ABOVE: A North Jersey Coast Line train passes the boat basin at Brielle on May 13, 2011. RIGHT: An eerie sight to see an electric locomotive with pans down and headlight on leading a train, but a P40 is on the rear end pushing this ACES (Atlantic City Express Serv- ice) train towards Atlantic City on February 21, 2009. This seasonal non-stop train was subsidized by the casinos to attract more guests. The service only lasted three years before a lack of patronage forced it to shut down. OP- POSITE: Only two tracks of the old six-track CNJ main line are in use here at Cranford on January 23, 2010. The new high-level plat- forms occupy the old outer trackways.
Currently under construction is the first phase of restoration of the Lack- awanna Cutoff. Originally constructed between 1908 and 1911 by the DL&W, the cutoff minimized grades and curva- ture and helped speed traffic over the mountains. Conrail considered the route redundant and in 1984 removed track and sold the route to a developer. Thus began a decades long debate and funding process, which ended when New Jersey and Pennsylvania complet- ed acquisition in 2001. In 2008, con- struction began on the first phase from the Boonton Line connection at Port Morris. The first station will be located in Andover [about six miles from the RAILFAN & RAILROAD offices in Newton, and the closest we’re getting to rail serv- ice since the old DL&W Sussex Branch through town was lifted in the 1970s]. Track has been relaid to Andover, with construction of a new station to begin in 2014. Phase II involves constructing the rest of the extension into Pennsylvania, eventually terminating at Scranton, though no timetable has been set for se- curing funding or starting construction.
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RAILFAN.COM
Evolution in Equipment
A colorful roster of equipment has served New Jersey’s commuters over the years. In 1968 CNJ acquired 13 new EMD GP40P locomotives that were paid for by NJDOT. These locomo- tives were assigned to the Raritan Val- ley Line as well as the New York & Long Branch (which was jointly operat- ed with the PRR). These engines were later rebuilt as GP40PH’s in the 1980s, with HEP replacing the steam genera- tor. They were once again rebuilt in 1991 as GP40PH-2s, and continue to serve to this day.
In 1970 NJDOT paid for new equip- ment to replace the aging Alco RS-2s and EMD E8s hauling ancient Stillwell heavyweight coaches on the non-elec- trified trains out of Hoboken. Salvation came in the form of 32 General Electric
U34CH locomotives equipped with HEP, and a fleet
of new push-pull
“Comet” coaches (named after the old CNJ Jersey Comet) built by Pullman- Standard. One final U34CH was added to the roster in 1978. Paid for by the MTA, this unit was rebuilt from a wrecked U30C. The locomotives would serve through the Conrail era and into the 1990s when rebuilt GP40PH-2B’s would take their place. All of the re- maining U-boats were retired in 1994. On the
electric side, weary PRR
MP54 m.u. cars were rolling their last miles. A new series of “Jersey Arrow” m.u. cars (so-called because of the shape of the NJDOT logo) were ordered from St. Louis Car Co. in 1968 for serv- ice on Penn Central’s Northeast Corri- dor. The first married-pair Arrow II’s arrived from GE in 1974, eventually
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