Gerald's Railroads Of New Jersey
NJ Transit History
THE NJ DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
The roots of NJ Transit date back long before the agency's
first day in 1983. NJ Transit was an offspring of the NJ Department
of Transportation, created in 1966 to aid the state of New Jersey and the
transportation issues that existed. The NJDOT was the first state
DOT in the country. To aid the ailing railroads, the NJDOT assumed
operation of the four commuter carriers at that time- the Erie Lackawanna,
the Jersey Central Lines, the Penn-Central, and the Pennsylvania-Reading
Seashore Lines. Each carrier was looked at and analyzed on a case
by case basis. To aid the Erie Lackawanna, the NJDOT purchased new
U34CH class locomotives from General Electric. To supplement these
new locomotives, a fleet of new Comet I Class commuter coaches were purchased
for push-pull use on the Hoboken Lines. The bankrupt Jersey Central
received the most attention out of the four commuter carriers. The
CNJ was swamped with excess trackage and dwindling customers. The
NJDOT, in the most well known rail move in NJ History, implemented the
Aldene Plan on April 30, 1967. On this date, the CNJ was forced to
abandon it's Jersey City Terminal at Liberty State Park. Trains would
now make their last mainline stop at Cranford, travel up a single track
ramp to Lehigh Valley Tracks and continue to join Penn Central's Northeast
Corridor at Newark Penn Station. CNJ Trains would terminate at Newark
Penn and layover in a brand new yard at Harrison. To keep commuters
on the abandoned trackage, the CNJ operated "Scoots" from Cranford to Bayonne
over the infamous Newark Bay Bridge with Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs).
These "Scoots" lasted until 1978. The Penn Central was another railroad
that was suffering from financial troubles. NJDOT purchased a fleet
of "Jersey Arrows" Multiple Unit Cars for use on the North Jersey Coast
Line and the Northeast Corridor Line, to replace aging MP54 class MUs.
The MU's worked so well that the NJDOT later supplemented these with a
fleet of "Arrow II" Multiple Unit Cars, which had increased passenger comforts.
The small fleet of Arrow IIs was later supplemented by yet another fleet
of MU Cars- The Arrow IIIs. The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
was losing money due to the highway. PRSL could not compete with
the amount of vacation-goers that preferred to drive instead of take the
train. The PRSL RDC's came to be the sole equipment used for passenger
use on the lines in South Jersey. Occasionally, during the winter
months, some RDCs would be leased to the CNJ for use on the "Scoots".
The NJDOT stepped in and cut back PRSL service from Philadelphia to Lindenwold,
creating the high speed PATCO (Port Authority Transit Co.) linking Philadelphia
to Lindenwold via Camden. The shore branches were abandoned and PRSL
ran trains from Lindenwold to Cape May, Ocean City, and Atlantic City.
THE CONRAIL YEARS
April 1, 1976- A day that changed railroad history. On this date,
the Consolidated Railroad Corporation (Conrail) came into existence.
Conrail was created to assume operations of the bankrupt northeastern railroads,
including passenger service. Conrail operated the commuter lines
under contract from the NJDOT. NJ Transit was later created by the
Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate and contract for
transportation
service in the public interest." NJ Transit assumed passenger operations
from Conrail on January 1, 1983.
NJ TRANSIT- THE EARLY YEARS
NJ Transit's operations started almost without any notice on 1/1/83.
What was acquired was a mixed bag of old and tired equipment, ranging from
the EL MUs running out of Hoboken to GG1s and E8s being used out of Newark
and New York. NJ Transit kept most of this equipment running for
years before it was finally phased out. In it's first purchase of
new equipment, NJ Transit ordered F40PH-2s from EMD and a fleet of new
Comet II Coaches for use on the Raritan Valley Line, West Trenton Line,
and on the Hoboken Divison. As NJT received more and more of the
Arrow IIIs, the original Arrow I MUs were phased out and stored.
