Tying it together

Calling all railroad afficianados! Do you know what the metal cheese-grater plates on the ends of some railroad ties are called? ‘Cos I can’t figure it out.

Apparently “plates” are what you call the thingies on TOP of the ties (aka “sleepers”) that hold the rail in place. Both Wikipedia and Google have been most unhelpful in my quest for the correct terminology.

I’m guessing the grate-plate-iron-things are for reinforcement— so that the wood doesn’t rot and collapse too quickly. But that’s just a guess.

Aaaaaaaanyway. This is a stack of ‘em at Gillette Station.

Lonely little Gillette

The Gillette Station is, as far as I can tell, one of two stations on the Morris & Essex Gladstone branch that doesn’t actually have any kind of a depot. (Stirling is the other one, according to Wikipedia.) There’s just a tiny little bus shelter, which now has ticket vending machines crammed into it, so it can only protect maybe two or three people from inclement weather.

When I visited the station on Sunday afternoon (Thanksgiving weekend), there were ZERO cars in the parking lot. I watched two trains go by— one going into New York, one coming back out— and nobody boarded or disembarked either one.

It’s a very lonely station.

Last views of fall

I love autumn! And I love that the trees around here don’t mostly go from green to brown (which is what I’m used to)! It is pretty nifty!

(P.S. This is Meyersville Road.)