South River Bridge Automation

Idea- South River Rail Bridge Automation: On the Raritan River Railroad right of way there is a swing bridge crossing the South River. Currently it is manually operated although crossings are infrequent. This design would see the bridge became automated with a battery powered motor turning the bridge. Since the river is tidal there are possibilities for the battery to be recharged through renewable methods.

Special Thanks: This project would not be possible without Professor Kevin Lu of Stevens' ECE Department and Ryan Wagner of Conrail. Their help was instrumental in the development of this proposal and made it an excellent experience.

Update:(2021-04-27) The site visit was today and was very helpful. Conrail is seeking to motorize the bridge, but are not too interested in making the bridge autonomous. There simply isn't enough traffic on the bridge to warrant the costs with automation. Their motivation is to reduce the physical strain on their workers that will lower risks of workplace injury. Due to traffic from the nearby marina workers will sometimes have to operate the bridge more times than necessary to accommodate boat traffic. Cost is another important factor as electrifying the bridge will already be expensive. There aren't any nearby utility lines and the motor would approximately be 480V three-phase. The speed of the operation is not a major factor. He also said they were considering installing a generator for the bridge that would bypass the need from a connection to the grid.

Legal Requirement for the Bridge:

§ 117.756 South River.

The draw of the Conrail bridge, mile 2.8 at South River shall open on weekdays (exclusive of holidays) from December 1 through the last day of February if at least four hours notice is given. From March 1 through November 30, and December 1 through the last day of February on weekends and holidays the draw shall be maintained open to navigation except for closure to accommodate passage of a train. The draw shall be opened as soon as possible at all times for passage of a public vessel of the United States.

[CGD3 83-067, 49 FR 33014, Aug. 20, 1984]

Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/117.756

Update: (2021-04-19) Ryan and I had scheduled a site visit for this week, however he is busy so we will reschedule for next week.

Update: (2021-04-04) After reaching back to my initial call I spoke with a Conrail employee, Ryan Wagner. He was very surprised that I had called to discuss automating the bridge since They had just started looking into automating the bridge themselves. I too was surprised, but it was a great deal of validation to see professionals pursuing the same idea as myself. This also certifies Conrail as a stakeholder in this project. I am going to ask Ryan if it is possible for me to see the bridge in operation and/or obtain some engineering drawings to better understand how the bridge works.

Info Obtained:

• From December to March the bridge is in the normally closed position while from April to November the bridge is in the normally open position with on average 3 closings a week.

• Ryan informed me of the CRF which are government regulations regarding when these bridges need to be open or closed.

• Conrail is unaware of the torque or horsepower needed to operate the bridge.

• There are actually two mechanical systems on the bridge. One rotates the body of the bridge while the other moves the rails and locks them in place to the stationary rails.

Other resources:

https://www.railroad.net/rail-line-and-swing-bridge-on-south-river-questions-t43591.html

-An old rail forum discussing the history of the bridge. Unfortunately the pictures will not load, but still appear in Google Images where I found one of a worker operating the bridge. If their information is correct and the bridge was built in 1910 then it is over 110 years old which is astounding. I would assume its likely one of the oldest existing structures in the town that hasn't fallen into ruin.

http://www.raritanriverrailroad.net/ForgottenHistory_SouthRiver.htm

-This webpage is where I learned about the bridge's history many years ago. It has recently been updated and re uploaded.