1977 New Jersey Passenger Pics

[Erie Lackawanna]

In late 1977 I wasn't driving yet and I railfanned by taking Conrail trains to locations. 

Here are two shots from then.

A U34CH pushing east at Radburn in Fair Lawn.  

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=216147&nseq=1

A Jersey Arrow II and an Amtrak Clocker (E60) at Metropark.  

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=216149&nseq=0

Thanks for looking.  

Regards

[Anonymous]

Awesome as usual!!!!

[SecretWeapon]

Nice,the Radburn one is only 4 mins. from my apt.

[trainfan1221]

Secret, I guess you and I are neighbors.  And I just got off the train at Radburn having come down from Ridgewood. Although my usual stop is Broadway.

Nice pics EL.  We miss the U34s, they were unique and sounded great.  However we gave them a nice good bye with a farewell trip in 1994 that covered most of NJTransit's lines.  And in the 70s there was still freight service on the old EL lines.  Thanks for the pictures, as always you make for an interesting visit to the forums.

[CopCarSS]

Nicely done. Are the screens on the E60 the protective devices that I've heard referred to as "Ghetto Grills?"

[Erie Lackawanna]

Thanks Guys....

Times have changed.  I used to beg my mom for rides to Fair Lawn and Montclair in the hope of seeing freight coming through.  Seeing an eastbound at Fair Lawn was about a fifty/fifty shot if I spent a couple of hours there.  Montclair (on the Boonton Line) was always a complete failure, and I could never figure it out, as I saw lots of pictures of freight on that line in books.  Years later I was told that the little bit of freight Conrail still ran that way all went at night.

As to the U34CHs, I remember when they were first delivered (I was a little kid then) and seeing the last of the E8s and GP7s pulling Santa Fe single level Budd streamliners run before the Santa Fe cars were sent down to South Amboy and the GEEPs and Es went into freight service.  Weird to think that now the Bluebirds have been gone for more than ten years.

[Erie Lackawanna]

Nicely done. Are the screens on the E60 the protective devices that I've heard referred to as "Ghetto Grills?"

I'm not familiar with that name, but it sounds right.  They were to protect the crew from thrown rocks.

[al-in-chgo]

Awesome as usual!!!!

 

Sweet! 

[chefjavier]

Thanks Guys....

Times have changed.  I used to beg my mom for rides to Fair Lawn and Montclair in the hope of seeing freight coming through.  Seeing an eastbound at Fair Lawn was about a fifty/fifty shot if I spent a couple of hours there.  Montclair (on the Boonton Line) was always a complete failure, and I could never figure it out, as I saw lots of pictures of freight on that line in books.  Years later I was told that the little bit of freight Conrail still ran that way all went at night.

As to the U34CHs, I remember when they were first delivered (I was a little kid then) and seeing the last of the E8s and GP7s pulling Santa Fe single level Budd streamliners run before the Santa Fe cars were sent down to South Amboy and the GEEPs and Es went into freight service.  Weird to think that now the Bluebirds have been gone for more than ten years.

I grew up in Elmwood Park, NJ and I use to go to the Broadway Station to watch both Freight and Passenger trains. It's an awesome double rails spot. The U34CH were a unique noise when taking off. I could be a few yards aways and I could hear the engines.  Thanks for the pictures.  

[upchuck]

In your photos you show the pasta factory. Is this the same spagetti factory building
that, in the 1970's, was hit by a passenger train after it ran off the mainline
because of a misaligned switch as a result of vandalism?

[Erie Lackawanna]

Which picture are you referring to?

[chefjavier]

In your photos you show the pasta factory. Is this the same spagetti factory building
that, in the 1970's, was hit by a passenger train after it ran off the mainline
because of a misaligned switch as a result of vandalism?

I was in school in Fair lawn when the train hit the spaghetti factory. The accident took place 1979 and the outcome, two kids horsing around broke the switch lock and manually switch the track. The passerger train going foward with engine pushing at 45mph. Took the curve and slam to the building. The engineer apply the emergency brake but still three passerger cars derail and I think am not to sure if the train engineer survived the accident. 

[chefjavier]

Which picture are you referring to?

He's talking about the first picture. But the picture is 2 miles from the Spaghetti factory. 

[Erie Lackawanna]

I have a vague memory of that.  Was it the Fall of 1979?  I feel like I was already in DC at college when it happened.

[chefjavier]

I have a vague memory of that.  Was it the Fall of 1979?  I feel like I was already in DC at college when it happened.

what town you grew up in NJ? 

