Septa R-7 to N.Y.P

The Pennsy did indeed operate the Silverliner II's into NYP on occasion. As for that other photo, it is a slight miscaption...those, as we know are Arrow I's, operating in their original MU incarnation.

The Silverliner I's were the six original Pioneer III MU's purchased by the Pennsy in 1956/57. Five of the six cars survived until June of 1990 for SEPTA.

And that picture of the #216 is indeed 30th Street Station, Upper Level, Track 2, looking west. That is indeed an open area beyond Track 4 at the far right that would be overlooking Penn Coach Yard (whereas Newark Penn Track 5 has a solid wall against the platform). Also the ceiling height is too low, without the extra steelwork for the bridge supporting the westbound PATH track that would be above Track 2 at that point.

Also all the tracks are at the same height (Track 2 at Newark is at a lower height than Track 3, 4, and 5) and looking to the west, the platform is straight, instead of gently curving away. Definitly 30th Street's upper level. Just a misprint on the caption for that photo as well.

PhillyBoy890 wrote:Your right ...i couldn't really tell i was lookin at the whole regional rail map and the lines for the RR are like thin ,and i couldn't tell but anyway

just take Temple out and after Market East straight to Cornwells Heights.

I still don't think you're quite getting it. The R7 train to Trenton goes through the Center City stops in the following order: Temple, Market East, Suburban, 30th. Market East doesn't lead to Cornwell's Heights unless you've got the train going in reverse.

On the other hand, you could have the R7's to NYP originate from the yards near Wayne Junction, with Temple being the first stop. They'd then hit Market East, Suburban, 30th, and proceed along with the other stops you suggested.

I think i'm confused far as with the maps in center city...but i always thought that it would be cool if the R7 Trenton line was extended to NY

Hope you don't have to go to the bathroom on that 2+ hour odyssey...

What's wrong with Amtrak? They already run direct trains between Philly and NYP.

Amtrak is way too much. You could make a trip from NYC to Springfield for not even the price of a ticket to Philly from NYC.

50 bucks 1-way is whats wrong with amtrak. Trenton shuffle is 15 or 17, off-peak or on. Big difference that. So if i could take Septa or NJT for 25, with liminted stops, i'd be game. 50 bucks should get me a bit further than new york or washington. There are plenty of people out there for whom 50 dollars is a days pay.

Hey...perhaps you should have lobbied harder for cheaper Amtrak fares. They're getting a mere $1.2 billion this year to operate over 22,000 track-miles, keep the NEC and trains running, and basically hold together. That's a fraction of what SEPTA gets, by scale of operation.

Now's the time to get a big letter-writing campaign going if you really want a cheap one-seat ride between Philly and NYP. And consider: do you really want to ride trains without bathrooms out of 30th Street into Manhattan? Better lobby to get NJT's "Clockers" extended into 30th Street, then...and hope that NJT has trackage rights over Amtrak on that part of the NEC.

Most passengers want cheaper fares and have it as their first priority, whether it's trains, buses, or airliners. That's why LCC's like Southwest are doing better than traditional full-service airlines. But Amtrak owns this piece of track, so you'll need to look at it from Amtrak's point of view. Why would they allow a competing agency to run trains to the capacity-constrained NY Penn Station at a lower ticket price? They would be giving away a lucrative part of the market.

Consider the differences in ridership levels between the Pennsylvania stations and the New Jersey commuter stations along the NEC. It's inefficient to run 8-car commuter trains between Trenton and 30th Street Station at non-peak times when 2 or 3 car trains will do.

On the other hand, given enough of a subsidy, some agency could start running commuter-type trains from Philadelphia to New York at $20.

NJT is takin over Amtrak's clockers soon, so we dont need SEPTA to spend more money

Septa spends so much money on short spurs of commuter rail within the city limits that they don't need to worry about the clockers. In fact, the clockers are really for transit riders. Septa should really think about service to Reading as well as maybe even more runs to Delaware.

choochoochuck wrote:NJT is takin over Amtrak's clockers soon, so we dont need SEPTA to spend more money

What would be the difference between a regular train and a clocker? Would they still go to Philly?

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Septa should really think about service to Reading

See the Schuylkill Valley Metro threads on that one. That's a whole issue in and of itself...