Conrail's Passenger Trains

***DISCLAIMER*** This is from Revelation Video's 'From The Ashes'. Between 1976 and 1983 Conrail ran commuter trains under the direction of the state of New Jersey using leftover equipment from the predecessor railroads. The North Jersey Coast Line (then called the New York & Long Branch) was only electrified to South Amboy until 1982. Arrow Is ran from Newark Penn Station to South Amboy and GG1s pulled the leftover heavyweight coaches from different railroads to South Amboy where you're train would stop (already) and the GG1 would cut-off and either an E-unit, GP40P, or even the occasional GP7 would take your train the rest of the way to Bay Head. Shots are at various locations along the NJCL, the first being the hill at Hazlet.

It must've been a hell of a ride, you can see the trains bouncing up & down on the rough track.

With the formation of Amtrak, the state of New Jersey acquired former long-distance coaches from several railroads. It's possible to see Great Norhtern coaches in two liveries, Big Sky and the other one (Black & Orange). Big Sky coaches painted in BN green, ex-Penn Central streamliners, possibly cars that were used on Santa Fe's "El Capitan", and even Pennsy P70s that survived all the Penn Central years with their Keystones. The Jersey Shore Commuters Club car (a restored P70) makes several appearances although they usually request that their car be closest to the locomotive.

On what is now called the Hoboken Division, EMUs that were built in the 30s with trailers built even earlier ran between Hoboken and Dover and on the Montclair Line and on the Gladstone Line. The diesel-powered trains are running to Hopatcong, service wasn't extended to Hackettstown until 1994.

This sequence begins at Mountain Station (a section of Orange) and moves to Convent and then the Orange curve. In one shot there is a Conrail GP40 pulling a set of EMUs, the EMU probably died, they were very temperamental in their last years.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Conrail
• NJ
• Transit
• NJCL
• Morris
• Essex
• Line
• EMU
• U34CH
• Comet

[MsC1953]

Some great old locomotives in this! What am I seeing at 3:28 - NYC paint? this is pretty good all things considered!

[cbehr91]

@MsC1953 No, that E8 is painted in a New Jersey Department of Transportation scheme that they adopted after Conrail for their locomotives and some of their heavyweight rolling stock, however there wasn't a huge emphasis on getting a huge amount of the fleet repainted because they would be getting rid of it and getting new equipment soon.

The trailing unit is in normal Conrail blue. The NJDOT scheme wasn't too bad if you ask me.

[Zillion43]

So what part of Jersey is it in the beging, is it the former CNJ mainline or the junction at Elizabeth port?

[cbehr91]

@Zillion43 It's the New York & Long Branch (now called the North Jersey Coast Line by New Jersey Transit), which was a joint CNJ-PRR line.

[TheNw1218]

aren't these fan excursions?

[cbehr91]

@TheNw1218 Umm... no, these aren't. These are commuter trains in Northern New Jersey now run by New Jersey Transit.

[Railfanners]

Amazing! Never actually seen this kind of conrail power in action before! F7s, E8s, GG1s, and even Doodlebugs!!! Simply awesome.

[wicky201]

...for lighting. Something died which is why the train is being pulled by a diesel.

[THEATREofPAIN270]

3:28 Anyone know what highway that is? I can't place it.

[TheLastBrainLeft]

At the very end we see a U-boat connected to a consist of old Lackawanna MU's with their pans up.....very strange.

[modeltrainexpert]

NS and CSX my ass! Conrail rocks... If only it was still around...

[mikem1524]

wow this is graet i live within ten minutes from all these spots and its awesome to see the difference 30 years can make

[grvolans]

nice footage.

[FrankG5874]

In an era before NJ Transit.