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(erielack) NJ Trip
Earlier this month I took my annual trip to NJ to oversee some family
matters. This year I did take NJT from Mountain View to Hoboken. One thing
that I can't get out of my mind is why NJT nearly doubled the time for
locals to get from Mountain View to Hoboken. The old Lackawanna did it in
39 minutes with a GP7 and some Boonton coaches. I realize there is the
slow-order through Montclair, but NJT could speed things up a little. They
do have frequent electric trains from Montclair State so why couldn't the
diesel trains miss most of these station stops? In my mind, something
should be done to improve running time but maybe I am one of the few who
remember what it was like. Maybe most of today's commuters don't remember
how things used to be. Speaking of that, here we are in 2011, and I'm
wondering how many EL employees are actually left running trains? How many
employees remember the faster running? EL left us 35 years ago - hard to
believe!
Hoboken terminal is really looking nice. I can't wait for the ferries to
start using the old ferry building. This will improve the use of the
waiting room. Wouldn't it be nice if that led to the re-opening of the
"Lunch Room" in the station?
I always find it interesting riding past the NJY shops in Kearny. I say the
NYC observation car "Hickory Creek" and a stainless steel NYC car parked
their. I believe the "Hickory Creek" was one of the cars once used on the
"20th Century Limited". Good to see it still around, still in NYC gray.
Does NJT provide shop service for the owners of these cars?
I noticed something on the old Montclair branch. Between what was once
Ampere and Roseville Avenue, the catenary supports seemed to have been
designed for a third electrified track. Does anybody have any information
on that? If it was installed, it was removed a long time ago. Looking at
that line, it once had a lot of industries on it. I don't think there is
one active siding now. The freight on that line probably greatly exceeded
the expenses necessary to operate it.
I realize that NJ is in a budget crunch, and looking at the
Montclair/Boonton Line timetable, the reduction of trains west of Montclair
state is almost where train service was in the 70s. One thing that really
boggled my mind was the weekend service. Why is it terminated at Bay
Street? One would think the majority of passengers would be between there
and Montclair State. The Bay Street termination almost insures low
ridership.
Ed Montgomery
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