my Nikon Coolpix Digital cameralhere, and fortunitely realized it in time to go back and look for it. I of course found it. Therails were in place from here east, though they were overgrown. Ahead of us lie the trestle over the Garden State Parkway, and a police officer in his carwas parked immediately on the other side, seemingly waiting for us. We waited aroundbefore we decided to cross the bridge. The cop soon left and we were alright to continue.The view of the Parkway from the bridge was incredible, with so many lanes of highwaybranching off in all directions gaining elevation to the bridges over the Rariton River justto the south. We continued east along some fenced in areas, and into a bit of a cut. Wepassed by some sort of rental place or something that had more lifts than I had ever seen!We soon reached the outskirts of Perth Amboy, and the railroad became active againahead. We found the remnants of a spur, a single rail, making it’s way south through thegrass. We continued on the streets into downtown Perth Amboy. By this time, I had been talking to Jim Delotto on the phone, and he planned on meetingup with us for part of the trip. He drove from his house in Mansfield Twp. out to PerthAmboy, meeting up with us at the train station. We got to the station by reaching theactive former Central Railroad of NJ, and walking the road parallel to it to the south. Wemet Delotto under a small clock tower there. The station looked like the mexican stylearchitecture more prominant of the southwestern US. We continued south parallel to the tracks for about six or so blocks, soon reaching theRariton Bay. I could see out to open water from here, the first continueous section hike Ihad done to reach part of the ocean! I was ecstatic and ran down onto the beach. Delottojoined me while the others stayed up on the well manucured walkway above. We walkedout on docks and took in the sight. The waterfront at Perth Amboy was much lovelier thanI had imagined. We continued around the edge of the water, eventually making our way tothe walkway near a dock, then north along the Arthur Kill with great views of Staten Island. The Outerbridge Crossing, a famous cantilever bridge from NJ to Staten Island NYcame into view here as well. We continued walking along the Arthur Kill north. We came to a terrific little boardwalk, which we went out for a good view, then turnedback. Some of the buildings along the waterfront were historic, as this was a major port atone time. There was a new building just before an area under construction, so we wentinside and saw a giant model of what was proposed for the waterfront. It appeared awalkway would be built along the Arthur Kill through the new area as well. We had tohead back into the city at this point due to the construction. We walked a few blocks in, and stopped in at a little deli type place, or a luncheonette Isuppose it would be called. I was’nt planning on eating at first, but Delotto had aninteresting little pastrie and meat wrap called an Empanada. In the past, the only thing Ihad ever heard of an Empanada was the Apple Empanadas they sold at Taco Bell. I foundit to be rather strange that a dessert pastry style wrap could hold something like meat. Ihad always thought the idea of Chicken Pot Pie was strange, so this was no different.When I tried it, though, I was quite fantastic! There were two varieties, beef and chicken.Delotto bought me a beef one, and then I had to buy a chicken one having enjoyed it somuch! After the great lunch, we began walking State Street north. It was for the most part a nicecity, with a lot of hispanic culture around.We walked through the city, soon passing underthe Outerbridge Crossing, with huge arch piers I found interesting. We continued north onState Street. I had originally planned to walk Amboy Ave to Woodbridge, but made awrong turn. We instead continued north to Sewaren, along the way crossing theWoodbridge River twice, once on State Street, and again on our way west to theWoodbridge Railroad Station. We also passed by what I think were steel manufactorers.In addition, we made fun of a set of signs right next to each other near an entrance, onereading “Smoking Permitted” and the other “No Smoking”! When we reached Woodbridge, Delotto decided to cut out and take a train back to hiscar in Perth Amboy. The rest of us continued north trying to parallel the active railroadtracks through town. We passed by a train just after leaving Delotto. He would not havehad long to wait! We soon reached a footbridge over the railroad, which we used to get to the next parallelroad on the east side of the tracks. Ira was apprehensive about the weird steel bridge, butit was plenty safe. Continueing north we passed through Avanel. We had to walk a long series of roads andgot a bit out of the way. We ended up walking a road along the Rahway River on the wayto Rahway NJ. The station here was very nice. We wall went up the stairs to the tracklevel to check it out. Ira decided to cut out here, as we still had a long walk ahead of us.He took a train back to his home in NY. Fred, Mitch, Bill, and I continued south following roads closely parallel with the formerPennsylvania Railroad, which would lead us back to Metuchen. The road had enoughroom to walk alongside it, with several tracks to our left. We soon passed throughColonia walking along the Lincoln Highway. Bill was pretty beat by the time we reachedthe