(erielack) The March 9, 1973 head-on wreck at NJ tower

[Kevin DeGroff <kdegroff_@_starpower.net>]

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My records show that EL/NJT Comet I cars 1502, 1522, 1607, 1755, and 1758 were  
involved in a head-on wreck with a freight at Newburgh Jct on 3-9-73.  Lead unit
on the freight was U-33C 3305, which lost its cab in the wreck.  All of the 
commuter cars were reportedly scrapped a few years later, never to be rebuilt.


Questions:


Where in relation to the tower did the wreck happen?

What were the symbols of the freight and commuter job involved in this wreck?  

Given the orientation of the commuter power (train was in push mode), I assume the
commuter was eastbound(?) and the freight must have been westbound(?).  Given that
the commuter was deadheading, the wreck probably occurred in the evening?

What other freight locomotives (if any) were with the 3305?

What U-34CH was shoving the commuter?

When did 3305 come out of Hornell repaired?  On Pg. 91 of Preston Cook's book, there
is a pic of 3305 detouring on the LV in July 1974, and the 3305 has a gray roof then 
(a sign of repainting). So the unit was back on the road by 1974.

Did 3305 retain dual control stands after repairs?

Was a specific cause determined?  Someone run a signal?

Were there any crew fatalities?

Is the list of involved commuter cars correct?  The 1502 and 1522 are both cab cars.  
Was it common for EL/NJT commuter trains to have a second cab car acting as a mid-train
coach?  While I know some cars are designed for such circumstances, in 7 years of riding
MARC into Washington DC, I never witnessed such a practice with the MARC operation.  
MARC's cab car operating compartment WAS the end vestibule, meaning there was no wall or
door seperating an aisle through the vestibule from the operator controls and guages.  
Walking through the vestible to get to the next car allowed you to touch the controls if
you wanted to.  I got a sense that MARC cab cars were used in a mid-train coach fashion 
as little as possible.  How do the Comet's differ?


(The pic of wrecked 3305 recently appeared on another discussion site, so I'll
 throw it in)

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