Farewell To the U34CH

New Jersey Transit; Mountain Lakes, N.J.; August 27, 1994

On New Jersey's commuter roster was a unique locomotive model -- the U34CH diesel built by General Electric in 1970. The 32 units were purchased by New Jersey's Department of Transportation for use on lines operated by Erie Lackawanna. The EL was merged into Conrail in 1976, and Conrail spun commuter operations off to New Jersey Transit in 1983. By the early 1990s, the units were getting old and ready for retirement. To send them off properly, NJ Transit teamed up with the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey for an excursion covering over 180 miles on August 27, 1994.

After departing Hoboken Terminal, the special train headed to Netcong on the Boonton Line. On the west end was U34CH No. 4172 in the traditional blue and silver paint scheme most of the locomotives wore during their service lives; on the east end was U34CH No. 4176 in NJT's silver "disco" scheme, one of seven units to get that treatment. The first photo stop was made at Mountain Lakes (above) featuring the 4176. The photo line watched the train pull by with 4172 on the west end (below).

New Jersey Transit; Mountain Lakes, N.J.; August 27, 1994

The next stop was at the end of the Boonton Line at Netcong (which is actually west of Boonton). The 4176 was once again the featured power for the shot.

New Jersey Transit; Netcong, N.J.; August 27, 1994

From here the train reversed back almost to Hoboken to West End, where the train swung north on the Main Line towards Suffern, New York. A photo and lunch stop was made at Ridgewood with No. 4172 looking good pointing south into the sun. The U34CHs lost their Erie Lackawanna nose herald after going to Conrail, but Frank Etzel of the URHS added a temporary EL herald to the front of 4172 for the day.

New Jersey Transit; Ridgewood, N.J.; August 27, 1994

After lunch the train continued north to the end of the Main Line at Suffern (NJ Transit trains continue past this point to Port Jervis, N.Y., under contract with Metro North). Another photo stop was made at Suffern as the train prepared to return south.

New Jersey Transit; Suffern, N.Y.; August 26, 1994

Reversing back south, the train went to Rutherford on the Bergen County Line, with another photo stop at the Radburn station, once again featuring 4172.

New Jersey Transit; Radburn, N.J.; August 26, 1994

At Rutherford, the train headed outbound again, this time on the Pascack Valley Line to Spring Valley, N.Y. The train then used the Pascack Valley Line and Main Line to ultimately return to Hoboken Terminal. A photo stop was made on the Pascack Valley Line at Oradell, N.J.

New Jersey Transit; Oradell, N.J.; August 26, 1994

The final photo stop was at Harmon Cove on the way back into Hoboken. The trip was advertised to return at 6:30 p.m., but it rolled into Hoboken at 5:50, a full 40 minutes early!

New Jersey Transit; Harmon Cove, N.J.; August 26, 1994

After dinner a few friends and I decided to do a "what the heck..." and wandered to Hoboken Terminal to ask if we could wander into the yard for some night shots of the U34CHs. Much to our surprise, they said "yes." We started with the 4172.

New Jersey Transit; Hoboken, N.J.; August 26, 1994

We next turned our attention to the 4176, with the 4172 in the background.

New Jersey Transit; Hoboken, N.J.; August 26, 1994

Our night finished up with the 4172 next to another veteran unit -- former Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 No. 4877, which finished its career with NJ Transit and was being held at Hoboken for preservation by the United Railroad Historical Society.

New Jersey Transit; Hoboken, N.J.; August 26, 1994

The U34CH locomotives would actually hang on in regular service for a few more months before being retired. Some saw later service for SEPTA in Philadelphia, while some were sold to Mexico, and others were scrapped. Only No. 4172, which ran on this trip, survives in the United States. It is now in the care of the United Railroad Historical Society, which is returning it to operating condition with its original number, Erie Lackawanna No. 3372.

Photos from this post can be purchased here.

