I went to Princeton for my undergrad and the Dinky was a godsend! I could walk from my dorm to the Dinky station, transfer onto NJ Transit, and be at Penn Station in under 2 hours. I could then take LIRR back to my hometown and walk back to my house without using a car. A lot of students also took the Dinky->NJ Transit->Newark Airport, so you could get from campus to your flight super easily. A lot of commuters from the town of Princeton (not just students) use the Dinky every day. I've been visiting campus since I was a toddler and it's fun to see how the Dinky never changes.
Supposedly Albert Einstein used to sit and watch trains at the Princeton junction station. The story is that Einstein claimed the idle time while watching trains helped him to be more creative
He also developed a thought experiment using moving trains and a train station to explain relativity from the perspective of different observers on the trains and the station.
As a Princeton resident this branch line saves quite a bit of time and gets going quite fast. The biggest shame is that they have shortened the line twice :(
When it comes to short lines in North America, the Franklin Ave Shuttle is the most interesting of the NYC shuttles considering unlike the other NYC shuttles, it has a station that's only served by a shuttle service, Park Place (also the only station to have a single-track that's NOT a terminal station). Its original purpose was as part of a line to Coney Island, but extending the D to Coney Island ultimately made it a shuttle. The line was home to the deadliest crash in NYC subway history in November 1918 when, as over 90 people lost their lives because a speeding train derailed in a sharply curved tunnel when it approached Prospect Park. Basically there was a labor strike and they got a dispatcher with NO experience operating the line. But my favorite of the stub subway lines is the MTR's Disneyland Resort Line. Not only because it has special cute rolling stock with Mickey windows and Mickey handholds, but also the designs of the two stations are meant to be like a time machine, as in you're going from the futuristic city of Hong Kong at Sunny Bay, to the fantasy world of the Disneyland Resort (with Victorian-themed Disneyland Resort station). Because taking a trip to a theme park is like going back to your childhood. And not to mention, the line had the first automated MTR trains before the South Island Line
Now that fits the definition of "quirky" to a tee. It must be economically viable if it is kept running, and I love the 70's aesthetics of the unit - I bet a lot of heritage lines would give their right arms for an old train in such condition.
The traffic on Route 1 which this line crosses is horrendous. This makes the line viable. The train just files right over. There is talk of removing the tracks and converting the right-of-way into a bus rapid transit line.
@@ericpaul4575 converting it to BRT would be a mistake, it would likely increase the operating costs, but obviously make somebody's political donors richer.
I was born & raised in Princeton. As a train-obsessed kid I used to ride the Dinky for fun and onetime the conductor let me in the cab and blow the horn. Core memory. The Dinky’s very convenient for Princeton students and locals alike who are headed to & from cities along the Northeast Corridor.. as well as Newark Airport. It’s quite satisfying to be able to go from charming Nassau St in Princeton to Manhattan without stepping foot in a car …or Central London for that matter. If more people in the US had decent/reliable commuter rail like we do in NJ, I think the US would be a lot more enthusiastic about passenger rail.
Not a regional or commuter rail line but a pretty short subway line in North America is the 42nd Street Shuttle in Manhattan between Times Square and Grand Central, at just .44 miles or .71 km! Why is it so short? The 42nd Street Shuttle was constructed and operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, or just the IRT. The tracks that are now the shuttle opened in 1904 as part of the city's first subway. The original subway line ran north from City Hall on what is now the IRT Lexington Avenue Line to 42nd Street, from where it turned west to run across 42nd Street. At Broadway, the line turned north, proceeding to 145th Street on what is now the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line. This operation continued until 1918, when construction on the Lexington Avenue Line north of 42nd Street, and on the Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line south of 42nd Street was completed. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. The section in the middle, via 42nd Street, was converted into shuttle operation. The shuttle once operated with three tracks, but when a big project made the shuttle ADA-accessible, this was reduced to two tracks to create a widened platform.
When I was a graduate student at Princeton in the 1980s, the Dinky used to run up to the far end of campus, but it was still on campus. Now they moved the station further down so that it's a much longer walk. Plus there's a lot of new construction on campus. I couldn't see walking that route today with my full backpack, even if I were as spry as I was in my youth.