[Erie Lackawanna]

Paramus

[upchuck]

I have a vague memory of that.  Was it the Fall of 1979?  I feel like I was already in DC at college when it happened.

what town you grew up in NJ? 

I grew up in Saddle Brook. As I recall, the engineer had an unauthorized kid riding
with him who died in the wreck.

[Erie Lackawanna]

Yeah... that really sounds familiar.  I'll do a NY Times search later to see if I can find it.

[trainfan1221]

The train slamming into the pasta factory was around 1983, I know because I watched the cleanup but had to take a train back to Chester on the old main line later that day.  The siding goes downhill and bends and the train essentially torpedoed the wall.  It was weird to see.  That same pasta factory had somebody fall off a train car and get killed a while ago.  They also tend to switch their own cars using gravity and it looks dangerous since they aren't trained railroad employees.  Around 1979 there was a huge fire in the lumber company next to the tracks. That might be the incident that is getting confused here.

[chefjavier]

Amigo!

Are you sure?

[trainfan1221]

Sure am..1982 or 1983.  I had moved to Warwick NY for a year before we relocated to Florida. (The state that is,not the neighboring town).  I had to take the train to Chester since it was the closest to get.  I would like to have never done all the moving but at least got to ride the now abandoned main line.  But I do remember it was around then.  I sort of knew one of the guys through school.  

     If I can find anything that shows it I'll let you know.  By the way, and you'll be able to relate to this javier, NJTransit seems to have a problem with the Bergen County line.  They are always hitting someone on it and the Saddle Brook crossing at Market St. is completely rebuilt.  Perhaps the lack of freights is almost a good thing. 

[chefjavier]

Sure am..1982 or 1983.  I had moved to Warwick NY for a year before we relocated to Florida. (The state that is,not the neighboring town).  I had to take the train to Chester since it was the closest to get.  I would like to have never done all the moving but at least got to ride the now abandoned main line.  But I do remember it was around then.  I sort of knew one of the guys through school.  

     If I can find anything that shows it I'll let you know.  By the way, and you'll be able to relate to this javier, NJTransit seems to have a problem with the Bergen County line.  They are always hitting someone on it and the Saddle Brook crossing at Market St. is completely rebuilt.  Perhaps the lack of freights is almost a good thing. 

Roy:

Since, I was a little kid the Saddle Brook Crossing at Market Street is always some getting hit. I am not kidding around 5-10 a year. I think it has to do with the street light after the crossing. Usually at the evening rush hour is a mess up there. There's no freight trains going thru the area? Have you taken any pictures from the area? I miss the U-boats!

[trainfan1221]

Sure am..1982 or 1983.  I had moved to Warwick NY for a year before we relocated to Florida. (The state that is,not the neighboring town).  I had to take the train to Chester since it was the closest to get.  I would like to have never done all the moving but at least got to ride the now abandoned main line.  But I do remember it was around then.  I sort of knew one of the guys through school.  

     If I can find anything that shows it I'll let you know.  By the way, and you'll be able to relate to this javier, NJTransit seems to have a problem with the Bergen County line.  They are always hitting someone on it and the Saddle Brook crossing at Market St. is completely rebuilt.  Perhaps the lack of freights is almost a good thing. 

Roy:

Since, I was a little kid the Saddle Brook Crossing at Market Street is always some getting hit. I am not kidding around 5-10 a year. I think it has to do with the street light after the crossing. Usually at the evening rush hour is a mess up there. There's no freight trains going thru the area? Have you taken any pictures from the area? I miss the U-boats!

Market ST. is still a problem.  They have lights, overhead signals and strobes now and I think people still get hit occasionally.  And remember the Midland Ave. crossing next to it and that angle its on.  Another problem.

   NS runs local service and an occasional "long distance" train with big power.  It switches Suffern and Campbell Hall yards and generally comes through around 7:30 at night (unless you are actually waiting for it of course).  At least NJTransit can put on a good show sometimes.

[upchuck]

I lived 3 blocks from the Bergen Line in SB. Every crossing from Passaic st in Garfield
to the Midland ave crossing had many people die as a result of driving around downed
gates or walking around them.
In the early 80's I was behind a trash container truck that instead of stopping
at the gates going down, he punched it. I saw black smoke pouring from his
exhaust stacks as he tried to beat the gates. He didn't quite make it as the top of the
container hit the wooden gates which exploded like a grenade sending wood
schrapnel everywhere. If a person had been standing there they would have been
struck by it. It was the Market street crossing, he was headed west. He didn't stop
after the incident, just hightailed it up Market st.

[chefjavier]

Roy

Thanks for the info... Conrail all the way!