The Atlantic City Line Thread

If you were going to "short turn" a revenue equipment set in NJ (never mind why you would want to do that for now) where could it lay over without affecting normal operations?
Is there a spot at Cherry Hill? (I think so based on videos I saw).
Can the connecting track at Winslow Junction be used? (I have seen MOW equipment on it. Is that hand thrown or interlocked?)
Any other places?

Thanks in advance!

atlc4612 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:02 am If you were going to "short turn" a revenue equipment set in NJ (never mind why you would want to do that for now) where could it lay over without affecting normal operations?
Is there a spot at Cherry Hill? (I think so based on videos I saw).
Can the connecting track at Winslow Junction be used? (I have seen MOW equipment on it. Is that hand thrown or interlocked?)
Any other places?

Thanks in advance!

There is a passing siding at the Cherry Hill station that would not affect service if utilized.

Ben

There is a siding at Winslow which held five or six retired NJT Comets a couple years ago that is now empty. I believe there is also an unused siding near AC International that has been used for MOW storage in the past.

The “South Race “ siding in Cherry Hill was regularly used for layovers in beginning of NJT ACL service when service was not operated into Phila. And has been used since then at various service disruptions.

Thanks for the responses!
Are the trains still serviced in AC (fueled/inspected/etc)?
Are they still sent to the MMC for "heavier" maintenance via 30th Street?

atlc4612 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 11, 2021 8:16 am Thanks for the responses!
Are the trains still serviced in AC (fueled/inspected/etc)?
Are they still sent to the MMC for "heavier" maintenance via 30th Street?

Correct

Ben

I'm surprised the AC Line service hasn't transitioned from intercity rail to atlantic city to a regional rail service that is philly/northen NJ centric. Not as much a demand for people going all the way to coast, than those going towards Philly.

I've thought that too. Something very roughly resembling LIRR Montauk service with most service to an intermediate station like Berlin or Atco and every other train or less going all the way to AC.

I don't mean to kick a dead horse but we should be thinking of a way to route all these rail lines through Camden and under or over the Delaware via 1 carrier with all lines running 1 type of equipment. Instead what we have is 1 heavy rail line that adds 30-45 min to jog north into cherry hill, Pennsauken, over the delair draw(hopefully not open), across the NEC w/permission, and finally to 30th street station via a gigantic end around. Patco which is direct however is at capacity and couldn't accommodate diesel light rail/heavy rail for various reasons. Also would be more desirable if extended to 30th street. Thirdly , We have a (soon to be 2) LRT line that has hours restricted due to freight traffic among other issues. They had it right when they had all the feeder lines terminate in Camden at the ferry terminal. There has to be a better way. The more these rail lines are piecemealed the harder it becomes to have a decent transportation alternative attractive enough to get people out of cars. Nobody wants to be making multiple transfers waiting on multiple trains and buses just to get to work. #raifanrant

by MedicSutton
Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:10 pm

You are not the first to verbalize the problem. There have been various proposed solutions dating back to the 1800s. The one real solution, which has never gotten sufficient financial, political or corporate backing is a rail tunnel from Camden to Philly Broad St. all the way to 30th St. station. Not subway cars or light rail, but heavy rail with dual-mode locos. And build the Glassboro line to these standards also. The Cherry Hill to 30th should end Cherry Hill. All other AC Line trains through the tunnel, half of which should probably terminal at Hammonton.

Will they ever build a connection to Atlantic City International Airport? The line runs right next to it, and would certainly bring far more business to both entities.

JohnFromJersey wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:09 pm Will they ever build a connection to Atlantic City International Airport? The line runs right next to it, and would certainly bring far more business to both entities.

Id be totally for this however imho the best way to do this would be to divert from the line west (RR North I believe) of airport to front of terminal for a stop and continue to a reconnection point to east of airport. Busses will work however people do tend to be wary of them. I am not opposed to main line stop however id like to see ACY take the ball and run with it as far as bussing and with heavy promotion. Personally I fly out of ACY living in Hammonton quite a bit for our Florida trips due to how easy it is to deal with the airport. Less than 3 hours on a spirit plane is palatable. Anything more than a 3 hour flight we book on the big 3 and fly out of PHL.

I love rail to airports but let's be real…this airport barely carries 1M passengers per year and has one national airline flying to it. The numbers aren't there.

The only thing that might make sense would be to add a platform at Pomona Rd and have a shuttle meet trains. But even then, you have service that doesn't even run every hour. Who could really use it? Flight delayed? Too bad, next train won't be here for 90 minutes.

lensovet wrote: ↑Thu Dec 30, 2021 3:25 am I love rail to airports but let's be real…this airport barely carries 1M passengers per year and has one national airline flying to it. The numbers aren't there.

The only thing that might make sense would be to add a platform at Pomona Rd and have a shuttle meet trains. But even then, you have service that doesn't even run every hour. Who could really use it? Flight delayed? Too bad, next train won't be here for 90 minutes.

The numbers aren't there right now. Doing so could boost both the numbers of the airport and the railroad, it would be an investment that would require some foresight/expectations.

Prior to Covid AC airport was getting something around 3 million annually, and recently they’ve added more destinations.