In 1983, NJ Transit overhauled the entire Arrow II Fleet. The Arrows
gradually found their way to Hoboken Service and not before long, the original
Erie Lackawanna MUs were retired. However, on the former PC lines,
the old equipment kept on running. NJT kept searching for replacements
for the GG1s and looked at many possibilities. E44 Class Locomotives
used from Conrail were tested for use on the NEC and NJCL, but did not
work in NJT's favor. NJT finally settled on used E60 Electric Locomotives
from Amtrak. NJT also bought used F7s from the Chicago and NorthWestern
Railroad and used E8s from Southern. The F Units were usually found
on the Hoboken Divison while the E Units were isolated to the NJCL.
The NJCL became the last stand for much of NJT's Equipment. NJT also
took upon itself to abandon rail service that today is either operating
or is on NJT's "To Do" List. Among these abandonments were the West
Trenton Line and the Atlantic City Line.
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE FLEET
By 1987, NJT found that ridership had soared since it's creation five years
earlier. Finding itself short on equipment, NJT searched for more
equipment to handle the commuter surge. Looking in their shops, NJT
found the retired fleet of Arrow I Multiple Unit Coaches. These were
chosen to be converted to push- pull coaches. Had NJT not been moving
their shops to the Meadowlands Maintenance Facility (MMC) from the former
CNJ Elizabethport shops, the overhaul would have been done "in house".
Instead, one by one, the coaches were shipped to Bombardier in Vermont
to be overhauled. The center doors were replaced with seats and the
cab windows were boarded over. These coaches are known as Comet IBs
in NJT's fleet. To accompany these new coaches, NJT ordered new GP40FH-2
locomotives, rebuilt from GP40's. Also overhauled in 1987 were the
Erie Lackawanna Comet I coaches. By this time, though, the E60s were
already in need of replacement. NJT searched once again for a new
locomotive and finally settled on the ALP44 Class Electric Locomotive.
These were built from Asea-Brown-Boveri (ABB) overseas. They were
delivered to NJT in 1989. Seeking to improve the MU Fleet, NJT rebuilt
the Arrow IIIs in 1989, but left the Arrow II Fleet as it was, with full
intentions to retire it in the not too distant future. The first
order of ALP44's were on NJT property by 1991, when NJT ordered another
fleet of coaches- the Comet IIIs from Bombardier. These new push-pull
coaches were used exclusively with the ALP-44s. Unlike NJT's previous
push-pull coaches, these new coaches were handicap accessible and had central
doors, similar to the MU fleet. In 1993, NJT ordered more locomotives-
GP40PH-2s, from rebuilt GP40s. Again in 1994, NJT had ordered more
GP40s- GP40PH-2Bs from rebuilt Conrail GP40s. Also included in the
1994 deal were 4 GP40-2s for NJT's work train service. With the 1994
deal, the U34CH locomotives had ended their useful service life and were
retired. Some were sold to Mexico, some scrapped, some preserved
by the United Railroad Historical Society. In 1995 and again in 1996,
NJT ordered more ALP44 Electric Locomotives, for use on the new MidTown
Direct Trains.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH AMTRAK
In 1989, after an extensive rebuilding of the line from Philadelphia to
Atlantic City, NJT and Amtrak started operating over the former PRSL route.
Amtrak had control of the entire line, with NJT running the former PRSL
route from Lindenwold to Atlantic City. During this time, some of
NJT's Comet II Fleet was modified to be "Amtrak Compatible". The
letters "AC" were applied to the compatible equipment. In 1995, Amtrak
had found that ridership had fallen well short of expectations and pulled
out Atlantic City, leaving NJT as the sole carrier. NJT extended
service to Philadelphia's 30th Street Station and built a brand new stop
at Cherry Hill. Today, NJT still operates the line with ridership
slowly growing.
