This is beautiful. I love seeing the days of what was perhaps either just NJ Transit’s most successful route as it made its rounds along the line, or even just another normal day of a decent place with people possibly going to and from work as per usual along there.
Great video. I remember the U34CH so well; Used to go with my father as a kid to see them at the Spring Valley yard (I grew up in Nyack). Even got to hang out in the cab once and the yardman fired it up for us! Beautiful sound. Beautiful machine.
Those Arrows III MUs at 12:40 are probably being moved as part of the Arrow III rebuild program, which I believe started that year. After that they had gotten new ABB traction motors, strobes, and exterior passenger information displays.
Hey those two 16 yr old cats crossing the tracks at 6:06 got to have grand kids now in 2023 lol. Great memories Sir!!! Flash back 20 yrs I was rail fanning Ridge tower up to SF & NJ towers on the EL trains with E-8's & GP-7's pulling still wells up to Port J.
1990s Railfan I find it nice that one’s back in the as delivered guise. Someday, I’m hoping 3372 runs again. Call me a foamer but gee, it’d be swell to be around a U-Boat like that.
@@1990sRailfan before NJ transit had there own rail cars and engines they cars from cnj Erie and Pennsylvanian railroad before they got there own stuff
@@chrisstehn9406 Yes, the goal of my first day of rail fanning was to record the EL diamonds on the sides of the Comet cars (1983). I'm glad I did, because the next time I made it trackside in 1984, the diamonds had been replaced with NJT disco stripes.
Great Video! It would have been great to have been a railfan during this time! Amazing to bad they scrapped all the U-Boats. they could have kept several as heritage units to still run trains. This was a yr before I was born. The Geeps/FH's retired them now their about to be out the door now. Well most of the CNJ units are work train units but 4100, 4101 and 4109.
That's a Comet IA, not a IB (dead giveaway: IA's only had Metro North markings; IB's only had NJ Transit). That is hardly the only difference between them but one of the easy ways to tell them apart from the outside.
At the beginning of the clip you can hear the audio drop out. That was done purposely because I was yelling to the guy there with me about the Conrail engine . At first, I thought it was a freight, (yelled that), then I yelled it was a NJ Transit commuter train with a Conrail engine. What it really was, I believe, (may be wrong about this) was Conrail moving those cars to the railcar plant in Hornell, NY. I just noticed this video freezes at 26:12. That's not intentional. I'll have to look into that. There were a few trains in that slot...now missing. Perhaps, I'll post those clips separately, rather than reposting this video again.
1990s Railfan about that Conrail / NJT Arrow Move makes sense what you are saying. What ever you do get the video unfrozen is okay, just make sure it doesn't destroy what you have because as you mentioned to me before ain't going see anything like it anymore... :-)
@@1990sRailfan the first car behind the engine at 4:03 is a Comet 1A. There weren't many of them and unlike the 1B's which were converted from Arrow I's, the Comet IA's were never MU's; they were built from extra Arrow III frames.
Crew oversight? I'm not sure what NJT's door policy was at the time, perhaps it was OK to roll the train with the doors open. I'd like to know if that equipment was equipped with the "door light" feature in the locomotive, prevalent on today's stuff. My guess is, it wasn't there.
@@jmream2618 that is a limited clear (red over blinking green) which at Ridgewood Junction indicates the route is lined for the Bergen County line (it's a crossover/diverging move). A Clear (green over red) would indicate it's lined for the Main.
I almost forgot about the F40s. They were on the property very early. I have photos of them running out to Port Jervis in 1984. They didn't seem very common on the ex Erie Lines, and I think they spent the bulk of their time on the Newark Division.
This is beautiful. I love seeing the days of what was perhaps either just NJ Transit’s most successful route as it made its rounds along the line, or even just another normal day of a decent place with people possibly going to and from work as per usual along there.
Great video. I remember the U34CH so well; Used to go with my father as a kid to see them at the Spring Valley yard (I grew up in Nyack). Even got to hang out in the cab once and the yardman fired it up for us! Beautiful sound. Beautiful machine.
I love the sound of the U34CH! Glad I was able to enjoy it in person back during that time. Happy memories.
Looking back now, it was a very intense sound.
Love the short door Comet 1 cars with the U-34-CH . Classic EL!!!!!!!
Those Arrows III MUs at 12:40 are probably being moved as part of the Arrow III rebuild program, which I believe started that year. After that they had gotten new ABB traction motors, strobes, and exterior passenger information displays.
Was thinking the same thing
Man, those U-boats just hit different.
Though I have never witnessed a U34ch I sure as hell know its amazing .
That is an awesome comment .
@@1990sRailfan Thank you
8:35 - dang, those GP40FH-2Ms still going strong. Rode with one yesterday on Main Line.
Thank you for taking/posting these. Grew up there. Miss hearing the U-boats all day and night as a kid.
You are welcome . Yes, that distinctive chugging sound was a fact of daily life and would reverberate through out the suburbs.
@@1990sRailfan Grew up along the NJT Main Line and loved the sound of these
I had no idea that the U-boats got repainted into the new livery. I thought they were left in the old one until retirement. Great video!
Random Railfan Only six or seven were painted in it from what I know.
24:45 So that's the bell the Comet IAs cab cars received...sounds like a Dash 9 bell to me
Hey those two 16 yr old cats crossing the tracks at 6:06 got to have grand kids now in 2023 lol.
