Poll: Favorite NJT diesel line

Specific poll here.

Definately gotta be the NJCL...

I used to ride that line more than now, and I love the way it runs at grade through tiny beach towns, stopping every couple of minutes. I also think that the stations along that line are among the most well kept and cleanest of most commuter rail stations (compared to SEPTA, most NJT stations are).

Growing up in Bloomfield, my personal favorite is the NYGL portion the Boonton Line. I remember going to Anderson Park next to Upper Montclair Station as a child and riding my bicycle around the path there, always pausing at the far corner of the park to see if a train was coming, even during the day and on weekends. My favorite experiences were during rush hours watching the big U34CHs leading their trains through the station.

And any chance we got , my grandfather and I always used to go out to Upper Montclair and put a penny on the tracks and watch the 4:00PM train from Hoboken come through.

Spending ten years growing up within miles of the line, I got to know it very well.

How about the M&E? The Morristown line has diesel service because of the lack of electrification beyond Dover. (Although it is shared with the Boonton.)

I'm waiting to hear what NJTRailfan's favorite is....

;-)

383 -

You old enough to remember the old black trestle carrying the ROW over Broad Street when it was Erie's Greenwood Lake branch ?

Im sick of polls

Tri-State Tom wrote:383 -

You old enough to remember the old black trestle carrying the ROW over Broad Street when it was Erie's Greenwood Lake branch ?

Those two black trestles are still there, are they not? IIRC, the bridges you are referring to are near the Parkway, Rowe Street and Bloomfield Center. Definitely was one of the best spots on that line to watch a train pass (I'm a sucker for bridges and grade crossings).

383 -

No no, the old rather high rickety steel one over Broad Street further to the west of those you mention just a stones throw from the high school. It was replaced I think in the late 70's or early 80's by a more modern/sturdier one with new concrete support walls on either side of Broad.

BTW, even though I was a Lackawanna fan, I often rode my bike down to the croncrete Erie bridge on Ridgewood Ave. in Glen Ridge to watch Erie RS3's or GP7's pulling west out of Benson Street with Stillwells in tow. The warm and smokey exhaust wafting up and over me as I stood above on that bridge was how kids like me got hooked on train watching in those days !

Tri-State Tom wrote:383 -

No no, the old rather high rickety steel one over Broad Street further to the west of those you mention just a stones throw from the high school. It was replaced I think in the late 70's or early 80's by a more modern/sturdier one with new concrete support walls on either side of Broad.

BTW, even though I was a Lackawanna fan, I often rode my bike down to the croncrete Erie bridge on Ridgewood Ave. in Glen Ridge to watch Erie RS3's or GP7's pulling west out of Benson Street with Stillwells in tow. The warm and smokey exhaust wafting up and over me as I stood above on that bridge was how kids like me got hooked on train watching in those days !

I know of the bridge you are referring to now. Unfortunately I don't recall the older span. It is currently a green deck girder span. It is most likely single tracked now, with the abandonment of the lower Boonton Line.

That Ridgewood Avenue bridge was a great train watching spot as well! I used to enjoy watching the trains round the curve and then duck under that bridge before entering Benson Street. Good times....

Tom, I remember the Broad St. bridge vey well. It was higher than most with no sides, so walking across it was always scary for me. It was the first bridge east of Benson St. A kid in my school, Tommy Meekins, fell off of it once and got pretty badly hurt- broken bones and a bunch of other stuff. After that our parents told us to stay off the bridge, but we didn't. Too bad Tommy's luck didn't get any better later: his name's on the Wall in DC now.

383/snave -

" It is currently a green deck girder span. It is most likely single tracked now, with the abandonment of the lower Boonton Line. "

Yup....the old span had tall steel supports between the street and sidewalks on both sides. Can't recall now how I missed the old one being torn down and replaced by the present structure....musta closed down the Boonton Line for a fair amount of time with some shuttling of folks to/from Rowe and Benson. It is indeed now single track....the former westbound main only now.

" A kid in my school, Tommy Meekins, fell off of it once and got pretty badly hurt- broken bones and a bunch of other stuff. "

Geezes, amazed he survived that fall or didn't get run over below on landing !

One of my best friends from college is also on that wall....age 20....but we were told he took several bad guys with him before he bought it near DaNang.