BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

(SEE PREVIOUS POSTS/PHOTOS)

"A STALWART VETERAN OF MANY WINTER BATTLES"(Boston, 1970)..........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?88133

(courtesy:nycsubway.org)

*It is important to notice that, unlike Boston, none of PSNJ's snow-fighting fleet were converted from retired revenue cars.......

["BERy"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

PSNJ rostered both single-and double-trucked sweepers and plows; all were quite formidable snow-fighting machines......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?117693

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?117697

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["PUBLIC SERVICE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Another (c.1930s) photo of a hulking PSNJ plow; this unidentified photo might have been taken in the PASSAIC WHARF yards (Newark).......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?117969

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["DANGER-DO NOT RAISE POLE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A number of PSNJ's earliest cars spent a number of years as salt and sand cars, after being retired from passenger service.

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?118344

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?117972

(courtesy:nycsubway.org)

The first photo might have been taken in the yards at ROSEVILLE (Newark); the second photo (c.1937) was taken at the now-demolished UNION CITY car house/garage (this view shows the New York Avenue side of the building)

"EIPLER'S" electrical supply store (seen in the background, on 29th Street) was still in business through the 1970s ;my grandfather was a steady customer there for years.

This sprawling facility was used as a bus garage until the early 1990s, when it was closed by NJT.

Streetcars used this car house until the summer of 1949, when the last remaining HUDSON Division lines went to buses.

I have many memories of this old, historic facility (which stretched for two long city blocks), which should have been restored/repurposed (good thing I took a number of photos, back in 1989!).........

"NYO"

["TRACK 12-RELAY CUT-OUT"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

PSNJ work car "home bases"...........

PSNJ, as a general rule, always stabled some work equipment at all of its car houses and yards.

Typically, there would be several sweepers and plows, several line cars, and a few other assorted pieces of MOW rolling stock.

Until 1938, PS based a large fleet of various types of work cars at its huge PASSAIC WHARF facility in Newark.

Here were numerous sweepers, plows, supply motors, and side dump cars.

Track connections enabled cars of the HUDSON, BERGEN, ESSEX, CENTRAL, and PASSAIC Divisions to travel to and from this facility, when it came time for the heaviest repairs, rebuilding, and painting.

Some of the Compromise roof cars, as well as the one-man open cars, were built here.

As this location was then in an industrial area, a number of "interdivisional" lines operated "short turns" here.

By the later 1930s, with more and more streetcar lines going over to ASVs and motor buses, PW ceased to be a facility for painting, repairs, etc, and became known as the infamous "streetcar slaughterhouse", as described by the North Jersey traction buffs of the day.

In 1938, all track connections to PW were disconnected, and PW was now solely a scrapyard facility, where PS was scrapping hundreds of cars (beginning with work equipment) as well as its older buses.

Interestingly, the car body of a NJRT Jewett interurban served as a yard office for a number of years.

A group of a dozen or so Compromise roof cars were also stored here (beginning in 1937) and these cars were trucked out via flatbed to ROSEVILLE (Newark) and GREENVILLE (Jersey City) in 1942, for rehab, to help with the tremendous crush of wartime passengers.

However, not all of these cars re-entered active service; some were stripped of parts and scrapped.

The very last cars scrapped at PW (1943) were the big 3500s, which last operated on the "HUDSON RIVER" line (BERGEN Division) in 1938............

"NYO"

"13 BROAD"]

["HUDSON RIVER LINE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here is a rare 1915 photo of a handsome, freshly-built Compromise roof car at PASSAIC WHARF; it would be several more years before the familiar "triangle in a circle" emblem appeared on the rolling stock.

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?117007

Also, note the lack of illuminated rooftop route number boxes; these would not appear until 1927, when PS began assigning numbers to ESSEX Division car and bus routes.

This car would have been operating on the "21 ORANGE", which used the City Subway from 1935 through 1951...........

"NYO"

["21 ORANGE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

PLANK ROAD........

Plank Road shops (Newark) was a major PS facility, even more so than PASSAIC WHARF.

Not only was this huge complex "home base" to a number of streetcar/ASV/bus lines, it was also THE major repair/rebuilding facility in North Jersey.

In fact, this was the facility where the ex-TCRT PCCs were rehabbed for City Subway service during 1953 and early 1954.

PLANK ROAD remained in use by TNJ and NJT; it was closed in the early 1990s, when the new MEADOWLANDS facility opened.

Interestingly, by the time that the PCCs arrived for rehab, though trackage within the complex was still intact, the overhead was long gone; the cars were shunted about the complex via tractors........

