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Re: (erielack) NJ TRANSIT

- --- On Wed, 7/1/09, etmontgomery_@_verizon.net <etmontgomery@verizon.net> wrote:

> I think there was even a siding at Roseville Ave, deep in the cut.

Yes, it was on the westbound side and dead-ended at the end of the westbound platform; its location is still visible.

If you look carefully at Watsessing Ave, you can see where the interchange track was (connection with the Erie's Orange Branch) in the southwest quadrant.  There was another siding off the eastbound track just west of Bloomfield.

> Leaving Hoboken I was looking across the meadows at the old Greenwood
> Lake line.  It looks like somebody is storing a lot of hoppers and
> grain cars on the track.  It almost looked like EL was heading a
> freight out of Croxton waiting for "GA" to close.

NS has a lot of cars to park these days, and those have been there for a very long time.

> Hoboken Terminal is looking great.  I was wondering if NJT has ever
> considered leasing out the Lunch Room and Resturaunt?  These were
> very popular places into the 60s with many Wall Streeters taking the
> ferry to Hoboken for their lunch.  I'm told they had a great menu
> run by DL&W's Dining Car DEPT.  Wouldn't it be great to revive the
> old menus and recipes and enjoy that experience again?  It might work!

Passenger volume at Hoboken is way off in recent years, with two main causes - 9/11 and diversion of passengers to Penn Station via Midtown Direct and Secaucus.  The current downturn in the economy doesn't help either.  A restaurant would be nice, though.

> I came home on NJT's 247/1029.  When changing Trains at Montclair State
> I noticed something I had never seen before.  Two F40s running
> "elephant style".  I don't see too many NJT operations, but this was
> the first time I ever saw them MU locomotives.  1029 had either six
> or eight coaches.

The Boonton Line has more hills than the Erie side in NJ.  There used to be a Port Jervis train that rated two U-34CH's because of its length - eight Comet I's.

With the arrival of the flood of multilevel cars (over 3/4 of them are in service), most of the Comet V's have been pushed off peak-hour trains to and from New York.  They are significantly heavier (so an ALP can't handle as many) than the earlier models and have fewer seats, so peak trains that don't have multilevel cars are mostly nine-car sets of rebuilt Comet II's with Comet III, IV or V cab cars and an occasional trailer with a toilet - this provides maximum seating capacity.

The Comet V's are mostly being used in solid sets (or nearly solid sets) on the diesel lines.  This is a double whammy - they are heavier and the engines aren't as powerful.  It's not a big deal on the North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line, or even the ex-Erie lines up to Suffern or Spring Valley, but the Boonton Line has a few steep grades.  I rode a six-car train powered by a GP40 - 4101 - home last Thursday; it was seven minutes late at Montclair State because of time lost on the hills between Broad St and Bay St.  It lost a bit more getting up to Great Notch.

The Boonton Line trains had been running three or four cars for a long time, and a 300 hp F40 or GP40 can handle that without a problem.  The new PL42's have 4200 hp and much more tractive effort (crucial for starting a train on a hill).  With more cars available, NJT has lengthened trains.  The F40's and GP40's are too small for the longer trains here.  I guess NJT has realized this and decided to double up the 40's to get the trains running on time.

Gary R. Kazin
DL&W Milepost R35.7
Rockaway, New Jersey


      

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