Newark-Philly via West Trenton

Hello everyone,

From what I have seen and read was that NJT actually had service to West Trenton or Reading terminal in the early 1980's.
Can someone get me some information on this line and possibly photos because I have tried a search but nothing came up except old maps that have the line on it. Also what kind of equipment was used on this service?

According to an old book, it was ran by a pair of RDC's. ALTHOUGH, I'm not sure if in fact the train was ran by Conrail, or NJT. Different people have said both.

NJTArrow2 wrote:Hello everyone,

From what I have seen and read was that NJT actually had service to West Trenton or Reading terminal in the early 1980's.
Can someone get me some information on this line and possibly photos because I have tried a search but nothing came up except old maps that have the line on it. Also what kind of equipment was used on this service?

NJT service to West Trenton was a short lived service to compensate for the cessation of the RDC powered Crusader that was a holdover from the Reading days. At its peak, the Reading ran a 5 car Budd built streamliner with a streamlined G-1 Pacific steam loco from Reading Terminal to Jersey City. EMD FP7's replaced the G-1's in 1950 and Budd RDC's replaced the diesel hauled consist in the 1960's. In 1967, service was rerouted into PRR's Newark Penn Sta. with the advent of the Aldene Plan. RDC service continued into Conrail until 1981 when federal budget cuts forced the termination of the (by then) lightly used service. NJT ran a Newark-West Trenton run (using old CNJ push-pull equipment) for one year until they pulled the plug due to low ridership in 1982. Here is link to a photo of the Crusader in 1947. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 271&nseq=0

This is a question I still haven't gotten a clear answer on...

Take a look at this map, from 1980:

NJT System Map, 1980

The map clearly shows the "Reading Line" running from Bound Brook, through West Trenton, and terminating at Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. Under NJT operations, did trains actually operate into Reading Terminal or did they terminate at West Trenton with a connection to SEPTA?

Thanks for all the information can someone get me the times on when they were run?

transit383 wrote:This is a question I still haven't gotten a clear answer on...

Take a look at this map, from 1980:

NJT System Map, 1980

The map clearly shows the "Reading Line" running from Bound Brook, through West Trenton, and terminating at Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. Under NJT operations, did trains actually operate into Reading Terminal or did they terminate at West Trenton with a connection to SEPTA?

Okay, in 1980, all passenger train service (Amtrak, Septa, and NJT) was operated under contract with Conrail. The service you mention was primarily a Septa service run in conjunction with NJTransit (NJDOT). The trains were RDC runs that started
in Reading Terminal in the morning to Newark and returned to Philly in the afternoon/evening. Thru service ended in
1981 and NJT ran its own West Trenton-Newark service for one year after ending in 1982. The RDC's that ran belonged to
Septa and not NJT. NJT provided its own equipment for the short lived Newark-West Trenton run.

NJTArrow2:

From my old TTs:

Oct 2, 1966 Reading Railway System
Wall Street: Lv Reading Terminal 6:54 am Ar Jersey City 8:50 am; Lv Jersey City 4:30 pm Ar Reading Terminal 6:29 pm
Crusader: Lv Reading Terminal 7:40 am Ar Jersey City 9:20 am; Lv Jersey City 5:30 pm Ar Reading Terminal 7:28 pm

Jan 1, 1969 Reading Railway System / Central R.R. of New Jersey
Wall Street: Lv Reading Terminal 6:32 am Ar Newark 8:19 am; Lv Newark 4:54 pm Ar Reading Terminal 6:43 pm
Crusader: Lv Reading Terminal 7:40 am Ar Newark 9:21 am; Lv Newark 5:45 pm Ar Reading Terminal 7:32 pm
With Penn Central connections to NY Penna. Station; note Newark is referred to as "Penn Central Sta"!!!!!

May 16, 1971 and Oct 28, 1973 TTs are same as above + or - 2 min.
March 21, 1975 is last one I have still labled Reading Railway System / Central R.R. of New Jersey (6 min longer TO Newark)
May 23, 1976 is labled ConRail Reading Div. / New Jersey Division

No Sat., Sun, or Holiday Service

amtrakhogger wrote:

transit383 wrote:This is a question I still haven't gotten a clear answer on...

Take a look at this map, from 1980:

NJT System Map, 1980

The map clearly shows the "Reading Line" running from Bound Brook, through West Trenton, and terminating at Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. Under NJT operations, did trains actually operate into Reading Terminal or did they terminate at West Trenton with a connection to SEPTA?

Okay, in 1980, all passenger train service (Amtrak, Septa, and NJT) was operated under contract with Conrail. The service you mention was primarily a Septa service run in conjunction with NJTransit (NJDOT). The trains were RDC runs that started
in Reading Terminal in the morning to Newark and returned to Philly in the afternoon/evening. Thru service ended in
1981 and NJT ran its own West Trenton-Newark service for one year after ending in 1982. The RDC's that ran belonged to
Septa and not NJT. NJT provided its own equipment for the short lived Newark-West Trenton run.

Transit 383 great question i often wondered myself. Thanks for the answer Amtrak Hogger.

amtrakhogger wrote:Okay, in 1980, all passenger train service (Amtrak, Septa, and NJT) was operated under contract with Conrail. The service you mention was primarily a Septa service run in conjunction with NJTransit (NJDOT). The trains were RDC runs that started
in Reading Terminal in the morning to Newark and returned to Philly in the afternoon/evening. Thru service ended in
1981 and NJT ran its own West Trenton-Newark service for one year after ending in 1982. The RDC's that ran belonged to
Septa and not NJT. NJT provided its own equipment for the short lived Newark-West Trenton run.

Thanks for this info. For the short lived NJT service from 1981 to 1982, do you recall if there was there a timed connection to SEPTA trains at West Trenton?

I don't have any old schedules that list the NJT West Trenton-Newark run, but FWIK trains were set up to connect at West Trenton with Septa locals.

I can only imagine what the new service would bring.....that is, if it ever gets off the ground

Is there anyware or any place that may have pictures of New Jersey Transit on the reading line?

NJTArrow2 wrote:Is there anyware or any place that may have pictures of New Jersey Transit on the reading line?

Why don't you do a search on the INTERNET?

I tried that but only maps came up.

Maps can be a great resource for finding the history of a line.

A: What other line(s) does(did) it connect to?
B: Is it different back a decade or two ago from it's current state?