A Slow Olympic Chase

Union Pacific (on NS); Pennsauken, N.J.; July 5, 2014

It's a little bit difficult, I'll admit, too get too excited when a locomotive with a special paint scheme is running second in a consist -- after all, out in front is where it looks best. But with not much else happening on July 5, I headed to Pennsauken, N.J., along with Michael Burkhart where a Norfolk Southern freight had a special unit in the consist -- Union Pacific No. 2002, painted for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Arriving at about 9:45 a.m., there was time to get the sitting freight (awaiting a new crew) as RiverLine diesel powered light rail trains passed on the adjacent track. The RiverLine is operated by New Jersey Transit between Camden and Trenton.

RiverLine and Norfolk Southern; Pennsauken, N.J.; July 5, 2014

With nothing happening imminently, we headed a couple of miles north to where New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line crosses the Delaware River (and the RiverLine) at the Pennsauken Transportation Center in Delair to get an A.C.-bound train with a cab car leading.

New Jersey Transit; Delair, N.J.; July 5, 2014

It was back to the sitting Norfolk Southern freight. Finally, a little past 11:00, a crew showed up and boarded the train. The train was still sitting, however, at 11:30 as another RiverLine train zipped past bound for Trenton.

RiverLine and Norfolk Southern; Pennsauken, N.J.; July 5, 2014

Finally, after a long wait, the train began its trek towards Allentown, Penn.

Norfolk Southern; Pennsauken, N.J.; July 5, 2014

From here we shot across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania to get ahead of the train. Even stopping for gas on the Jersey side, we were ahead of the train by the time we crossed the river. Arriving at Bridgeport, we waited from about 12:30 until 2:00 before the train showed up.

Norfolk Southern; Bridgeport, Penn.; July 5, 2014

We knew the train had work to do in Abrams Yard near Norristown, and we also knew a local freight was not far behind our train. We stuck around, only to find the local train was set of light diesels with no freight in tow.

Norfolk Southern; Bridgeport, N.J.; July 5, 2014

We then went to the other side of Abrams Yard to wait at Royersford. The first thing up was an eastbound train powered by a set of BNSF Railway diesels. We dutifully photographed it passing the former depot in town.

BNSF Railway (on NS); Royersford, Penn.; July 5, 2014

Finally we heard a westbound on the radio scanner! But it was not our train. An empty oil train passed the Royersford station.

Norfolk Southern; Royersford, Penn.; July 5, 2014

Finally at 4:30 p.m. our train showed up. We had only gone about 50 miles since we started in the morning, and it was five hours since the train started moving back in Pennsauken. Not very fast...

Norfolk Southern; Royersford, Penn.; July 5, 2014

At this point Mike had had enough and headed home. Since I had to go north to get home anyhow, I cut the corner on the train -- it had to go west to Reading then circle back east to get to Allentown. I cut the corner by going straight north, but did make a quick stop in Boyertown to check out the new Colebrookdale Railroad.

Colebrookdale Railroad; Boyertown, Penn.; July 5, 2014

Since the Olympic unit was not making Olympic speeds, I stopped for lunch, then drove to Macungie seeking the train. The light wasn't good there (but I did stop at the cigar store to pick up a smoke) so I headed two miles west to Alburtis. Despite all the stopping, I still beat the train by five minutes.

Norfolk Southern; Alburtis, Penn.; July 5, 2014

From here the train only had a short distance to go to its destination in Allentown. I stuck around Alburtis for another two hours but didn't see another train. Oh, well.... More photos from this day can be found here.

The West Side of the Mountain

NJ Transit on Metro-North; Otisville Tunnel, Otisville, N.Y.; April 12, 2014

In the early spring I had a free afternoon and needed someplace close to home to seek a photographic target. Less than an hour to the northeast is Otisville Tunnel located on the former Erie Railroad in New York. Today the line is primarily used by Metro-North commuter trains coming from Port Jervis (the line turns into a New Jersey Transit line below Suffern, N.Y., so power from both railroads is common); there is limited freight service, mostly a tri-weekly nocturnal through freight for the New York, Susquehanna & Western. Since Otisville Tunnel is kind of out of the way of everything else (you really have to want to go there to get there) it was a good thing to knock off on an otherwise quiet Saturday.

