BusTalk

[Cyberider]

NYO,

Thanks for all of the interesting information. I was out for a day having a surgery and have gotten way behind!

Watched this interesting video at Hoboken Terminal. Lots of interesting older equipment in operation at NJT. GP-40's, F-40's, and GE MU cars from the '70's. Looks like the F-40's and some of the passenger cars came from MNR as they're still painted in their colors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sx0nraoHGM

Looks like a pretty interesting place to hang out, even today.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cyberider:

Sure hope you are feeling better, my friend!

Thanks for the link; will enjoy it later!

Also, you are most welcome for the links and info!

When I was growing up, Hoboken was a beehive of activity at virtually any hour, several switchers were kept busy shuffling the baggage cars, RPOs, conbos, diners, sleepers, commuter coaches, express cars, etc.

WHAT A SHOW!!

By the late 60s, with the trains of several commuter lines gone, a few through trains just hanging on, and REA and RPOs gasping their last, it was indeed sad to SEE and FEEL the change.

By late 1966, there weren't even any diesel commuter trains on Sundays.......

A far cry from just a few years earlier.........

"NYO"

['THE FRIENDLY SERVICE ROUTE"]

[Cyberider]

Thanks, NYO.

Like everything else, I'm sure it was more interesting in the good old days but, even now, there is a lot of activity. The guy who does these videos is pretty enthusiastic and seems to know a lot about the current operations. He also is friends with a number of the engineers and conductors and sometimes goes out railfanning with them. He's in our age group and often recalls what he'e seen back in the '60's and '70's.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cyberider:

One of the things I still miss at Hoboken is all the switching of cars; now that everything is all push-pull, one switcher is plenty to handle whatever "yard duty" is required.

I really miss the old E-L/NJDOT "U-Boats"......man, they were BEASTS!!

They snorted, smoked, growled, chugged, threw sparks......almost as though they thought they were "honorary" steam engines!

It took a while for railfans to warm up to these big, hulking beasts, since the new push-pulls killed off almost all of the classic first-generation diesels and vintage heavyweight cars from the ERIE and the DL&W.

The push-pull cars themselves were built by P-S (entered service in 1971); a few were snack-bar equipped.

These original push-pulls are now gone about 30 years, now.....when new, their pictures were on the TT covers, and were dubbed "DIESEL-LINERS"!

Those big, brawny "U-Boats" were indeed diesel-driven dinosaurs........

"NYO"

['THE DIESEL-LINER FLEET"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Hoboken, 1971 (looking towards Manhattan)..........

https://rr-fallenflags.org/el/loco/el3353m30.jpg

(courtesy: fallenflags.org)

Here we have a new train of "GE"/"P-S"]push-pulls, with a big "U-Boat" in charge, awaiting the highball.

On the left, we have a classic "E-8" with its cut of "Stillwells", also awaiting the highball.

After 1971, the only diesel trains that were not push-pulls were the Port Jervis trains; when push-pulls came to this line in 1974, railfans turned out in droves to bid farewell to those handsome "E-8s" and those iconic, elderly "Stillwells"

Note, also, the ancient "Stillwell" coaches, classic-era signals, and wooden outer platforms.........how deeply this is all ingrained in my memory!

"NYO"

["5:15 PORT JERVIS TRAIN"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

This timeless 1970s-era photo at Hoboken indeed emphasizes the sheer bulk and heft of the massive "U-Boats"...........

https://rr-fallenflags.org/el/loco/el3376a30.jpg

(courtesy: fallenflags.org)

["NJDOT"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here we are in Hoboken, in 1979 (I had just started commuting into Lower Manhattan that April!)

https://rr-fallenflags.org/el/loco/el3380ajh.jpg

(courtesy: fallenflags.org)

None of these big, impressive engines ever wore ConRail paint; though a number were later repainted for NJT, some still wore their original 1971 paint until they were retired...........