A MIRACLE IN THE MEADOWS
February 9, 1996- NJ Transit's morning rush came to a hault when two trains
collided head on in the Jersey Meadows. The equipment- GP40PH-2 4148,
and Comet II Cab 5146 were destroyed. The accident killed 3- both
engineers and one passenger. Later that year, NJT had ordered yet
another fleet of Comet Coaches- the Comet IVs. These new state of
the art coaches lacked one door in the control cab, thus creating a safer
environment for the engineer. NJT 4148 has since been rebuilt into
a GP40PH-2B and renumbered 4219. 5146 has since been removed from
the NJT roster.
MORE ROUTES
NJ Transit has created many rail connections and taken on many projects
since it's creation. In 1984, the long anticipated re-electrification
of the Morris and Essex Lines was completed. This included changing
over to AC current. In the late 1980s, NJT extended electrification
of the NJCL from South Amboy to Matawan and later all the way to Long Branch,
creating a one seat ride into NYC. The Waterfront Connection, linking
the Newark Division to Hoboken was a major achievement. NJT could
now run direct trains from Trenton, Bay Head, and High Bridge to Hoboken
via Newark Penn. The Waterfront Connection was also needed to run
equipment to NJT's new Meadowlands Maintenance Facility, located at the
base of the Waterfront Connection. The alter-ego, the Kearny Connection
was an instant success. Trains could finally run from Gladstone and
Dover to New York Penn directly. NJT's MidTown Direct Service caused
ridership to soar. The Newark Airport Station completed in 2001 allows
commuters on the NEC and NJCL take the train to the airport- a feature
that has worked well in other cities. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
will be a key rail link in North Jersey once completed. NJT is in
the process of building the Secaucus Transfer Station, which will allow
Main Line passengers to transfer to Midtown trains once completed.
Also in progress is the Montclair Connection, which will allow Boonton
Line passengers to have a direct ride into Manhattan once completed.
THE MTA TRADE
NJ Transit operates a pool service with the Metro North Railroad (MTA)
of New York. Under contract from Metro North, NJ Transit operates
MTA's Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Line. MTA contributes equipment
to this pool. MTA had Comet III Cabs 5179 and 5180 included in this
pool as well as Comet IV Cab 5009. 5009 was painted in full NJT colors
and numbered in NJT's Comet IV number slots. In 1998, NJT traded
MTA 5009, 5179, and 5180 for Comet II Cabs 5135 and 5136. MTA 5179
became NJT 5009 to fit in NJT's Comet III slots. MTA 5009 became
NJT 5030. MTA 5180 became NJT 5010. The original Comet IV 5010
became NJT 5031. 5135 and 5136 did not receive any number changes
and are now MTA 5135-5136. The trade took place in 1998.
MORE EQUIPMENT, MORE RETIREMENT
In 1997, NJT overhauled their F40PH-2 Locomotives into F40PH-2CATs at Conrail's
Juniata Shops. NJ Transit ordered a new fleet of Comet V Coaches
in 2001, scheduled for delivery sometime in 2002. NJ Transit also
sent out their Comet II Fleet to be overhauled in 2001. The entire
fleet will be converted to trailers compatible with the Comet III, IV,
and V fleets. Also ordered were new ALP-46 Electric Locomotives and
new diesels from ALSTOM for use with this new equipment. Once the
Comet II Fleet is overhauled, the Comet V Fleet should arrive on NJT property.
At this time, NJT will retire the Erie Lackawanna Comet I Fleet.
Once the new diesels arrive, NJT will retire the former CNJ GP40PH-2s.
In the not too distant future, NJT will be purchasing bi-level push pull
coaches for use on the MidTown Direct trains. These must be specially
designed to meet height requirements in the Hudson River Tunnels.
(C) Gerald Oliveto 1-02
NJ
Transit Equipment Timeline
NJ
Transit Active Equipment Roster
Strategic
Plan: NJ Transit Projects Through 2020 Map
The NJ Transit 2020 Projects Map was distributed by NJ Transit. This
version was modified for web usage by Bob Scheurle. Separate versions
can be found in their full context on the New Jersey Association of Rail
Passengers (NJ-ARP) website or the New Jersey Transit Official Website.
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