Your favorite Railroad in New Jersey?

What is your favorite railroad past and present in New Jersey and why?--Mine is the PRSL and to be more specific, the Grenloch Branch because as far back as I can remember (4 or 5 years of age) my father walking me the two blocks from my house, in Mount Ephraim, by the hand to show me the steam engines (060 switchers). The noise they made were scary for a boy at that age, however, those trips implanted a love and understanding of trains that carries on to this day.

If everyone that writes on this forum responds to this thread, we will have a very interesting gathering of information about OUR New Jersey railroads!--Thanks

David wrote:What is your favorite railroad past and present in New Jersey and why?--

Mine is most definitly the PRSL in terms of historical railroad operations...while I love the Grenloch Branch as David does (I live only 1 mile from the current end of track at Bellmawr), my favorite lines are the seashore branches. Just taking the time to walk some of the abandoned railroad ROW in Ocean City, or on the Wildwood Branch makes one think about the amount of history that took place along those routes years ago.

As for active railroads, I'm a big fan of CMSL. I respect the company greatly for what they have done to restore railroad service to Cape May County, and the historical appeal is absolutely present in the fact that they are running over a vital piece of ex-PRSL railroad.

Take care everyone.

My 2 favorite railroads of the past are the Erie Lackawanna and the CNJ. I grew up a block away from the EL at Chatham, NJ train station and rode the old DL&W Mu's as a kid! I am also very fond of the EL/NJDOT U34CH.
And you can't get any classier then the Phoebe Snow going 90 mph on the Cutoff!!
I love the CNJ for their bucolic High Bridge (AKA Hookerman) Branch and the Dover & Rockaway which M&E runs today! I also thought the old CNJ/EL ES-99/SE-100 pool trains that ran in the 1970's were very unique. Those red baron engines pooled with the EL Bicentennial SDP45's pulling a 100 cars was impressive!!

My favorite railroad of the present is the Morristown & Erie. I lived in Cedar Knolls as well. I was a block away from the Frederick Place crossing on the Whippany Line from 1982-1992...I got my very first cab ride on M&E 14 for Roseland's 100th Anniversary train trips in 1983. :D


Thanks,
Steve P.
Denville, NJ

My favorite is the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western. I am still impressed by the engineering that went into the construction of the rights-of-way and have always admired the architecture of its many stations still in use. I am looking forward to a day when almost all of its ROWs in NJ can be brought back into use.

Gotta say even though i'm born and raised in north jersey, the PRSL interests me the most as well. The CNJ southern division also is of great interest to me. I guess my love for the jersey shore helped breed this interest in the PRSL and the southern division...still a dream, like many railfans out there, to see freights/passenger trains heading south through the pine barrens to winslow....
As for today, gotta say the CMSL....

Regards....

My favorite railroad would have to be the New York Susquehanna and Western Railway. The reason is ive lived within 10 minutes of their southern division mainline my whole life. So what if now they only have six road trainns a week but the railroad has come from high times and class one like operations to nothing and line cut backs. They are the underdogs of the class ones around them. I will always remember seeing Hanjin and Sealand stack trains being pulled by all various locomotives and it was always great to see a pure line up of NYSW power on a stack train. This railroad i think will last a lot longer and if tough times come they will get through it.

The CNJ line from Matawan to Freehold was always one of my favorites to hike when I was younger (not much left now). The NYS&W now that I live in West Milford

Jim

My favorite New Jersey railroad of the past would have to be the Erie Lackawanna and my favorite contemporary railroad would have to be Conrail as may father worked for both and they were the railroads I grew up with. I also had the good fortune of working for Conrail for a brief period before the split. As far as I am concerned, NS and CSX leave a lot to be desired compared to big blue.

I'll have to go with Steve on this one... The Morristown and Erie is by far my favorite. Living 5 minutes from downtown Rockaway makes it interesting anytime I hear a horn. The M&E to me is the "good ole" smalltown railroad company.

Morristown & Erie it is! Always love running into them home or work... And yes! the Horn... Ahhh! Denville hears a lot of horns (never enough or loud enough!) but I love hearing M&E.
Although, Big Blue has always been a favorite. But that's only a memory.

Present favorite: has to be the Morristown & Erie for reactivating the Rahway Valley RR.

Past favorite: Duh.

Lehigh Valley-- Family ties

Hands down the M&E for reactivating the RVRR.
Of Course my favorite past time was the CNJ Mainline!

I have more than one favorite. My favorite shortline is the Rahway Valley. My favorite mainlines are the PRR because I am very interested in the electric motors that once ran on the Standard RR of the World. I also like the Lehigh Valley because of their multi colored Alcos and I like the CNJ because of the areas where it ran. I like the DL & W because of it's physical plant (bridges, towers, NJ Cutoff).

The Penn Central,Two GG-1's wheeling thru New Brunswick late at night pulling a mile long piggybacker. The Lehigh Valley... watching the westbound Apollo - 1 blast thru South Plainfield with angry yellow jacket Alco diesels blasting out clouds of exhaust while standing in the parking lot of the Sherban diner. The CNJ.... stepping back while a loaded coal train with SD-35 units kicks up the dust in Bound Brook, a B&O Time Saver right on his tail. All in the same day within a 20 mile radius.