Metropark Station and decided to cut out himself. Fred, Mitch, and I continued a short distance to Menlo Park, where we decided to visitthe Thomas Edison laboratory site where a memorial tower had been erected. We walkedup hill to the site of the laboratory, which was surprisingly drab looking. A commonlooking field full of grass with a few foundations, then a large tower with a model ofEdison’s light bulb on top. Mitch commented that it was surprisingly not very spectacular.We continued back down the hill to the Lincoln Highway southbound. We crossed overthe former Reading Railroad and soon made a left hand turn off the highway to aneighborhood called Robinvale. We stopped in at a little park alongside the road parallelto the tracks with a nature trail into the woods. We decided not to follow it far, insteadwalking a long series of roads, into what I refer to as a “Menagerie of Cul De Sacs”. Weseemed to walk streets into the dark, and kept finding dead ends. It took us a while, butwe finally found our way back to Metuchen Station. Photos by Mike Helbing, Fred Hafale (FH), and Jim Delotto (JD) Here's a link to all of the pictures followed by their descriptions... http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/sneezehorse/hike207%203-5-6/ 1.) On the abandoned Lehigh Valley Railroad bed in Metuchen NJ, now the Middlesex CountyGreenway; from left, Mitch Max, Ira Gardner, Fred Hafale, and Bill Rundl 2.) Lincoln Highway underpass in Metuchen NJ (FH) 3.) Me on the right of way in Metuchen (FH) 4.) I think this is near the crossing of Amboy Ave 5.) On the very wet LV grade near Metuchen (FH) 6.) Former grade crossing somewhere near Raritan Manor or Phoenix area 7.) Me up under the NJ Turnpike underpass (FH) 8.) Another one of me under the Turnpike underpass 9.) Under the NJ Turnpike 10.) Along the right of way in Fords or Valentine area 11.) Me playing with a Power Wheels thing on the right of way near Fords (FH) 12.) The right of way in the Fords area (FH) 13.) On the Garden State Parkway Bridge overpass near Keasbey 14.) The Garden State Parkway and it's many interchanges in a view south from the railroadbridge. The ramp is where the highway begins to cross the Raritan River. 15.) Another highway view of the highway to the south (FH) 16.) Another view of the Parkway, this time to the north (FH) 17.) I believe this bridge goes over Rt 9 north of Keasby 18.) Crossing the bridge which I believe was over Rt 9 19.) Huge lifts on the outskirts of Perth Amboy, reminding me of an Octopus 20.) Fred on an abandoned spur track in Perth Amboy 21.) Railroad right of way entering Perth Amboy 22.) Down town Perth Amboy 23.) Perth Amboy train station (FH) 24.) Fred and Delotto at Perth Amboy Station 25.) In Perth Amboy at the train station 26.) Sandy Point in Perth Amboy with railroad bridge in view 27.) Railrod bridge from the southern end near Sandy Point, Perth Amboy 28.) Having a look at the beach from the south end of Perth Amboy (FH) 29.) The walkway at the southern end of Perth Amboy to Ferry point (FH) 30.) View across the Raritan Bay from Perth Amboy 31.) Walkway in Perth Amboy (FH) 32.) Me walking along the beach in Perth Amboy (FH) 33.) View east out to Raritan Bay (FH) 34.) Delotto on the beach in Perth Amboy (FH) 35.) Southern end of Perth Amboy (FH) 36.) Delotto on the beach in Perth Amboy 37.) Delotto on a little pier in Perth Amboy 38.) View across Raritan Bay from Perth Amboy 39.) Me on the beach at Ferry Point area (JD) 40.) More at Ferry Point (JD)41-42.) Me at Ferry Point area Perth Amboy (JD) 43.) View out onto the bay44.) View out to the Raritan Bay east 45.) Raritan Bay view (FH) 46.) View into the beginning of the Arthur Kill (FH) 47.) The southern end of the Arthur Kill 48.) Another view out to the bay (FH) 49.) A park along the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy (FH) 50.) View north on the Arthur Kill toward the Outerbridge Crossing (FH) 51.) The Outerbridge Crossing (FH) 52-53.) "Give Peace a Chance" painted on a wall on the path along the Arthur Kill (JD) 54.) Old building in Perth Amboy along the Arthur Kill 55.) The Outerbridge Crossing 56.) View of Staten Island, NY 57.) Docks on the east side of Perth Amboy 58.) Ira Gardner and Delotto walk by an old bridge abutment for a former rail spur in PerthAmboy's north side, State Street 59.) Walking north on State Stree, County Rt 611. 60.) View of the underside of the Outerbridge Crossing 61.) The Outerbridge Crossing on the north side of Perth Amboy 62.) A similar Outerbridge Crossing view (FH) 63.) Industrial areas off State Street heading north (FH) 64.) Delotto in the industrial areas north of Perth Amboy 65.) Interesting railroad lift bridge as seen from State Street 66.) Another view of the lift bridge (FH) 67.) A strange spot, the sign on the left reads "Smoking Permitted" while the one on the right reads "No Smoking". Delotto was very amused, as he noticed it. 68.) Crossing over the railroad in Sewaren 69.) Another funny sign situation, with this old "Sidewalk Closed" sign in the area of Woodbridge 70.) Rahway NJ, at the train station 71.) Menlo Park, NJ, this was the site of Thomas A. Edison's lab where the first publicdemonstration of the light bulb took place. 72.) Edison Memorial Tower in Menlo Park near the laboratory site 73.) Edison Tower 74.) Another shot of Edison Tower (FH) 75.) Edison Tower (FH)
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