An Erie-Lackawanna GP35 poses for our shot of the Hidden Yard. The locomotive is sitting on track 4, with its short hood facing west. The lights are positioned above so that the passage of a train can be noted by photoelectric sensors between the rails on each track. Also located above are the old twin-coil switch machines, used only because of clearance restraints. Although the work is not visible, two new stub-end tracks are under construction in the immeadiate foreground.
Peeking inside the fascia, a Santa Fe freight sits on the center track of three new tracks added to this yard as part of the Albatross Extension Project.
This extremely rare view with the car shop removed shows the western throat of the Hidden Yard exposed during reconstruction of the eastbound main behind the Viaduct in 2014.
The Hidden Yard is our primary staging area. It is not really much of a yard, but a series of passing sidings; the double track main splits into six double-ended tracks. The yard also includes two tracks that are stub ended, with the switches on the Eastbound main at the west end. Three more stub ended tracks, were added late in 2001, seen below. They connect to the Westbound main on the east end of the yard. Albatross Yard, the completely visible switching yard, is located directly above the Hidden Yard.
Although the Hidden Yard is for the most part concealed, parts of it and other ‘underground’ parts of the railroad are visible through plexiglass windows during our Annual Show, so no one misses out on the action behind the scenes!
| WESTBOUND | GARDEN STATE NORTHERN Virtual Layout Tour Index | EASTBOUND |
| The Viaduct | The Hidden Yard | Soggy Bottom JIM Tower |