When did NJT abolish smoking cars?

I am wondering the year when NJT banned smoking on all NJT trains....Someone told me it happened in 1992, but I am pretty sure it was way before that sometime in the 1980's?....Anyone have a firm date as to when this took place?

Thanks,
Steve

I can't say for sure, but I know it was after 1984 and before 1987. I'm sure there are some smoking commuters who can tell you the year, month, day, time, and the name of the conductor who told them smoking was banned.

As I recall, it got pretty ugly at times when it first was put into place.

I was a regular commuter from 1983 thru early 1985 and recall the elimination of smoking within the cars around that time. Some of the smokers migrated to the vestibules until that too was considered off-limits as the smoke found a way into the passenger compartment. A side benefit of eliminating the smoking was the freeing up of more seats. I remember standing room only in many of the rush hour non-smoking cars, but plenty of seats available in the smoking cars. Cars were dedicated smoking, non-smoking or were transitioned between the two via a hinged smoking/no smoking sign over each end doorway.

1992 was when smoking was finally banned on MNCR trains, too. Before that time and after the NJT ban, it was comical to see the cab car go up in smoke when we left Suffern on a w/b Port Jervis train. Especially on a Friday.

I still see smokers puffing away in the stairwells on PVL - favorite spot is the well in the front car right behind the engine.
After the brunt of pax are unloaded at the first few stations, these guys creep over, knowing that v. few ppl will get off at the very front -- the conductor gets off a car behind -- nor will they get a chance to report this to the conductor by the time the train is moving again. And it takes just a few minutes to be "in and out" for the smoke

It used to be horrible... Standing in a packed sardine can of a car while the next car had only 10 people in it but was GRAY with smoke. You couldn't even walk through that car without having your clothes STINK with rancid, stale smoke... Man, I was glad when that ban went into effect. I remember the fireworks after, though... :-D
BigDell

There was also a bit of a struggle when NJT and MN tried to ban card-playing on the trains. A couple MN conductors went as far as to have several passengers arrested and taken off the train. (Ironically, MN was running commercials at the very same time point out that you could sleep, read, or play cards on the train.)

The problem was that while most card games on the train for nickel-and-dime games, some players, particularly on the Port Jervis trains, were playing pretty high stakes, with thousands of dollars on the table (or in this case lapboards). The railroad, reasonably, thought it was getting out of hand and it was just a matter of time until there was a robbery, or worse.

It has been a very long time--10 years, maybe--since I saw a card game on the train, at least on the Boonton Line. Are there still card games on other lines?

Idiot,

Saw a couple girls playing cards on an Atlantic City line train back in March. I remember seeing the conductor telling the girls that it was illegal, but he didn't stop them. He even jokingly asked if he could get in on the game....So there you had pre gambling on the way to the gambling mecca....

Steve

Every once in a while there is talk about banning alcohol on the trains as well, but it is usually quietly dropped.

Cards are still very much played on the Coast Line, and a newspaper, i think it was the Star Ledger, did an article probably about 9-10 months back about one particular group of card players who have been playing for so many years.

The machinery for the smoking ban on Metro-North started even before
the Metro-North takeover when the then existing Metropolitan Region had
the trains set up with the smoking car being the New York end car. This
resulted in New York bound trains that the engineer was forced to be in
this car and the blowers sucked that smoke filled air into the cab. The
B.L.E. complained to the company to the extant that instructions were
issued making the third head car the smoking car on New York bound
trains. This solved for the most part the problem so far as the engineer
was concerned but now the conductor often got the brunt of the smoke.
Meantime, the railroad was fed up with the extreme mess that the smoking car became and the time and expense of cleaning up this mess
on a regular basis.
Smoke in an MU car with its high seating capacity could become a real
problem for the engineer who does not smoke especially on a long run of
maybe 50 to 70 miles.
I for one sure appreciated when the trains were made entirely no smoking.
Noel Weaver

Being "forced" to work in a smoke filled or poorly vented environment has been the basis for several class action lawsuits by flight attendants and bar employees. Airlines have settled a number of individual suits (FA develops lung cancer but never smoked) although I don't believe there's ever been a succesful class action by FAs on the subject.