NJ Transit at 30 BY OTTO M. VONDRAK/PHOTOS BY STEVE BARRY EXCEPT AS NOTED
UNDER A CLOAK OF PLATINUM MIST and co-called “disco stripes,” NJ Transit is the nation’s third largest commuter rail carrier, operating more than 530 miles serving 162 stations. Combining the operations of the old Pennsylvania Railroad; Erie Railroad; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; and Central Railroad of New Jersey routes; NJT has faced many challenges over the last 30 years while rebuilding these individ- ual lines into a state-wide transporta- tion network.
A Patchwork of Predecessor Lines New Jersey is home to some of Amer-
ica’s earliest chartered railroads, in- cluding the Camden & Amboy which began construction in 1832. In 1871 it became an important link in the Penn- sylvania
Railroad system as it
stretched diagonally across the Garden State from New York to Trenton. Meanwhile, the West Jersey Railroad was chartered in 1853 to build a line
from Camden all the way down to Cape May. Eventually the WJRR would be under control of the Pennsylvania, and become a part of the Pennsylvania- Reading Seashore Lines in 1931 (and later becoming part of NJT’s Atlantic City Line). The Pennsylvania Railroad grew into
one of the largest transportation sys- tems in the east, with its heavy main line across New Jersey as the back- bone. Like all railroads approaching New York City, crossing the Hudson River was accomplished by ferry and barge. An ambitious project taken on in 1903 led to the construction of a new tunnel under the Hudson (completed in 1908) serving a new Penn Station on the west side of Manhattan (itself com- pleted in 1910), and continuing through tunnels under the East River (completed in 1908) to connect to the Long Island Rail Road in Queens. Bol- stered by the success of the New Haven Railroad with their pioneering 11,00-
volt a.c. main line electrification, the Pennsy chose the same system for their project as well. By 1935, the entire route from New York to Washington, D.C. was electrified. At first, only long- distance through trains used Penn Sta- tion, with commuter traffic diverted to a terminal located at Exchange Place in Jersey City, where passengers would continue their journey to lower Man- hattan by ferry or by the connecting Hudson & Manhattan rapid transit line. Ferry service was discontinued in 1949 as more commuter trains were routed into Penn Station, and Ex- change Place was closed in 1961. The Pennsy route from New York Penn Sta- tion through to Trenton, along with a shuttle
service (the “Dinky”) from
Princeton Junction to Princeton passed on to Penn Central in 1968 and became the Northeast Corridor Line. Meanwhile in northern New Jersey,
the earliest rail lines were plotted to carry anthracite from the mines of
TOP: Electric and diesel-powered trains pass each other at Elizabeth on the busy Northeast Corridor Line on July 31, 2010. This four-track former Pennsylvania Railroad main line is also shared with Amtrak trains between New York and Trenton.
28 MARCH 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM
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