Two trains meet at Otisville on the east side of the tunnel at about 3:00 in the afternoon, so that would be a good time to shoot; the afternoon sun would also be favorable for the shot. First up was an eastbound train with a New Jersey Transit locomotive pushing the train from Port Jervis (above). The train proceeded through the tunnel, made its station stop in Otisville and then headed onto double track. Once clear, the westbound train made its station stop and then headed into the tunnel.

Metro-North; Otisville Tunnel, Otisville, N.Y.; April 12, 2014

After going through the long tunnel, the train popped out into sunlight. revealing it was being powered by one of Metro-North's niftily-painted F40s.

Metro-North; Otisville Tunnel, Otisville, N.Y.; April 12, 2014

From here I drove down the mountain on I-84 into Port Jervis. This is the western end of commuter service on this line. The former Erie roundhouse still stood here well into the 1980s, and the turntable is still there. New York & Greenwood Lake has a small display at the turntable, including an Alco RS3 and an E8 passenger diesel that came from the Erie.

New York & Greenwood Lake; Port Jervis, N.Y.; April 12, 2014

Over at the Metro-North yard, we find the train we just shot with F40 No. 4909 sitting alongside sister No. 4910. The yard will have trains sitting in it for the rest of the weekend, but will be empty come Monday morning after all the trains take New York City-bound travelers to Hoboken.

Metro-North; Port Jervis, N.Y.; April 12, 2014

More photos from the day can be seen here.

Cool Chromes -- The Bay Head Streamliners

Cool Chromes is a semi-regular feature where we look at slides that have recently passed through the scanner.

NJ DOT; Bay Head Junction, N.J.; July 26, 1981

One of the great commuter shows in the country -- especially among the commuter operations run by a state agency and not a classic railroad -- was along the northern New Jersey coast in the early 1980s. The New Jersey Department of Transportation's North Jersey Coast Line (also known by its legacy name of the New York & Long Branch) was operated by Conrail under contract for NJDOT, with the state agency supplying equipment. The NY&LB was shared by two railroads -- the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, both of which became part of Conrail in 1976 -- and into the NJDOT years the trains from the two railroads maintained separate looks. The former CNJ trains were diesel powered from Hoboken, but it was the former PRR trains that stole the show. Coming from Pennsylvania Station in New York, the trains were powered by electric locomotives to South Amboy, N.J., where the electrics were replaced by diesels to continue on to Bay Head. This locomotive change continued for several years into the New Jersey Transit era (which began in 1983) until electrification was extended to Long Branch.

The ex-Pennsy trains were powered by E8 diesels, most of which came out of the PRR merger into Penn Central pained solid black. NJDOT adopted a nice blue scheme with a silver cigar band (see No. 4320 in the photo above), which was a not bad scheme (certainly better than the solid black). But when NJDOT turned that cigar band into a bow wave (the other two locomotives above), then they really had a nice scheme. A later variation of the bow wave had a state outline in a circle added. Bay Head Junction was the end point of the railroad, where a turning loop and yard were located. The evening and weekend lineup of trains there was always worth shooting.

Further up the line at Red Bank we see a southbound train led by a pair of E8s. Note the lack of the state outline on the nose.

NJ DOT; Red Bank, N.J.; August 30, 1980

Needing to bolster its E8 fleet, NJDOT purchased additional units, including a couple from the Southern Railway, When Amtrak was formed in 1971, the Southern opted to stay out of the national passenger carrier and operated its Southern Crescent with E8s between Washington, D.C., and New Orleans, La. Southern eventually joined Amtrak, making its E8s surplus. Though battered by age, the former Crescent units were a nice addition to the NY&LB.

NJ DOT; South Amboy, N.J.; July 1981

At South Amboy the E8s gave way to electrics so the train could finish its run into Penn Station. But these weren't just any electrics -- these were classic GG1 locomotives from the Pennsylvania Railroad. Indeed, the NY&LB would be the last place these veteran locomotives from the 1930s would operate. Weekends at South Amboy would find E8s and GG1s sharing the compact engine terminal.

