North Jersey Coast Line

Page 3

In this third, and final, page covering the old New York & Long Branch, we will visit the end of the line
at Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head Junction.  Point Pleasant Beach is a well known destination for summer
tourists visiting the Jersey Shore with its many amusement rides and the boardwalk.  Bay Head is located at
 the very north end of the Barnegat Bay and the commuter train terminus is located there.  The Junction name
 is a bit of a misnomer, as the only junction is the entrance to the yard.  The old Pennsylvania Railroad line
 that ran down along the barrier peninsula to Seaside Park and then across the bay and west all the way
to Camden, NJ was abandoned in the mid-1940's after the wooden trestle over Barnegat Bay burned. 

  A late evening commuter train with a E7A 4244 crosses the Manasquan River and enters Point Pleasant Beach.

  From an old Kodak Instamatic camera, a CNJ train with the old coaches in 1972.

     4321 on two different days splashes it way into the station.  Watch those traction motors !

          Some trains at Point Pleasant Beach.  The 4022 courtesy Gary Madden.

     Two CNJ trains at the entrance to the yard at Bay Head.  That round end observation car
 was from the Florida East Coast Railway and was the last of the private commuter club cars in service. 

     CNJ RS3 1546 works the 'Bay Head Turner'.  The local freight served the beer distributor
 located next to the Point Pleasant Beach station.  The train went around the loop at Bay Head and returned to Red Bank.  1973 pictures.

Several views of the yard in the mid-1970's  Several E7's remained in service on the NY&LB, including 4224, 4233, 4244 and  4257

   A somewhat grainy view of the Florida East Coast observation car.  1973.

        February 1974.  

     Appropriately, the yard is located at the end of Twilight Road, Bay Head NJ.

Images from several night time visits to the yard in 1974.

By 1980, the motive power had yet to change but the variety of paint schemes made things a bit more interesting.  
The dark blue and gray colors were borrowed from the U34CH units operated on the Erie Lackawanna lines.  
4323 was the only(?) white E-unit with the disco stripes.  Several former Southern Railway E8's were purchased after the 
Southern Crescent was turned over to Amtrak.  A few Erie Lackawanna units operated here, but they were not cab-signaled
and could not lead any train.  The old Erie Stillwell cars were probably just stored here.

      Since Conrail poured most of its money into freight operations, commuter lines suffered with a lack of maintenance.
This resulted in using some freight diesels on passenger trains.  GP40 3130 was used for a time in 1978.  The E8 supplied the steam heat.

       Bay Head is a classic model railroaders reverse loop layout done in 1:1 scale.
Trains arriving round the sharp curve and make a full loop to enter the yard.  A water tank for steam engines remained on the north
side of the yard for many years before being removed.

As of the beginning of 2004, the yard was undergoing a major upgrade.  New Jersey Transit is re-building the yard and has reduced the scope of the project to satisfy local concerns.

Back to the North Jersey Coast Line, page 1 ( Rahway to Red Bank )

Back to the North Jersey Coast Line, page 2 ( Red Bank to Manasquan )

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