Does anyone else remember this?

[Bay Head Local]

Wasn't there a board at the OLD WTC station above the escalators on the concourse,that displayed the different path service's (Journal Square,Hoboken,Newark),I also remeber it having something that said Express,does anyone else remember this board?The reason im asking this is because I was wondering did PATH ever have a plan to institue some type of express service?

[Terry Kennedy]

Wasn't there a board at the OLD WTC station above the escalators on the concourse,that displayed the different path service's (Journal Square,Hoboken,Newark),I also remeber it having something that said Express,does anyone else remember this board?The reason im asking this is because I was wondering did PATH ever have a plan to institue some type of express service?

Yes - that board could display the status of the various services (running / not running). It was tied into the illuminated maps that were above the platforms as well. The system that controlled these was rather primitive and failed frequently, so the signs were normally stuck at whatever settings they had last been configured to.

There was a simpler system at Pavonia/Newport which would illuminate arrows to point to which track a service was running on.

PATH experimented with a NWK/WTC express service, but with the short rush-hour headways and the large number of intermediate stations, the express would wind up sitting behind locals at the stations (except Journal Square, where it could use track 0).

Of course, if neither the Holland Tunnel nor the crash of 1929 had happened (or happened later), the H&M would have proceeded with expanding the whole system to 4 tracks and we would have had express and local services...

[orangeline]

I have a PATH Map Guide effective Oct 26, 1980, and there was nonstop service (the ultimate express!) between HOB and WTC during AM and PM rush hours. This applied to every second train, with the others stopping at Exchange Place and Pavonia Avenue.

• HOB -> WTC nonstop between 8:05 and 8:35 AM and 4:47 and 5:44 PM
  WTC -> HOB nonstop between 8:11 and 8:44 AM and 4:38 and 5:38 PM

During rush hours, HOB - WTC - HOB trains ran on 3 to 6 minute headways.

[Bay Head Local]

Does anyone have any pictures of this board?

Also, these express services were instituted for those who were transferring from NJ Transit trains at Newark and Hoboken, correct?

[arrow]

I do remember that board, and I do have a picture of it, actually. I'll have to try to dig it up tomorrow and post it here.

I found this picture on the internet a while ago. I know I have one that shows the board clearly though, so I'll have to look for it.

[Jersey Jeff]

I have a PATH Map Guide effective Oct 26, 1980, and there was nonstop service (the ultimate express!) between HOB and WTC during AM and PM rush hours. This applied to every second train, with the others stopping at Exchange Place and Pavonia Avenue.

• HOB -> WTC nonstop between 8:05 and 8:35 AM and 4:47 and 5:44 PM
  WTC -> HOB nonstop between 8:11 and 8:44 AM and 4:38 and 5:38 PM

During rush hours, HOB - WTC - HOB trains ran on 3 to 6 minute headways.

While I was a wee child in 1980, I would bet that Pavonia-Newport and Exchange Place were seeing far less passengers than today. In fact, the present Lefrak/Hartz version of Newport probably wasn't even on the drawing board in 1980.

[orangeline]

Jersey Jeff,

Back in 1980, it was strictly Pavonia Ave, no Newport. As I recall, the station had once served the Erie Railroad terminal and had stylized "E" medallions on the support columns. Pavonia Ave was such a nowhere then that the station was closed M-F between midnight and 5:00 AM (as was Christopher St in NYC) and all day Sat, Sun and major holidays! It's amazing how much that area has changed!

[Terrapin Station]

I have a PATH Map Guide effective Oct 26, 1980, and there was nonstop service (the ultimate express!) between HOB and WTC during AM and PM rush hours. This applied to every second train, with the others stopping at Exchange Place and Pavonia Avenue.

• HOB -> WTC nonstop between 8:05 and 8:35 AM and 4:47 and 5:44 PM
  WTC -> HOB nonstop between 8:11 and 8:44 AM and 4:38 and 5:38 PM

During rush hours, HOB - WTC - HOB trains ran on 3 to 6 minute headways.

While I was a wee child in 1980, I would bet that Pavonia-Newport and Exchange Place were seeing far less passengers than today. In fact, the present Lefrak/Hartz version of Newport probably wasn't even on the drawing board in 1980.

Newport 1986

[Idiot Railfan]

Jersey Jeff,

Back in 1980, it was strictly Pavonia Ave, no Newport. As I recall, the station had once served the Erie Railroad terminal and had stylized "E" medallions on the support columns. Pavonia Ave was such a nowhere then that the station was closed M-F between midnight and 5:00 AM (as was Christopher St in NYC) and all day Sat, Sun and major holidays! It's amazing how much that area has changed!

Pavonia in the late 70s and early 80s was a bizarre place. When you came out of the doors of the station, through little more than a sheet-metal shed, it was like walking into a nuclear wasteland. I have some old photos I have to dig up and scan.

[Bay Head Local]

Wasn't there a board at the OLD WTC station above the escalators on the concourse,that displayed the different path service's (Journal Square,Hoboken,Newark),I also remeber it having something that said Express,does anyone else remember this board?The reason im asking this is because I was wondering did PATH ever have a plan to institue some type of express service?

PATH experimented with a NWK/WTC express service, but with the short rush-hour headways and the large number of intermediate stations, the express would wind up sitting behind locals at the stations (except Journal Square, where it could use track 0).

Whats weird is that this morning at JSQ their was an extremely crowded WTC train sitting on track 1 while another WTC train(With ppl on it) went by on track 0 with out stopping

Do some trains skip JSQ or other stations from time to time when there are short headways?

[umtrr-author]

An amazing photo of Newport circa 1986... thanks for sharing.

It would have looked different 20 years before that, although the "nuclear wasteland" might be a little harsh, it was certainly a ghost town.

I am a Jersey City native and my dad would occassionally take me to the Erie's Pavonia Yard, site of the former passenger station. In 1966 there was some freight car storage behind worn out fences and the remains of the passenger terminal.

Those "E"s were in fact reference to the Erie RR Station above...

[uhaul]

A quick and probably silly question for arrow.
Is this picture location now gone because of 9/11/01?

[Bay Head Local]

yes

[Bay Head Local]

Whats weird is that this morning at JSQ their was an extremely crowded WTC train sitting on track 1 while another WTC train(With ppl on it) went by on track 0 with out stopping

Do some trains skip JSQ or other stations from time to time when there are short headways?

Does anyone know the answer to my question?

Does service occasionally run express or bypass JSQ station during rush hours or when service is backed up?

[arrow]

uhaul,

While what you see in the picture is gone now, you still walk in the same exact area now when you get to the top of the escalators in the temporary PATH station.

The escalators are in the same location they always were.

It's a great picture that you can stare at for awhile and reflect on.