Great memories Sir!!! Flash back 20 yrs I was rail fanning Ridge tower up to SF & NJ towers
on the EL trains with E-8's & GP-7's pulling still wells up to Port J.
Early seventies? That would have been the time to be out there.
The old ex-CNJs are still soldering on!
Yes, it is amazing there are still out there.
1990s Railfan I find it nice that one’s back in the as delivered guise. Someday, I’m hoping 3372 runs again. Call me a foamer but gee, it’d be swell to be around a U-Boat like that.
@@1990sRailfan before NJ transit had there own rail cars and engines they cars from cnj Erie and Pennsylvanian railroad before they got there own stuff
@@chrisstehn9406 Yes, the goal of my first day of rail fanning was to record the EL diamonds on the sides of the Comet cars (1983). I'm glad I did, because the next time I made it trackside in 1984, the diamonds had been replaced with NJT disco stripes.
Great Video! It would have been great to have been a railfan during this time! Amazing to bad they scrapped all the U-Boats. they could have kept several as heritage units to still run trains. This was a yr before I was born. The Geeps/FH's retired them now their about to be out the door now. Well most of the CNJ units are work train units but 4100, 4101 and 4109.
Thanks! One U-Boat survived, the 4172 (3372), that is unless they scrapped it in the last few years.
@@1990sRailfanthink 1 surviving U34CH’s is left
That is hilarious, I just operated the 4101 this past week. We call it the “Slow Rider”.
I offhandedly wonder whether the Comet 1B I see at 4:00 is here in California, working the San Joaquins.
That's a Comet IA, not a IB (dead giveaway: IA's only had Metro North markings; IB's only had NJ Transit). That is hardly the only difference between them but one of the easy ways to tell them apart from the outside.
U34 at 22:20 with throttle up smoke was just awesome!!. Miss these things like nuts.
I know what you mean. I remember that chugging sound could be heard quite a far distance.
Those EMD's sound like they ready to rip the tracks off.
That was an awesome catch at 12:05 in the video..
At the beginning of the clip you can hear the audio drop out. That was done purposely because I was yelling to the guy there with me about the Conrail engine . At first, I thought it was a freight, (yelled that), then I yelled it was a NJ Transit commuter train with a Conrail engine. What it really was, I believe, (may be wrong about this) was Conrail moving those cars to the railcar plant in Hornell, NY.
I just noticed this video freezes at 26:12. That's not intentional. I'll have to look into that. There were a few trains in that slot...now missing. Perhaps, I'll post those clips separately, rather than reposting this video again.
1990s Railfan about that Conrail / NJT Arrow Move makes sense what you are saying. What ever you do get the video unfrozen is okay, just make sure it doesn't destroy what you have because as you mentioned to me before ain't going see anything like it anymore... :-)
The problem was a corrupt mp4 file. I'll leave this video up and post the missing segment.
Is it alright if I could borrow clips for a video I'm making called "Engines of SEPTA U34CH" full credit will be given!
Sure, maybe it will bring others to the channel.
@@1990sRailfan oh indeed! You got a lot of incredible old content. I always love looking at old videos of sights lost in the winds of time.
If you can, let me know when you upload that video. I'd like to watch it.
@@1990sRailfan Here's the finished product! ruclips.net/video/h-OlztE2cFU/видео.html
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren That's a great video! Thank you.
I’m mad they scrapped all the comet 1A’s they could at least preserved a couple of them.
What's the difference between a Comet 1 and a Comet 1A?
@@1990sRailfan the first car behind the engine at 4:03 is a Comet 1A. There weren't many of them and unlike the 1B's which were converted from Arrow I's, the Comet IA's were never MU's; they were built from extra Arrow III frames.
@@jvohanian Yes, I asked a friend about that and was informed. Thanks.
NICE!
Thanks Bobby! Stay safe.
Although I have seen it a lot of times before, why do some of the Comet cars have the doors open when the train is moving?
Crew oversight? I'm not sure what NJT's door policy was at the time, perhaps it was OK to roll the train with the doors open. I'd like to know if that equipment was equipped with the "door light" feature in the locomotive, prevalent on today's stuff. My guess is, it wasn't there.
In between short station stops they typically rolled with the doors open. Now whether or not it was legal, I don't know.
1990s Railfan @ 29:42 why was the signal flashing 4
Could have been a deadhead, Amtrak and Metra do that in Chicago Union Station.
@@jmream2618 that is a limited clear (red over blinking green) which at Ridgewood Junction indicates the route is lined for the Bergen County line (it's a crossover/diverging move). A Clear (green over red) would indicate it's lined for the Main.
Since when did Conrail pull NJT Passger cars ? CONRAIL local freight service
I believe, (may be wrong about this) that was Conrail moving those cars to the railcar plant in Hornell, NY.
@@1990sRailfan ABB in Elmira Heights (now CAF)
When did NJ Transit start getting F40s?
I almost forgot about the F40s. They were on the property very early. I have photos of them running out to Port Jervis in 1984. They didn't seem very common on the ex Erie Lines, and I think they spent the bulk of their time on the Newark Division.
That's interesting… I wonder why they did that. I assume that the F40s replaced the GG1s
I wish more people were subbed to you. It's pretty rare to find 90s-era footage of railroads around the tri-state.
Yeah, I think the F40s were a general supplemental fleet.
Thank you... just over a month in, we'll see what develops.