NJ DOT; South Amboy, N.J.; March 23, 1980

GG1 powered trains coming into South Amboy from New York had to cross Raritan Bay on a long bridge. This bridge became one of the most photographed railroad locations in New Jersey during this time period. The GG1s, much like the E8s, wore black from Penn Central. Unlike the E8s, all the GG1s (save one) never got a new coat of paint.

New Jersey Transit; South Amboy, N.J.; May 13, 1983

At the opposite end of the bridge is Perth Amboy. The shore of Raritan Bay in this town became known by railfans as Bacteria Beach. It was packed with photographers on October 29, 1983, during the last day of GG1 operations. Doing the honor of pulling the last train was GG1 No. 4877, the only repainted electric motor on the New Jersey Transit roster (NJT had taken over rail operations from NJDOT and Conrail on January 1, 1983). But what a paint scheme it was painted! No. 4877 received the classic Tuscan Red and five gold pinstripes of its former owner, the Pennsylvania Railroad.

New Jersey Transit; Perth Amboy, N.J.; October 29, 1983

At Rahway the NY&LB joins Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Amtrak had retired its GG1 fleet a couple of years ahead of NJT, replacing them with modern Swedish-designed AEM7 locomotives. So when a Bay Head-bound train met an Amtrak train, it was definitely a meeting of eras -- the last of the 1950s passenger trains meeting the trains of the 1980s and '90s.

NJ DOT and Amtrak; Rahway, N.J.

First Day of A New Era On Amtrak

Amtrak ACS-64 No. 600; Princeton Junction, N.J.; February 7, 2014

The railroad world is constantly changing, and even though the change is often slow we are sometimes surprised to wake up one day and find something that has always been there to suddenly be gone. On February 7, 2014, the first tiny step in what will ultimately change the entire Northeast Corridor on Amtrak occurred, as a new locomotive made its first revenue run.

First, let's step back one evolutionary step. The Northeast Corridor that we know today was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1930s as a massive upgrading of the main line between New York and Washington. By the 1940s the primary locomotive on the Corridor (it was not known by that name at the time) was the classic GG1 electric locomotive, designed by Raymond Loewy. The first run by a GG1 occurred on January 28, 1935.

In 1967 the Pennsylvania Railroad became part of Penn Central, and in 1976 the bankrupt PC was folded in Conrail. On the passenger train side, Penn Central was able to rid itself of intercity trains with the formation of Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak took over operations on the corridor and had to replace the four-decades-old GG1 fleet. General Electric E60's were purchased to supplement the GG1s, but Amtrak ultimately settled on the Swedish-designed AEM7 locomotive. The first AEM7 entered service in 1979, and by 1982 the GG1 had been vanquished (save for some holdouts on New Jersey Transit, which were gone in late 1983).

So that brings us to today. The AEM7s are now over 30 years old (65 were produced, but time has thinned the fleet somewhat) and in need of replacement. Like the E60 that served as a stopgap during the late GG1 era, a new locomotive was introduced in 1999, the HHP8, and like the E60 these locomotives have been only marginally successful. To replace both the HHP8 fleet (which totals 15 units) and the AEM7s, Amtrak has purchased 70 ACS-64 locomotives from Siemens Mobility.

And that brings us to February 7, 2014. The day was sunny, so I headed down to Princeton Junction, N.J., to watch the parade of trains that pass through. New Jersey Transit had ordered sister locomotives to the AEM7 in the form of very similar ALP44 locomotives; all of these have already been retired. The successor is the ALP46, and a few of these passed through Princeton Junction on this day. The NJT trains operate push-pull, so the locomotive can be on either end. The tower is Nassau Tower, and the photo angle here has just recently been opened up by the removal of trees near the tracks.

New Jersey Transit ALP46; Princeton Junction, N.J.; February 7, 2014

The premier trains on the corridor are Amtrak's Acela Express trains, which have a decidedly European look (about as European as anything you'll find in North America, anyhow), and a few of these sets came speeding through Princeton Junction, kicking up ice chunks from along the right of way.

