Commentary
NJT 40th Anniversary Express: South Amboy Power Swap Redux
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line, South Amboy. ALP46As 4636 and 4640 arrive with the 40th Anniversary Express. Waiting on the siding: F40PH F40PH-2CATs 4119 and 4120. NJ Transit photo
During my 31-plus years at Railway Age, I logged thousands of miles (and hours) on NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line, commuting to Penn Station New York and then hopping on the NYCT subway to get to the office. Working from home for the past four years, my long-commute days are gradually fading away. Nevertheless, I’m always happy to use NJT if I need to venture up north from my home in Red Bank, N.J. Sept. 30 was just such an opportunity, because the train back to the Jersey Shore was NJT’s 40th Anniversary Express, a special run co-sponsored by the URHS (United Railway Historical Society) that marked establishment, in 1983, of NJTRO (New Jersey Transit Rail Operations).
One trip highlight was a symbolic recreation of the power swap that occurred at South Amboy on the North Jersey Coast Line from 1938, when the Pennsylvania Railroad extended electrification from its New York-Washington D.C. main line (today’s Northeast Corridor) there. GGI electrics and steam locomotives performed the ritual until 1957, when the PRR retired the last of its steam fleet for diesels. Penn Central, then Conrail, then NJT continued the practice until 1988 (the famous GG1s were retired in 1983), when electrification to Long Branch was completed.
If a picture says 1,000 words, here are several thousand. Enjoy!
NJT the following day held an equipment display in Hoboken Terminal. Contributing Editor David Peter Alan reports:
While all the fanfare of NJT Rail’s 40th Anniversary Express took place with the run of the special on Sept. 30, a low-key event the following day gave many others an opportunity to look at some of its equipment and other pieces associated with New Jersey’s railroad and its heritage.
An unusually heavily patronized train that left Montclair at 9:00 arrived on Track 13 at Hoboken Terminal at 9:40 with its load of visitors; many of whom came from a train on the Morris & Essex Line that connected with it at Broad Street Station in Newark. Many were decked out in “Conrail Blue” T-shirts and other railfan attire. They had their cameras ready to photograph equipment that recalled the former Golden Age of rail travel, as well as more-recent railroad history in the Garden State.
The historic cars, locomotives and motor units stood on display at the 1907-vintage terminal, near the Hudson River and the entrance to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line. Everything that gave Saturday’s special its distinctive appearance was on view. The two ALP46A ”motors“ that pulled the train from New York Penn Station to South Amboy were there: 4636 in the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Tuscan Red livery with gold pinstripes, and 4640 in “NJ TRANSIT Retro Scheme” as the agency described it, with the “disco stripe” chevron historically associated with the agency, and NJTRO’s 40th anniversary logo.
The private cars in PRR and New York Central livery that formed part of the 40th Anniversary Express consist were also there: PRR 120, a business car built in Altoona in 1928 and now owned by the Juniata Terminal Co., Warrior Ridge (originally a Southern Pacific car, also owned by Juniata Terminal Co.), New York Central Tavern-Lounge 43, and the Hickory Creek, a 1948-vintage round-end observation car that once brought up the markers of that railroad’s famous Twentieth Century Limited.
Also on display was Juniata Terminal Co.’s 1952-vintage EMD E8A locomotive 5711, the sort of unit that pulled trains on the North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL) south of South Amboy, where the electrification ended at the time. A replica of a stone eagle from the original New York Penn Station stood next to it.
After the 40th Anniversary Express reached South Amboy, a change from electric to diesel power was performed to commemorate the ritual that had been a standard practice until 1988. NJT’s two F40PH-2CAT units, 4119 and 4120, took over. They are the last two still on the NJT roster of the original order of 17, which was also the first such order purchased by the agency in 1981. They are now relegated to work train duty.
Two GP40PH-2 locomotives of the class that pulled trains on the New York & Long Branch, the predecessor to today’s NJCL, the route of the special train, were also on view. No. 4109 was repainted in its original livery from 1968, when it was built and delivered to the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ). Today it is often seen on lines of Lackawanna and Erie Railroad heritage, located north of their original territory. Another unit from that class, 4101, was recently repainted in the “Bluebird” livery of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), which ran the trains in cooperation with Conrail in the years before NJTRO was established.
The other unit on display was the rarest of all, the only one of its type that still exists. It was 3372, a GE U34CH built for the Erie-Lackawanna in 1971 to run on lines going to and from Hoboken. It visited its old home for the first time in 30 years on Oct. 1. Railfans called them “U-boats,” and they ushered in the era of air-conditioned cars and push-pull operation in New Jersey. No. 3372 was recently restored by the United Railway Historical Society, co-sponsor of the weekend’s events, along with NJ Transit.
In addition to the numerous railfans and others who came out to see some interesting railroad equipment, NJ Transit employees from Rail Operations and elsewhere were on hand to greet visitors, give out souvenirs and try to recruit some new employees, which the agency needs. The railfans and tourists seemed to have a good time, seeing some unusual equipment and touring the interiors of cars that ran on the great trains from 75 or more years ago. It also gave everybody who is old enough an opportunity to remember the early days of NJ Transit and the struggle to get the agency and its railroad started and keep them going, especially back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Of course, seeing a stationary railcar as a tourist is no substitute for riding in it, and seeing a locomotive is not the same as riding behind it, but it appeared that most of the folks who came to Hoboken enjoyed looking at something they don’t normally see on the railroad.
It was also a way to join in the celebration of 40 years of NJT Rail Operations that was available to them. According to NJT CEO Kevin S. Corbett, the 40th Anniversary Express sold out within eight minutes of the time that tickets were offered for sale.
I occasionally rode the trains on the NJCL when power was changed at South Amboy. Most of the other passengers did not like the six or seven minutes of standing time required for the operation, but I usually got off the train and ran to the (sadly now-defunct) Daylight Bakery. If there wasn’t a long line, it was enough time to buy a couple of treats and enjoy them as we sped southward toward the Jersey Shore. Other passengers, on the evening trip, scampered off the train to a trackside tavern that had beers lined up on the bar in “grab and go” style. Throw down a dollar, grab your beer, and run back to the train!
