This guy is the best narrarator ever!-I"m 61 years old,grew up in High Bridge,NJ.Freight trains came thru town slow enough that you could grab a ladder of a slow moving freight car& hitch a ride to wherever ya wanted to get off.What great memories!_thank you!
I used to fish under the rail tunnel in High Bridge all the time. I moved to Ohio in 2018. Also, back when I lived in NJ, it was by Bloomsbury, very close to the Lehigh Line of Norfolk Southern. And with that I was close to the old portion of the Jersey Central Rail Line that runs through Bloomsbury. So sad seeing it relegated to a rarely used, part time siding.
@@markrunyon5524 Thank you. It's just so hard to believe that those tracks that run through Bloomsbury were the Jersey Central Railroads mainline. There were proposals during Christie's Governorship to reactivate the "Dead Track Section" for NJ Transit to have Commuter Rail all the way to Bloomsbury. The problem is that all of that track from Bloomsbury to the Dead Section near High Bridge is Norfolk Southern Property. The NJ State Government wanted NS Railroad to foot the entire Bill to restore the line, and then give NJ Transit full Right Of Way to the Track, therefore, not allowing NS Railroad to use it at all, not even the parts of it that extend to the border of Pennsylvania at the Delaware River going into Easton. NS told the NJ State Government that if NS was to pay for all that CNJ Rail Restoration, they were gonna put down a second Track beside it to alleviate Freight Traffic on the Lehigh Line, which then runs next to the active NJ Transit Track in Union County, NJ. NJ State Government said "No" and it all fell through.
One of the best videos of its kind - very folksy and unprofessional - two qualities which make it wonderful. Great footage and interaction with real railroaders.
Just found this series...my Dad was a locomotive engineer on the Jersey Central for 42 years, mostly on the Bay Head to Jersey City shore run. He did do the coal run for a few years when I was a kid. His dad ran the coal route his entire career....and met my grandmother in the hard coal region.
Nice footage! My late Uncle worked for Jersey Central right up to when Conrail took over in the late 70's. Back then, he gave me the Lady Liberty logo from a scrapped locomotive window. I still have it in my curio cabinet.
Sure liked the shot in Wilkes-Barre. At about 6:39 you can see the gateman's tower across Market Street. At one time a one-legged man operated the crossing gates; he was injured in a rr accident and the company gave him the job at the gates to keep him employed. I lived just up Brewery Hill on North Fulton Street. The wonderful aroma of fermenting barley mash from the Stegmeier plant permeated the Heights neighborhood.
When I was in middle school, I would see a pair of Budd Cars(what they called them?)run thru Plainfield/Netherwood station headed east, Raritan Valley Line almost every morning. This was 1977-78, I THINK one was marked LACKAWANNA still.
I grew up along side of a new jersey freight line called "Penn Central". It is NOW known as "The River Line". When I was growing up '60s-'80s is was Penn Central then Conrail before it was turned into the River Line. Most of my life it was a single track from Trenton to Camden that clearly had been double track at one time. I also know it was originally built as "The Camden Amboy Railroad" - one of the very first passenger services in the entire country. They claimed to be THE FIRST but as I later learned, several railroads were competing for that distinction and several railroads claimed it in spite of the facts. I don't know which one is correct, only that several claim it. In its current incarnation, its under the banner of NJT although it is being run almost entirely as an independent service by Bombardier. Neighbors tell of passenger service along that line up into the '50s when a named train "The Nellie Bly" came around a corner too fast or found the bridge out - I don't recall which. All I know is that is crashed into the Rancocas Creek. I am wondering if you have any films about my line. I will always think of it as Penn Central but it has so much history surrounding it.
Always wondered what the locomotive engineers thought of going from steam to the new diesel engines. ? Im a retired engineer from Canadian National/ Michigan based, never worked with anyone old enough to remember the switch from steam to diesel. 🤔
I presume you mean of the CNJ in those areas. I too would love to see footage in those areas, but I haven't seen anything other than the Wanamie mine railroad in our Short Lines & Branch Lines Volume 3 program
Is there any movie footage of the link from perth amboy to elizabethport/jersey city? I had an opportunity to ride it once when the newark/rahway got closed in an emergency and that was the only way south!
There isn't much video footage of the Blue Comet in existence. There is at least one video that I know of in existence here on RUclips, but if you're looking for color forget about it...
You know, I'm actually very anti diesel, but they are history, and the narration with Mike, make me even enjoy the later. Videos! Thank you again so much for all that you do!
mike ggg ....anti diesel.....I guess we can’t be friends lol. Just kidding. I used to be anti steam until I came across the Southern Pacific Cab Forward which is absolutely a beautiful loco
Also video John. Any chance you and Big Mike have anymore clips of the Valley and Conrail in the Phillipsburg area. I know it’s been touched on in some ,but I would love to see some more stuff from my home town.
I was just working on reclaiming ties over the curve for the ashely miners park for our next few railcars. The caboose track is in place and part of the main. Seeing it in the 40s is q treat knowing i waled that ROW and among the yard. Standing in a Turntable pit.
Seriously, you never heard that term before? Still, WTH happened to his shirt, and surely crews had heard of toilet paper back then! I even keep a spare roll in each vehicle - ya never know when it'll come in handy.
Do you have any footage of the CNJ’s operations in South Jersey? I don’t think their passenger trains went that far, but I believe they had freight operations that went all the way down to the Delaware Bay.