Amtrak Acela Express; Princeton Junction, N.J.; February 7, 2014

A couple of trains had HHP8 locomotives leading. A few of these locomotives will likely stay on the Amtrak roster into the future, but not as passenger power. They will likely be used in work train service on the corridor.

Amtrak HHP8; Princeton Junction, N.J.; February 7, 2014

And, of course, the workhorse of the Corridor, the AEM7, made multiple appearances. I started photographing trains seriously around 1979, just as the AEM7s were making large inroads into the GG1 fleet. These locomotives have always been a part of my frequent visits to the Northeast Corridor.

So why was this day so important? Amtrak's new ACS-64 locomotives have been testing on the Northeast Corridor for a few months now, but when ACS-64 No. 600 led train No. 171 south from Boston to Washington on this day (see the photo at the top of this post), it marked the first time that an AEM7 had been bumped from pulling a revenue train by the new locomotives. One run on one day may not seem like much, but it was the official beginning of the end for a fleet of locomotives that have served Amtrak for three decades.

Amtrak AEM7; Princeton Junction, N.J.; February 7, 2014

For a complete set of photos from this day click here.

Cool Chromes -- Passenger Trains Here And There

Cool Chromes is a semi-regular feature where we look at some slides that have recently come through the scanner.

Amtrak; Spuyten Duyvil, N.Y.; March 1991

In this edition of Cool Chromes we'll look at some old-ish passenger trains. Up first (above) is something you don't see anymore. A southbound Empire Service Amtrak train is swinging through the curve at Spuyten Duyvil, N.Y., on its last leg from Albany into Grand Central Terminal. On the point is a dual-mode FL9 diesel from the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. In just a few weeks after this March 1991 scene Amtrak would pull out of Grand Central Terminal, instead heading straight south here at Spuyten Duyvil and continuing into Penn Station. All the FL9s would soon be retired, as well.

New Jersey Transit; Harrison, N.J.; December 1981

Let's go back another ten years for the next shot. We're in Harrison, N.J., and New Jersey Transit is still fairly new. Leading the train is GP40P No. 4100, built by EMD for the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1968. Trailing the unit are former non-air conditioned coaches from the Jersey Central. The train has just discharged it passengers at Newark where they will take an electric-powered train into New York, while this train heads to the maintenance yard. No. 4100 was rebuilt in 1991 and remains on the NJT roster as No. 4106.

Chicago, South Shore & South Bend; Chicago, Ill.; May 1988

Now we're in the Windy City at Randolph Street Station on the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend in May 1988. The Nippon Sharyo electric cars are only about five years old, having replaced the classic interurban cars that served the line for over 50 years. In this scene Randolph Street Station is just beginning to be transformed into Millennium Station, a project that would eventually see these tracks and platforms covered by Millennium Park. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the train in the back carries a sign for a special National Railway Historical Society charter.

Amtrak; Duncannon, Penn.; June 1986

We'll finish off this round of Cool Chromes with what was a fairly common sight at one time -- an Amtrak long distance train pulled by a pair of F40PH locomotives from EMD. We're at Duncannon, Penn., a few miles outside of Harrisburg as the Broadway Limited heads towards Chicago. No passenger cars can be seen -- baggage and express cars are on the head end. The Broadway Limited operated from New York and Philadelphia to Chicago via Pittsburgh. Today, no through Amtrak service operates on the old Pennsylvania Railroad beyond Pittsburgh; the remnant of the Broadway, the Pennsylvanian, is the only train west of Harrisburg. Likewise, the once ubiquitous F40PH's have all been removed from Amtrak's roster, with only a few still in service as unpowered cab cars.

Cool Chromes -- Southeast New York State

Amtrak; Manitou, N.Y.; April 30, 1983

A lot of slides have come through the scanner recently showing scenes from the southeast corner of New York State -- the Hudson Valley and along the Southern Tier over towards Binghamton. Let's take a look at some of these chromes, and we'll do them in chronological order. Starting things off (above) we're in Manitou, just north of the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River. A late spring has a lot of bare trees showing on April 30, 1983, as Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited splits a set of ex-New York Central signals.

