I have some interest in shooting NJT PL42 diesels and was wondering if there is any pattern to what lines/trains use these units? I see during my visits to north Jersey that the newer dual modes are very numerous. So is there any scheme to shooting these locomotives?
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All diesel lines (including occasional ACL appearances). Best places are RVL (only diesels to operate with Multilevels, so a GP40-free line) and Main/Bergen Multilevel and single level trains.
Since my friend continues to chain smoke nonstop, she is probably an Alco.
Why aren't the Geeps rated to haul MLV's? That's not exactly rare practice on other Geep-using roads.
Once in a while (at least a year or more ago), you'll be lucky enough to see a Geep with 4 MLV's. I've heard that they don't run them simply because they can't keep a schedule with them. But 4 MLV's weigh less than 6 single-levels, which in theory, they can certainly pull.
DANGER - DO NOT GET OFF MOVING TRAIN
F40 wrote:Once in a while (at least a year or more ago), you'll be lucky enough to see a Geep with 4 MLV's. I've heard that they don't run them simply because they can't keep a schedule with them. But 4 MLV's weigh less than 6 single-levels, which in theory, they can certainly pull.That I can believe. It's a little sad to watch the T's 3000 HP old stuff--Geeps or F40's--wheeze into motion trying to haul a 7-pack of stuffed-to-the-gills bi's out of a dead stop at Back Bay or Yawkey stations when the train's at its absolute fullest. The new 4600 HP HSP-46's are a night-and-day difference. But they don't discriminate on fleet assignments. A Geep's as fully capable as anything else at pulling any all- bi-level set that's shorter than a behemoth crush-load set and less overpacked with the weight of human flesh than a behemoth crush-load set.
The best place to see PL42s would be to hang around lower level Secaucus during rush hour. You would see Main/Bergen trains as well as Pascack Valley trains, all of which use a variety of equipment including PL42s. The Raritan Line is no longer all PL42s since the addition of direct service to New York almost every set uses an ALP-45 and the same goes with Bay Head trains.
If you're at Secaucus on a day when the Meadowlands line is running, they often use them to haul sets of 8 comets. They're pretty easy to find on the Main and Bergen lines.