Fastest speeds on which lines?

Maximum authorized speed is 80 MPH except for the speed restrictions.

TR-00 wrote:Maximum authorized speed is 80 MPH except for the speed restrictions.

TR, when I worked AC the track speed from Beach to Absecon was 90mph. This was during the Amtrak era. Did NJT lower it when they took ownership or was this a recent development? Or did Amtrak lower it prior to ceding it to NJT?

Yeah, the line was 90 from POMO to BEACH. When NJT published the first GO after the takeover, it was 80.

Why does the AC line go so slow over the marshes leaving and entering AC? There is nothing out there and it seems the train could safely run much faster.

Leaving AC, speed on the station tracks is not exceeding 10mph. Crossing BEACH, the limit goes up to 30mph, and at mile 56.5, speed goes up to 80mph (but there is a speed restriction of 45mph on the curve at mile 56.7). The next curve is restricted to 70mph, then it's 80mph to the curve at Elder's Creek, which is limited to 75mph. From there to the Absecon curve it's back to 80mph, with a restriction on the curve of 60mph. By then, the brakes are on for the Absecon Station.

For practical purposes, many engineers simply hold 70-75 from the 45mph restriction to the Absecon curve. It provides a much smoother ride for the passengers and allows the conductor time to get all the way through both cars for his/her first lift. The schedule allows plenty of time to do this, otherwise it would be run flat out and sit for time at Absecon.

If you are running slower than that, the dispatcher hasn't got the signals set at GRIFF!