Metro North Commuter Railroad; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; November 9, 1986

 For our next shot we continue up the Hudson Valley to Poughkeepsie. Metro North Commuter Railroad (it has since dropped the word "Commuter" from its name) in conjunction with the State of Connecticut had rebfurbished and repainted some FL9 locomotives into the old paint scheme of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (the New Haven). A pair of the FL9s were used on a fan trip on November 9, 1986, that went from New York City's Grand Central Terminal, out the former New Haven to South Norwalk, Conn., then up the Danbury Branch to Danbury, Conn., and over the Maybrook Line to Poughkeepsie (EDIT: The Maybrook Line comes out at Beacon ,s oI don't know how we got to Poughkeepsie, unless this was a GCT-Poughkeepsie trip. Hmmmm.) The train is about to finish the trip by heading down the Hudson Line back to Grand Central. The former Lehigh & Hudson River Railway bridge over the Hudson sits silently -- it had burned in 1974 and no trains had used it since. It is now the popular Walkway Over the Hudson trail.

New York, Ontario & Western; Middletown, N.Y.; November 4, 1988

The New York, Ontario & Western Railway was abandoned in 1957, the largest railroad in history to have been abandoned at that time. The line has always had a fanatical following, even in death, and the O&W Railway Historical Society celebrated its 25th anniversary in style in 1988. The railroad's (and society's) headquarters was Middletown, N.Y., where the line's massive combination station and office building survives. For the anniversary, the society borrowed an ex-O&W NW2 diesel owned by the New York, Susquehanna & Western (and painted in O&W colors) and posed it at the old station for a night photo session on November 4, 1988. The original station sign and baggage cart were brought out from the society's archives to complete the scene.

New York, Susquehanna & Western; Bainbridge, N.Y.; February 1989

Moving northeast of Binghamton, we come to the Delaware & Hudson Railway. The D&H had been operated by Guilford Transportation for a few years when suddenly Guilford simply decided to stop running it in 1988. The New York, Susquehanna & Western was tabbed to step in and run the railroad, and run it they did. Here we see a Susquehanna freight heading north up the D&H and Bainbridge on a wintry day in February 1989.

New York, Susquehanna & Western; Oneonta, N.Y.; November 1989

Later that year the O&W Railway Historical Society (remember them from a few photos ago?) ran a fan trip over the Susquehanna's D&H from Scranton, Penn., to Oneonta, N.Y. At Oneonta the diesel power was run around the train for the return trip, pausing by shuttered FA Tower for a photo opportunity. FA Tower was eventually dismantled and now sits in kit form just northeast of Oneonta at the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad, awaiting reassembly.

Amtrak; Oscawana Tunnel, N.Y.; April 3, 1997

Once again we are in April and spring has not sprung in the Hudson Valley. We're at Oscawana Tunnel just north of Croton-on-Hudson on April 3, 1997, as a southbound Amtrak train emerges from one of the two side-by-side bores here. The locomotive is wearing what has become known as the Phase III Amtrak paint scheme; Amtrak has brought this scheme back on one of its locomotives for its 40th anniversary in 2011, but few remember that the original Phase III had a silver front; the modern reincarnation has a black hood which provides less glare for both crew and photographers.

Erie 835; Suffern, N,Y.; September 19, 1998

We'll finish our tour with something completely different. The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey restored a pair of E8 streamlined passenger diesels into the paint scheme of the Erie Railroad (the diesels are actually former Pennsylvania Railroad and Baltimore & Ohio, if memory serves me correctly) and operated them on fan trips to raise funds for a proposed railroad museum in the Garden State. Running all over New Jersey Transit, the pair ran several trips including this one on September 19, 1998, that took the locomotives just across the state line into New York.

And that concludes our tour of southeastern New York via Kodachrome. Thank for coming along!