I was eight years old back then, but I wish I could go back to this era again. I want to be young again. I want to enjoy the trains as they were again.
The infamous Amtrak E60 @ 1:27 | 15:38 | 19:01 | 31:43 | 33:58 This Loco type was better suited for freight operations, and not for high-speed passenger service!
Really amazing footage, takes me back to my earliest memories of Newark Penn Station from a handful of times my mom took me to work with her in Jersey City. Later I would use the station almost every day to get to school, and now I once again use it every day to go to work. Hoboken has cooler views outside but I still say this is actually the best station NJT has and I'm glad they're finally giving it some love and renovating it. btw...57:53 4120 is one of two NJT F40's still in service in late 2023.
Is it fine if I can borrow the footage starting at 50:17 of 4120 pulling into Newark Penn? I’m trying to make a comparison video from then and the 40th anniversary train 2 weeks ago.
Yes and no...yes, at one point some SEPTA diesel service used to run to Newark (via West Trenton and then joining the RVL at Bound Brook) but it ended in 1981 like all SEPTA diesel service. So no, in this SEPTA train was most likely being used by Amtrak to cover holiday extras...there's some MARC equipment elsewhere in the video doing the same thing, and even now Amtrak will use NJT or MARC equipment the same way sometimes.
Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but this was a year or so after Amtrak and Conrail did away with the dual-seniority and TE&Y members had to choose either to return to their Conrail seniority or stay at Amtrak for good. Those who stayed did pretty well for themselves in the long run.
W Paul, I hope one day when an actual Time Machine is built (which is probably not gonna happen) we could go back in time to see how the railroad was in the 80s, for now we will just call this a the Internet Time Machine.
Maybe if we ever do build a Time Machine, and by some chance the railroad has been perfected by then, maybe we could go back and give them a couple tips
I’m confused. The diesel trains that are going towards NYC, where are they going? Back then Secaucus Junction didn’t exist yet, and the waterfront connection didn’t exist until the 90s.
Same as now, they were going out to the yard in Harrison to lay up/turn around. Inbound RVL trains that terminate at Newark still hardly ever go right back out.
During the Holiday season in December SEPTA would run some direct trains into NYC from Philadelphia. Of course, there is the possibility of leased equipment as well.
Train service should’ve stayed this way in addition to the one seat rides into NYC we have today, thanks to many screwups, we don’t have these at all anyone.
