(erielack) March 9, 1973

["MONTGOMERY| ED" <emontgom_@_LAN.TJHSST.EDU>]

I have been interested in reading all the comments about the wreck 
at NJ nearly 29 years ago.  I have a couple of questions about this 
that someone who knows more about the operating rules than I.

When the passenger movement knew they were on the Graham 
Line and not on the old main, why didn't the conductor just keep 
moving the train to keep ahead of CX-99?  They knew it was 
coming.  Secondly,  when the train ran through the switch on to the 
Graham line, why didn't all of the signals for CX-99 go red?  I would 
assume the signals around NJ were absolute, so they would have 
to stop.  Didn't some warning light go off at Hoboken when the 
passenger extra wound up on the Graham Line?  1973 was well 
into the CTC era.  There should have been warnings all over the 
place.

I assume that just about everyone related to this incident is now 
retired.  It was probably the worst day of their job in railroading.

Ed Montgomery
  

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