by firthorfifth06
What trains and when did the B&O run out of Jersey City
Railroad Forums
hutton_switch wrote:I had left answering your question to Mr. Herb Harwood, who is an expert on this subject, and who frequents this forum, but so far, he hasn't.Thanks, Wade. I didn't know where to start, but you covered it admirably. Basically, B&O ran 8 round trips over the Reading-CNJ route during much of the 20th century, although these were reduced to six near the end in 1958. Through B&O freight trains also operated over the route, but this was done under a standard division of revenue arrangement with the Reading and CNJ, not a trackage rights contract, so they were Reading-CNJ trains east of Park Jct. in Philadelphia and, in steam days, were hauled by RDG and CNJ pooled power.
BaltOhio wrote: Thanks, Wade. I didn't know where to start, but you covered it admirably.I too, was originally in a bit of a quandary like you, but decided to take the broader approach, as I knew this wouldn't be answerable in just a few sentences.
hutton_switch wrote: My second question is what was the status of the B&O passenger facilities in Jersey City during those years? Did the B&O "mothball" them, or did they turn them over to the CNJ for use? Thanks in advance.Well, the honest answer is that I have no idea. I can only guess that the CNJ simply used whatever tracks had been assigned to the B&O for itself -- if, indeed, there were assigned trracks. Remember that before the B&O went into Penn Station, the traffic/financial arrangements with the Reading and CNJ were different from those in 1926 and afterward. Before that, the B&O trains were handled as normal interline movements, with revenues split among the three railroads and each railroad technically handling the trains as its own while on its particular segment of the route. Cars were pooled, and Reading or CNJ power headed the trains between JC and Philadelphia. Thus in brief, B&O trains arrived and left Jersey City as CNJ trains. I don't believe the B&O had any contract with the CNJ for specific space in the JC terminal in that period, although possibly it did.
Statkowski wrote:...there was a bus turntable installed so that the buses could turn around to exit. Small turntable, just big enough to hold a bus.Hehehe...cool!
BaltOhio wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2011 4:35 pmThe SIRT connection to Cranford Jct was over the Arthur Kill lift bridge - which was a large capital expenditure for the B&O in 1958 getting coverage in the B&O's company magazine. 60 years later it is getting a $3.5M upgrade https://www.silive.com/news/2018/11/art ... rehab.htmlMinneapolitan wrote:Where did the Staten Island Railway fit in with the B&O? I've heard there was some historical connection, at least, between the two. I know they went as far west as Cranford where they connected with CNJ. How did they operate?The Staten Island Rapid Transit, as the Staten Island Ry. was called then, was a wholly owned B&O subsidiary and was operated as a B&O division. B&O maintained a harbor transfer terminal at St. George that included coal piers, export-import merchandise piers, and carfloat and lighter piers. Freight cars were interchanged at Cranford between the SIRT and B&O-route trains (which were actually operated as CNJ trains at this point) and handled over the SIRT by its own power or by leased B&O power.