Traveling from NYC to Philly

I will be coming back to Philly this Sunday for about a week, I normally take NJT and the RRD to 30th and walk home to 23 and South.

But I am thinking about taking the Riverline from Trenton then PATCO to CC.

Has anybody every done this? How is the ride on the Riverline? What are some other good ways to come?

Many people ride the NJTransit River LINE plus PATCO to travel to Center City from Trenton.

Others take the River LINE and a bus, which is cheaper.

The River LINE is a great ride. Definitely give it a try.

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Bob

I encourage you to change for the River Line at Trenton. Much of the line, you feel like you are on a commuter train because of the regular signals and plus freight shares the line. You pass a lot of grade crossings.

Thanks,

Bob, thanks for the pics, I had no idea the Riverline passed by the freight yard and everything else. Defintely more eye candy to feed my addiction than coming down the NEC.

NJT: thanks for the tip.

The River LINE provides a very interesting ride. Leaving Trenton it passes through a couple miles of wilderness, then picturesque running through the edge of Bordentown, then along the Delaware River and past the defunct Roebling Steel plant (Brooklyn Bridge builder) with its rusting critters

http://community.webshots.com/photo/501 ... 2073QSPnfx

http://community.webshots.com/photo/501 ... 2273Jxjxff.

Farther south it goes past U.S. Pipe and Burlington Yard, then does street running in Burlington City.

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Into Camden County you see some marshland at Pennsauken Creek, then the outstanding ringside seat past Pavonia Yard in Camden.

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If you have an extra 40 minutes to spend (or less during 15 minute headway times), the street running in Camden is a worthwhile experience.

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Otherwise you exit at Rand T.C. in Camden and take PATCO or the bus into Philly.

http://www.transitspot.com/gallery/NJT- ... 5_05_08_06

Bob

What powers the RiverLine?

capuzfu wrote:What powers the RiverLine?

Diesel MU cars built by a Swiss firm. I understand they are comparable to the class 628 sets used in Germany. The equipment is not FRA compliant, which is why service hours on the line are limited. They're very nice cars.

The German-built cars are diesel-electric, powered by a Mercedes marine V-12.

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Matthew Mitchell wrote:

capuzfu wrote:What powers the RiverLine?

Diesel MU cars built by a Swiss firm. I understand they are comparable to the class 628 sets used in Germany. The equipment is not FRA compliant, which is why service hours on the line are limited. They're very nice cars.

The DMUs are NOT FRA-compliant? How then can they be run on the national network? (There is a linkage to it in Pennsauken.)

AMoreira81 wrote:The DMUs are NOT FRA-compliant? How then can they be run on the national network?

With a waiver from FRA that required that DMU and regular railroad operations be time-separated. No DMUs may operate anywhere on the line while it is in use by regular railroad equipment.

Matthew Mitchell wrote:

capuzfu wrote:What powers the RiverLine?

Diesel MU cars built by a Swiss firm. I understand they are comparable to the class 628 sets used in Germany. The equipment is not FRA compliant, which is why service hours on the line are limited. They're very nice cars.

Actually they're very close to the Class 646 DMUs which DB operates. I believe both were built by the Swiss firm Stadler, which specializes in such lightweight articulated EMUs and DMUs. For a true direct ancestor to the Riverline DMUs, the Swiss Class BM596 DMUs and RABe526 EMUs are the closest in appearance to NJT's LRVs. The nice thing about Stadler's modular approach to their railcar design is that theoretically NJT could make the cars electric by simply replacing the center 'C' section, swapping a diesel unit for an electric one. The RADe526s operate under German/Swiss standard 15kv@16-2/3's hz overhead power, while other units built by Stadler have run under standard 25kv@50hz, so they'd have very few problems being adapted for service on the NEC, or under any US high voltage catenary system if the FRA would calm down on it's ridiculous requirements.

I've never quite understood why a 1000lb car can share the road with a 70,000lb semi, yet a 100,000lb DMU cannot share the rails with a 3500 ton freight train. It's not like there is anything to keep the truck and the car apart, unlike the trains, where well maintained track, adaquate signal systems, and intelligent dispatching will keep the two of them apart. The FRA's crashworthiness and time-share requirements really are a sad commentary on the poor shape our railroad network is in such that we resort to designing bumper-trains rather than working to keep the trains apart in the first place. It's not like either the Riverline or the freights which ply the Riverline's track after hours get up to speeds where the LRV's structure would be unable to cope with the impact. Stadler MUs have gotten into accidents with immovable objects in Europe with few fatalities, so why is it that our line, which is limited to 55-60mph is forced to keep away from the freights?

One last thing. Adam, for asking a question like that, I have only one thing to say: URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRR!!!!

The River LINE cars were built for Bombardier by Stadler in Switzerland and Germany. I'm guessing that they were started in Switzerland and finished in Germany since they were shipped to NJ from Germany.

Bob

Bob,

Thanks for the advice, I took the Riverline in both directions, and each time it seems asa if I missed something. Unfortnatly I forgot to bring my camera, which is now a must have for my next trip down to Philly.

Do you know if they check tickets or anything? cause for both trips there was nobody making sure everybody paid, which I thouhgt was strange.

One last question, there is a switching yard about half way through the trip from Trenton to Camden, it has a Conrail safety sign which I thought was funny. Do you know the name of that yard?

The River LINE is POP: proof of payment.

Sometimes tickets are checked and often they are not. The penalty for getting caught stealing a ride is stiff enough that relatively few people ride without tickets.

Burlington Yard is just north of Burlington City.

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Bob

Wdobner wrote:I've never quite understood why a 1000lb car can share the road with a 70,000lb semi, yet a 100,000lb DMU cannot share the rails with a 3500 ton freight train.

Because government officials are notoriously risk-averse, and people are quite ignorant about different levels of risk.

And thanks for the corrections.