Another commuting memory Newark to Rahway/MetroPark was the evening run. I would catch the 5:45pm for the 5:55pm. Generally the first one was packed, the second was less so. The 5:45 went straight to Elizabeth, Linden, Rahway, MetroPark and beyond. The 5:50 went N.Elizabeth and Elizabeth, Rahway and to Perth Amboy. From Elizabeth to Rahway high speed, the engineer would let the Arrows run flat out until just before North Rahway by the Merck plant and slow for the stop at Rahway. He would pass the local at Linden at speed, talk about a shock wave. Elizabeth to Rahway is a slight grade, the engineer would try to hit the century mark, but usually came up short, about 95 mph top. One day he held it past N.Rahway, hit a 100, hard braked and overshot the platform by two cars. Talk about smokin' those brakes. Another time I was heading to MetroPark from Newark. Normally we traveled about 75 between the two stops, but one day we went about 35 and then crawled up behand a set up Arrow's at MetroPark. I noticed on the other train that one of cars were sitting low in relation to the platform. I though there was a problem with the suspension. The next day a story appeared in the newspaper, that train lost a wheel around St Georges Ave at the Rahway/Colonia border. The wheel traveled down the embankment (about 20Ft high) went across the road into a mall parking lot. Luckily it didn't hit anything. The article said the wheel weighed 800 pounds. The train at that point was going over 50. The best part is the engineer never noticed the loss of the wheel and continued at 75 mph to MetroPark when upon stopping, the car sat down. Imagine, no wheel at that speed.
______
Bob