"NYO"

["PSNJ"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

This rare 1932 photo shows several elderly "1600"-series cars awaiting their next runs at PLANK ROAD (Newark)

At the time of this photo, the "1600s" were among the oldest in the PS fleet........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?116998

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["PUBLIC SERVICE RAILWAY"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

"THE TRANSITION"..........

Though the PS car lines (SOUTHERN Division) were converted before those in North Jersey, through 1938, PS still operated a large number of streetcar routes on the following divisions:

ESSEX

HUDSON

BERGEN

PASSAIC

CENTRAL

Beginning in 1937, mass conversions to ASVs and bus were taking place.

By 1939, the only cars lines to survive were four on the ESSEX Division (all connected to the City Subway), and four on the HUDSON Division.

Surviving ESSEX Division lines (post 1938):

"7 CITY SUBWAY"

"21 ORANGE" (alternate trips via W. Market)

"23 CENTRAL"

"29 BLOOMFIELD"
-----------------------------------------------

HUDSON Division:

"SUMMIT"

"UNION CITY"

"OAKLAND"

"JACKSON"

In 1942, two new wartime lines began service, operating out of the Journal Square terminal:

"FEDERAL"

"WESTERN ELECTRIC"

These lines (which carried only plant employees), with a few exceptions, utilized sections of track which were still in place, after regular service had been abandoned.

Both services were abandoned after the War.

By mid-1949, all four HUDSON Division lines were converted to diesel bus.

After March, of 1952, the "7 CITY SUBWAY" was the sole survivor of what had once been one of the most extensive traction operations in the country.

So very little remains today to remind us of the glory days.............

"NYO"

["PSNJ"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In this rare 1936 photo, we see a "1500"-series semi on the interdivisional "1 NEWARK-JERSEY CITY", heading east......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?116967

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

This line went to ASVs in 1937.

A section of this line later became part of the wartime "FEDERAL" and "WESTERN ELECTRIC" lines.

The "1500s" and "1600s" were semis, the only ones rostered by PS; all were retired in 1937.

The last HUDSON/ESSEX interdivisional car line was the "43" (Jersey City-Newark) which went to ASVs in 1938.

Note the PS bus heading east on the right.........

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Taken about 1937, we see a Compromise roof car (in "De Luxe" paint) heading towards Jersey City, en route from Newark.

This car line was the last interdivisional line on the HUDSON and ESSEX Divisions.

ASVs took over this line in 1938; they, in turn, were replaced by diesel buses in 1948.

Both the streetcars and the ASVs used the Cedar Street Subway in Newark to reach the lower level of the PS Terminal..........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?116980

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["43 JERSEY CITY"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A very rare 1940s photo indeed is this one showing a Compromise-roof car running on the wartime "SOUTH KEARNY" line (WESTERN ELECTRIC) in Jersey City

By the time of this rare photo, the cars assigned to the two wartime lines were the only HUDSON Division cars to retain their original double-ended configurations.........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?116280

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["PUBLIC SERVICE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Another rare view, taken about 1950, showing a City Subway-bound Compromise roof-car on the "29", alongside an ERIE commuter train, heading east for the Jersey City ferry terminal on Pavonia Avenue.

Note the "SUBWAY CAR-SAVE TIME & PARKING" on the PS car.

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?116986

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

This line, the last of the subway-surface car lines, went to buses in 1952.

The ERIE retired its last steam engines in 1954; the iconic "Stillwell"l coaches (which I grew up with) lasted for many mire years, the last not being retired until late 1974.

The later ERIE-LACKAWANNA operated this line until 1966; no trace remains today...........

["29 CALDWELL"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

This photo depicts the last day of the "29" subway-surface cars, the line being converted to new GM diesel buses later that same day; note PS men, photographers, traction fans, and neighborhood folks gathering in front of the Montclair car house (Bell Street) on Bloomfield Avenue; note, also, how the north wall angles away from the front of the building.

PS/TNJ buses used this building until the early 1970s, when it was converted into a bowling alley; sadly it was demolished a number of years ago.

The large "PS" emblem on the facade was illluminated at nught.............

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?116985

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["CITY SUBWAY-OUTBOUND CARS TO NEWARK & SUBURBS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Few photos exist of the interior of the Bell Street (Montclair) car house; it was home base for the "29" subway-surface line until 1952.

Here we are looking south, towards the Bloomfield Avenue end of the building.

This car house was the only one on the PS system to have switches located inside the building; "Compromise" roof-cars served the "29" exclusively since the early 1930s.

This rare photo dates to c. 1937...........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?118324

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["29"]