The LIRR has multiple branches like those that branch off the Main Line like the Port Washington Branch which branches off after Woodside, Oyster Bay Branch which branches off after Mineola, and the Hempstead Branch which branches off after Floral Park. There are also the New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury Branches of the Metro-North Railroad! NJT also has the Meadowlands Rail Line which branches off the Pascack Valley Line to reach the Meadowlands Sports Complex station which opened on July 26, 2009 for the championship match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup between the US and Mexico. It was part of the plan for the sports complex to host a Super Bowl which it did in 2014. SEPTA have their own little branch line called the Cynwyd Line, the second-shortest rail line in the US after the Mighty Dinky! The Cynwyd Line is a fully grade-separated truncated remnant of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Schuylkill Branch, which ran from Philadelphia to Pottsville. Originally known as the Ivy Ridge Line, service was truncated on May 17, 1986, at its current terminus at Cynwyd, due to track conditions. Track between Cynwyd and Ivy Ridge was dismantled between 2008 and 2010 for conversion as an interim rail trail. In October 2010, the Cynwyd Line was actually where the Silverliner V rail cars made their first run in revenue service!
I had the great pleasure of riding the Dinky and visiting Princeton University, a beautiful campus set in one of the most charming cities in America. NJ Transit is a very impressive system.
This type of train is called MU (Multiple unit), consists usually of 2-4 vagons. The difference is in traction, named Dmu (D for Diesel) and Emu (E for Electric). It's a common type of train for medium distance trips especially in Europe,
Welcome to my neck of the woods! Glad you could see the Dinky before it potentially goes away. The line is endangered given the impending retirement of the remaining Arrow III fleet, with talk of potentially converting the right of way to a bus/light rail combo, but I have a hard time seeing them invest in light rail for that small branch. It doesn't make a lot of sense, so I fear it's just PR cover for their real plan of replacing the train with a bus.
I was a graduate student at Princeton a very *_long_* time ago, and have ridden that train many times. I think the last time would have been around 1982. The inside of the train looks pretty much the same as it did back then.... It used to smell strongly of jasmine tea inside; something to do with whatever they used to clean it. When I first started riding it, there was something wonky about the track, and it set up a substantial side-to-side rolling sway of the whole train when it reached top speed. It was enough to make you seasick. They eventually fixed it. The first time I got off the train in Princeton, I saw the Wawa, the first one I'd ever seen. Having lived in California all my life prior to that point, I had no idea what it was, or why anyone would name anything "Wawa."
New York City has several extremely short "Shuttle" subways that just take you one or so stops to another line. I'm not sure if these count. While not a train route, the world's shortest airline route is from Westray to Papa Westray which is only a couple of minutes' hop between two islands.
I’ve always wondered about this line. I have relatives who live in Newtown, PA so I usually take NJT to Hamilton where they meet me. I’ve seen the signs for the train to Princeton many times but never explored it. So thanks for this little video.
Nice video! Impressive that this line is electric for so long already! There are a few branch lines in Europe I can think of. Nové Sedlo u Lokte to Loket předměstí in Northwestern Czechia is about 4.1 km long, the Česká Kamenice - Kamenický Šenov line (also Czechia) is about 4.4 km long. There is a 2.7 km branch line between Esch sur Alzette (Luxembourg) and Audun-le-Tiche (France). In the UK, the Slough-Windsor & Eton line is about 4.5 km long too, and the Stourbridge Town branch line is even just 1.3 km long! The new Tesla branch line near Berlin is about 2.5 km long, but the trains continue a further 6 km on the mainline to the next station. In Lithuania, the branch line to Trakai is only about 3.7 km long, but trains continue all the way to Vilnius.
Amazing video of Princeton Dinky. But don’t worry, soon you’ll ride on Married Pairs of Arrow III’s on Gladstone Branchline. Hoboken is one of the remarkable place with the sound of the ambience of EMD Diesels. But now we got some left.
Another shortest train ride you should try is Shuttle Tebrau. It is a cross-border train service connecting 2 countries: Malaysia (Johor Bahru Central Station) and Singapore (Woodland Station). No other stations in between because it crosses Johor Strait. The trip takes 5 minutes only.
