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  • Weekend Cape May/Ocean City RDCs

  • Discussion relating to the PRSL
Discussion relating to the PRSL

Moderator: JJMDiMunno

 #165731  by ajt
 
Question on weekend PRSL service, post-PATCO.

Mon-Fri saw Cape May/Ocean City/Atlantic City service which tied up for the evening in CM/OC/AC. But weekend service to CM/OC originated in Lindenwold. How were the RDCs manipulated there? Was there a Friday nite/Sat morning Cape May-Lindenwold deadhead move? Would the RDCs spend Sat evening in Lindenwold? Another Sun evening/Mon morning Lindenwold-CM deadhead?

 #242943  by JimBoylan
 
Employees' Timetable 5 6/18/73 shows the summertime reverse commuter train running every day, leaving Lindenwold at 10:00 a.m., after all morning trains have arrived, and leaving Cape May at 6:00 p.m., 14 minutes before the 1st evening train arrived. General Order 508 reinstates the Summertime trains on 6/22/74.
I think P-RSL had 10 RDCs left after 2 had been wrecked or burnt. By this schedule, every round trip required a different car, 3 to Ocean City, 3 to Cape May (no passenger service to Wildwood), 3 to Atlantic City, and one spare. In the late 1970s, North Jersey Department of Transportation would borrow RDCs fron the old CNJ to help, because one P-RSL car was being stripped for parts at Atlantic City.
The Ocean City-Tuckahoe conductor could have covered all of those short runs with the help of a taxicab, but I'm sure the Ocean City cars ran through to Lindenwold, as the timetable has notes for trains from Cape May to "Stop north of Interlocking", I guess to couple the cars.
No deadheading is shown in the schedule, and it wouldn't have reduced the car requirements, due to the close headways.

 #243057  by David
 
M-406 was the RDC in Atlantic City being striped for parts. An old acquaintance of mine tried to beat it at a crossing in 1981 in Berlin in a large stone truck. He got out of it without a scratch, however, the poor old RDC never recovered. I have the throttle handle from it.

 #270436  by Noel Weaver
 
I rode the Cape May train many a Saturday and Sunday in the late 70's
and 1980 or so. I recall seeing RDC's in both Cape May and Ocean City
on these escapades so I suspect that the cars were deadheaded to
Lindenwold from Atlantic City for this weekend operation then they were
probably deadheaded back to Atlantic City for the Monday AM trips.
Sometimes I would ride round trip Cape May and other times I would take
a "rattletrap" bus from Cape May up to Ocean City and return from there.
Noel Weaver