PRR and PATH

Would you be able to learn anything from this picture ?

Not Penn Station but it gives some perspective.

Bring back the Hoboken Festival! PATH appears to have different floor height. It is only two steps up for level boarding by the looks of it, as opposed to the four or five on the Acela at that same festival.

Back to the original question. NO, the Tubes and PRR were seperate even at Journal Square. There were a lot of discrepencies between the two's equipment. However, since PRR had lots of $$$ tied up in the Tubes, or Hudson and Manhatten Railroad, from construction into the '50s, you will find a lot of PRR influences.

M&Eman wrote:Does PATH use ex-PRR platforms at JSQ, or their own?

Like Bill West said, PRR never stopped at Journal Square after H&M started running there. Probably they couldn't if they had wanted to-- the platforms were probably too close to the rail for main line cars.

M&Eman wrote:Are position-light signals still used on the PRR section?

Dunno when they got rid of their last position-light-- 1980s?

M&Eman wrote:Is the old JC mainline still electrified?

No live catenary, but last time I looked there were still pieces of abandoned catenary.

M&Eman wrote:Can PATH technically platform at any of the Newark Penn Station platforms?

As I recall there is no longer any connection from PATH to main line that would allow that, even under tow. (Unless they can saw through the shop complex somehow.)

As for car-floor height-- we know H&M trains stopped at Manh Transfer, using their gantlet track, which had to be about the same level as the non-gantlet track. PRR Jersey City trains usually weren't scheduled to stop at Manh Tfr, but I'm guessing they could if necessary, on that non-gantlet track. So I'll bet the car floors were about the same height above rail.

Do PATH cars sit lower on the rails than standard heavy rail passenger cars? I put this question to a gentleman who is a mechanical engineer and spent about 40 years with Eastern railroads and is now a consultant, often working with new transit equipment. I was surprised to learn-

F23A4 you've got good eyes! According to the figures this gentleman supplied, most standard passenger car floors - Amfleet, NJ Transit Comets, Metra - are about 51 inches "ATOR" -above top of rail. PATH cars are 44.5 inches ATOR. The Association of American Railroads standard for high level platforms is 50.5 inches. So if a PATH train was, for some reason, towed into Track 5 at Newark passengers would be one big step below platform level when the doors opened.

Also, the old Manhattan Transfer platforms had a compromise height. They were 48 inches from ATOR. So Pennsy riders had to step down 3 inches, H&M riders step up 3.5 inches.

This was fun, I learned something!