That is the new service. Originally it used to run right into Singapore I miss the old train as it was so relaxed compared to the crowded MRT or express buses
Angel's Flight, operating in Downtown Los Angeles since 1901, claims to be the world's shortest railway. It was built to help take passengers up Bunker Hill, no more than a couple hundred meters in length.
A great idea for you: Try riding Romania's last steam train, the Mocănița! Ive been there before, and i recommend it! (Keep in mind there are more of these, but the most popular one is in Vaserului Valley)
I have taken this train and it is very short. There are plenty of branch lines in Connecticut. Danbury Branch, Waterbury Branch, and New Caanan branch. Danbury has 7 stops and is 23.9 miles long. Waterbury is 6 stops and 28.5 miles long. New Caanan branch has 5 stops and is 8.2 miles long - only a little longer than this line.
The Dinky line would be more useful if it were converted to light rail and permitted to run to Nassau St, the main street in Princeton. The University will not allow it.
Nassau Street was the original end of th line. There are pictures somewhere inside the Nassau Inn. I think it should be extended underground to Nassau Street, keeping the new station as an intermediate stop. A Nassau Street extension would benefit businesses and residents.
They must have made thousands of those cars. I swear they look the same as the Conrail/Septa Trains I rode between Philadelphia and New Brunswick 45 years ago.
Yes, Septa has similar equipment, still in service today. They call them the Silverliner IV's (4). They are actually older than the NJ Transit Arrow III's and closer in age to the old Arrow II's, which NJT phased out in the late 90's. The SEPTA versions do not have center doors, but still have the cutout for them.
The Mattapan Trolley in Boston is shorter! Technically called the Ashmont-Mattapan High-Speed Line, it's a branch route of the MBTA's Red Line and it has a track length of 2.54 miles
On a recent trip down to Philadelphia, I deliberately chose to stay overnight in Princeton so that I could enjoy the Dinky and its associated restaurant and Wawa Much to the amusement of my travelling companion
Almost equally short in distance but a far different experience is the Mount Washington Cog Railway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Might make for an incredible video subject in the future. Also, for other "branch line" services, others have mentioned the many branches on the LIRR, but there's also the NJT Gladstone Branch, the Metro-North branches off of the New Haven Line to New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury, but there's also one more that only functions like a true branch line on its final weekday outbound trip every day: the MBTA Needham Branch. The transfer is from Providence-bound trains at Forest Hills station, something only this specific train does for this transfer. It's... odd, to say the least
The shortest Train Line here in Germany is the RB31 between Friedrichshafen Hafen and Friedrichshafen Stadt. The City is located in Austria. Its 800m Long and a ride Takes 2 minutes.
I think the two shortest brunch lines in Japan is Keio Keibajo Line and Tobu Daishi line, both in Tokyo. The first one is just 0.9km(0.56mi) long, but some train go through to the main line. The second one is 1.0km(0.62mi) long, and perfectly shuttle train. Both take about 2min.
we have a very short affair here in the UK from stourbridge junction to stourbridge town i think its just over a mile see geoff and vicky quote.... "its the cutest train i've ever seen" lol
The single car Arrows are few and far between these days, but back in the 60's and 70's the PRR (later PC and SEPTA) ran a lot of single car Silverliner trains, some as far as Harrisburg. Not many single car Arrow sets in NJ though.
Those cars are in better conditions than some newer hotels I have stayed in. As for 2.7miles is pretty funny. The town I grew up in is about 3 miles wide. :) Also didn't this line or service at one time extend a tad farther?
When my mother was growing up just outside Princeton in the 1950s, my grandfather would commute to and from NYC. In those days, they would serve cocktails on the dinky. Times sure have changed.
Pennsylvania RR ran the Princeton branch and many other commuter lines in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia til 1968 when it merged with New York Central. Penn Central til 1976 when it became part of Conrail. In 1983 NJ Transit took over direct operations of commuter lines. Moving the station further away from campus and town is seen by many as a slippery slope to ending Princeton branch rail service entirely. Talk of bus rapid transit or light rail to replace the Dinky. No consideration of running any through train between Princeton and New York without a change of trains at the Junction.