"NYO"

["3380"]

[Cyberider]

NYO,

Impressive equipment, indeed. Plus the wooden platforms.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cyberider:

Trough the mid-1970s, there was still an old sign in the waiting room (at Hoboken) directing Pullman patrons to the appropriate ticket windows; the original 1907 bootblack stand was still in use for years after I began working dowbtown, until casual "business" attire killed off men wearing dress shoes.

Until WW2, there was a posh restaurant on the upper level, adjacent to the upper level ferry concourse.

It featured lofty ceilings, chandeliers, and classical architecture; fine china (emblazoned with the DL&W herald) were used; the food was supposed to be quite exceptional.

It also featured an outdoor terrace for summertime dining, overlooking the harbor; for security reasons, it was closed during WW2, and never re-opened.

For many years, it was easy to see the support brackets for the old dining terrace, as well as the doorways leading to it.............

"NYO"

["ROUTE OF PHOEBE SNOW"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The 1907 Hoboken terminal (1967), looking west......

https://rr-fallenflags.org/el/bldg/el-pier-ah.jpg

(courtesy: fallenflags.org)

That November, the Barclay Street Ferry (with its graceful 1900s-era fleet of ferryboats) would be shut down.

The upper-level restaurant I mentioned would have been to the left of the ferryboat.

Note the pier jammed with OOS through cars; by 1967, there were only three long-haul trains left in operation, and only one ("THE LAKE CITIES") required a diner.

Through the 1980s, this pier was used for the storage of bad order cars; until the mid-1960s, a small machine shop was also located on the pier.

How well i remember this all......

"NYO"

["BINGHAMTON"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

It should also be noted, that, at the time of the ERIE/DL&W merger in 1960, the new E-L now rostered well over 1200 passenger cars.

By 1970, after the the last long-haul trains were purged, only 500 cars remained on the roster, all commuter cars.

After the massive service cuts of late 1966 (three through trains and service on several commuter lines were abandoned), the E-L now had a sizeable surplus fleet.

RPO service ended in 1968, although sealed pouch mail was carried until the "LAKE CITIES" was axed in 1970.

Many cars were scrapped, converted into MOW cars, or sold to tourist roads.......

I remember, I was there...........

"NYO"

["THE FRIENDLY SERVICE ROUTE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In this circa-1964 photo, we see two E-L ferryboats docked at the Hoboken slips; this photo was obviously taken during a rush hour, when most of the boats would be in use.......

https://rr-fallenflags.org/el/frt/el-freldg-ajh.jpg

(courtesy: fallenflags.org)

The ferryboat on the right is the "MAPLEWOOD"; she was originally an ex-ERIE boat, and was revamped for service out of Hoboken, when the ERIE moved most of its trains up to Hoboken from Jersey City (Pavonia Avenue) in 1958.

As she was more expensive and labor-intensive than the DL&W boats to operate, she was used only during the rush hours (unless she was undergoing repair.

In 1965, she was retired, and sat idle in the old Morris Canal Basin in Jersey City, near the old CNJ terminal, for a number of years before finally being scrapped.

I recall the "MAPLEWOOD" quite well, back when I was growing up in the 1960s............

"NYO"

["TO UPPER DECKS OF FERRY BOATS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

It is also interesting to note that, until the mid-1960s, NKP through cars from Chicago were switched onto DL&W/E-L trains at Buffalo, for overniight runs to Hoboken.

This 1964 photo shows a coach in the Hoboken yards; sleepers were most commonly seen at Hoboken, but coaches could also be spotted as well.

These fluted-side cars indeed stood out in Hoboken, as the E-L did not roster such equipment.

NKP cars were always fun to look out for at Hoboken, way back in the day..............

https://rr-fallenflags.org/nkp/nkp-c102s.jpg

(courtesy: fallenflags.org)

["NICKLE PLATE"]

[traildriver]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

traildriver:

AFAIK, the NKP through cars to Hoboken (via the E-L from Buffalo) would have operated no later than 1965, or, possibly, ending in 1964.

I know that, by 1966, NKP cars were NOT to be seen in the Hoboken yards..........

:NYO"

["THE FRIENDLY SERVICE ROUTE"]