Wow, I was only 6 years old and was already obsessed with trains very much. I remember seeing those trains back then. And the Comet Vs made their inaugural run on the old Boonton line just before it was abandoned. Some website says the Comet Vs ran on the old Boonton line before they began service on the NEC. They even ran Comet IIIs and IVs on the old Boonton line before it was closed. Fascinating.
Interestingly enough the narrator notes around 11:00 that the Montclair Connection "would spare NJT transit the expense of rebuilding both this (I believe the Kearny Cut) and the Hackensack drawbridge." Meanwhile, when all was said and done, the Montclair connection cost over $60 million to do nothing more than make a 1500ft connector at grade between two existing lines.
I can only comment from a rider standpoint. The line was mostly jointed rail that was very rough riding. But it wasn’t so bad that slow orders were needed. I think my last trip on a westbound train was about a week before this section closed.
@@PhillyBagel By the looks of archival footage here and few years after 2002 (before 2007), it looks to me that the line was in danger of collapse or derailment.
I really wish there was something that could be done with that line other than remove it and put up a bike trail. A connection to the NEC for Amtrak, Light Rail, even a turist railroad or something. Just seems like a waste of a perfect right of way otherwise.
Great job on the video. It was a shame that they didn't have the foresight to keep the line running as there are a lot of people in that area that the train would be very useful for commuting. They would never stop the train in the wealthy areas of Montclair, Summit,etc there would be such an uproar if they did. NJT should learn, that people will take the train instead of driving to NYC. Oh well live learn, great video.
As the narrator says, the NY & Greenwood Lake proposed service on the portion of the line between Montclair and the Passaic River, but it never happened. NS didn't want passenger service on its track, and there was the issue of where passengers would transfer to NJT trains. There also was no easy way to run the NY&GL engine around the train at each end of the runs. The Hackensack River bridge desperately needed restoration, so running all the way from the abandoned stations to Hoboken was not possible.
I Know Of A Montclair Location is this the same City and State? It's been 30 years sense I've been to that city, I Don't see an exact location in the Description Below maybe you can Help out with this ? Add the full location in the description by State & City.
This isn't the "lower Boonton." It's the Erie Greenwood Lake Branch east of the Montclair Connection. The Boonton Line is intact from the South Paterson connection with the Erie Main Line to its junction with the Lackawanna Morris & Essex Line just west of the Bergen tunnels.
actually when njt took over, since the DLW Boonton branch was pretty much gone, the whole line on the Erie through Montclair and past Mountain View where it connects to the DLW was called the Boonton line. The number plates on the signals all have a B and it is called the Boonton line in our timetable.
This was in September 2002 around September 26-27. 2002. They were working around the clock that week to get the new service ready on Monday, September 30.
Nice video. Brings back memories of my assignments from Port Morris. I normally worked UM01, UM02, or UM03, depending on assignment changes. I've been retired 10+ years from NJT. I remember Pat L. when he was a mechanic at a garage in Madison. I was conductor on the wire train at that time, just to get a break from commuter service. The riders from Benson St., Rowe, and Arlington were some of the nicest around. Jimmy Wilson had a great idea for shuttle service from Benson but he was not a favorite of NJT. I started with the EL in 1970, finished with NJT 5/1/2013. My handle was "The Colonel."😎🚂🚃🚃🚃✝
I started with Transit 3 months after you retired lol, first with bus as an operator then rail as a conductor, where I currently am. I lived up the street from Rowe Street as a kid and rode it several times. I remember the U Boats, Comet I sliders, open door policy and everything lol. I've worked with Pat a few times also while on a Dover TC job. Good stuff 👍