Penn Station is already overcrowded in terms of time slots underneath the Hudson River, and there won't be enough passengers to justify displacing an Amtrak train
AS someone from New Jersey whos taken the Dinky many times, and also taken the Eurostar.. the E320 sound over the Arrow 3 video in the intro was a WILD trip ahahahahaha
Hmm even modified 153's got USB chargers. This was one of few rail services I used at the turn of the century 2001. Princeton was a nice distraction from the hub bub and noise of Manhatten
The shortest commuter train line in the USA, yet full of potential for the communities it serves as it brings better access to NYC and Philly, great stuff!
San Jose, CA had an even shorter lightrail from Chynoweth station to Almaden station. Just one lightrail car on a half mile long route. In recent years, it got eliminated.
I saw a video of the Tobu Railway serving north of Tokyo which has a branch line within the city from Nishiarai to Daishimae station half mile apart. The two car train ride is just under two minutes.
Another short line tourist passenger & freight train in New Jersey: the Black River & Western Railroad; travels between Lambertville & Flemington, site of the 1935 Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial. Bordentown, New Jersey was once the location of an estate owned by Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Naples (1806-1808), and then King of Spain (1808-1813) & brother of Napoleon.
And then across the Delaware River in PA, you can pick up the New Hope-Ivyland RR, a similar tourist ride. But these two lines aren't actually useful for more than scenery, unfortunately! There's a big gap in commuter rail north of Philly towards NYC.
NJT use those old Arrows on the Princeton Branch because they're the only ones that can make a short enough consist to be used on the short, single-stop branch. Often, they'll run just a single car. The shortness of those consists is the origin of the "Dinky" nickname. NJT are planning on phasing-out the few remaining Arrow cars for new Bombardier/Alstom MultiLevel III trainsets. These have a minimum consist of three cars. So, it'll ne interesting to see what they do for the Princeton Branch.
The designation is 'Princeton University' not Univ of Princeton. A very fine school and well respected. I could never afford it - plus too far from home. I would expect such an ongoing service for their students. Thank you.
It can be a bit niche, but there are quite a few places were taking the train as faster than driving in North America. When there’s traffic, a roundabout route, a river, or if the train is inherently fast, like Amtrak
While not a "passenger train", the Dallas Streetcar line is only 2.45 miles long and acts as a branch line since it connects the Bishop Arts District to the rest of DARTS rail network.
7:25 If the old station is now a restaraunt (called the "Dinky"), then it didn't really have to be closed to make way for the new Princeton building, did it?
i recall it being designated a historical line? and there was abig fight when a station in princeton was to be moved to make a way for new building...4 or 5 years back
The best thing about this service is knowing it is always operated using the queens of the Woodgrain Age, the Arrow III. Long may they reign (even though I know they are scheduled to be replaced soon). By the way, on the main lines, the Arrows are now limited to 80 mph even if the track speed is higher, but when they were new they were allowed 100 mph. But their acceleration is still quite good even though the cars are over 45 years old and even the motors are over 25 years old (in the '90s they replaced the original DC motors with AC ones).
Great video. This makes me want to ride this. It's sorta crazy how this tiny service with 45 year old trains provides better service than so many newer new build push-pull commuter rail services in large North America cities.
There used to be a line of BART that went just between the airport and millbrae during lockdown, a purple line, and it was about 1.7 miles long, but has now been integrated into the red line as the red line now turns around at SFO to continue to millbrae
I am curious as to how this service is financed. Only 2 cars at $1.50 for a one way trip. I would imagine the overhead is pretty high relative to revenue. I wonder if Princeton University provides some of the financing to keep the service running. Its great that its running and gives thousands of students and faculty access to the transit system. Plus its a historical landmark due to Albert Einstein's association with it.
Excellent video and back then you would have gotten a single arrow III however if there's High Demand double sets. Maximum speed for the arrow III is 140 km per hour 85 mph. For the Arrow III only odd cars have Toilets. Went to the train station last March next to it is a Wawa