They went all the way to Bayside till the thirty s and bridgeton to seventy s the line Winchester Western uses from Vineland was cnj Pennsylvania Reading seashore line use the traction went out to glasboro cnj crossed the the Pennsylvania Reading seashore in Vineland near park ave
Wayne Jones supervisors were known to place an egg in the switch points to verify compliance with operating rule requiring crews to check points for debris before operating the switch. If a guy spotted and removed said egg he got an attaboy. If not, well............ And yes, there would be a boss in the weeds somewhere “making observations”.
@@tomlebudzinski7716 Tom, while everyone is entitled to their opinion, yours is a little on the salty side. I appreciate you refraining from such comments. Recovering from a stroke is very difficult, especially when it affects your speech. Mike is extremely knowledgeable on the Anthracite railroads and has a very unique way of telling a story of them with his colloquial humor. I hope you never have to recover from a stroke like Mike has
With the Wall Street Journal , had the Hershey squirts looking for the nearest tree. Best line in all your videos
This guy is the best narrarator ever!-I"m 61 years old,grew up in High Bridge,NJ.Freight trains came thru town slow enough that you could grab a ladder of a slow moving freight car& hitch a ride to wherever ya wanted to get off.What great memories!_thank you!
I used to fish under the rail tunnel in High Bridge all the time. I moved to Ohio in 2018. Also, back when I lived in NJ, it was by Bloomsbury, very close to the Lehigh Line of Norfolk Southern. And with that I was close to the old portion of the Jersey Central Rail Line that runs through Bloomsbury. So sad seeing it relegated to a rarely used, part time siding.
@@joeruiz4010 -I"ve fished all along the South branch too.Bloomsbury is a nice area.Hope your doing well.
@@markrunyon5524 Thank you. It's just so hard to believe that those tracks that run through Bloomsbury were the Jersey Central Railroads mainline.
There were proposals during Christie's Governorship to reactivate the "Dead Track Section" for NJ Transit to have Commuter Rail all the way to Bloomsbury. The problem is that all of that track from Bloomsbury to the Dead Section near High Bridge is Norfolk Southern Property.
The NJ State Government wanted NS Railroad to foot the entire Bill to restore the line, and then give NJ Transit full Right Of Way to the Track, therefore, not allowing NS Railroad to use it at all, not even the parts of it that extend to the border of Pennsylvania at the Delaware River going into Easton.
NS told the NJ State Government that if NS was to pay for all that CNJ Rail Restoration, they were gonna put down a second Track beside it to alleviate Freight Traffic on the Lehigh Line, which then runs next to the active NJ Transit Track in Union County, NJ. NJ State Government said "No" and it all fell through.
@@joeruiz4010 People still fish there.
@HappyCat3096 I know. I still do whenever I visit my Family still living in New Jersey. 😁
This amazing, Mike caught a man running to take a dump 60 years ago on camera. Fantastic footage! Bravo!!!
National Geographic has nothing on him!
Damn cabs had no toilets !
Please that's called a SET OUT
@@Westerner78 Yeah, he set out to take a dump.
One of the best videos of its kind - very folksy and unprofessional - two qualities which make it wonderful. Great footage and interaction with real railroaders.
Yes the Hershey runs with the Wall Street journal to clean up! Drills and out of the Chunk! I love it.
Just found this series...my Dad was a locomotive engineer on the Jersey Central for 42 years, mostly on the Bay Head to Jersey City shore run. He did do the coal run for a few years when I was a kid. His dad ran the coal route his entire career....and met my grandmother in the hard coal region.
Nice footage! My late Uncle worked for Jersey Central right up to when Conrail took over in the late 70's. Back then, he gave me the Lady Liberty logo from a scrapped locomotive window. I still have it in my curio cabinet.
Unbelievable footage...I didn't know footage this old could look so darn good!!! Two Thumbs up!!!
Thanks Big Mike. And John thank you for your dedication. Your both great Americans.
Sure liked the shot in Wilkes-Barre. At about 6:39 you can see the gateman's tower across Market Street. At one time a one-legged man operated the crossing gates; he was injured in a rr accident and the company gave him the job at the gates to keep him employed.
I lived just up Brewery Hill on North Fulton Street. The wonderful aroma of fermenting barley mash from the Stegmeier plant permeated the Heights neighborhood.
Mike Bednar, you are a great railroader. Thank you for your hard work and passion. You are a role model to freedom loving people everywhere!!
Thank you for putting together these videos. My great grandfather Kermit worked for the CNJ at the train station in Allentown.
One of the best clips I've ever seen. Thanks.Long Branch was a big railroad destination.
Great picture quality film and fun commentary.
I love these Jersey Central Videos !!
Always enjoy your videos John !
Makes me want to go back in time !
100%
Excellent video with historic pictures, Thanks, from Germany
Hershey Squrits lol great footage
The Black and White footage is exceptional!
Absolutely awesome! Great for modeling ideas!
When I was in middle school, I would see a pair of Budd Cars(what they called them?)run thru Plainfield/Netherwood station headed east, Raritan Valley Line almost every morning. This was 1977-78, I THINK one was marked LACKAWANNA still.
Rode the CNJ on the Raritan Valley line when I was a young man. Real memories.
Nice video! Absolutely love the Jersey Central logo!
I grew up along side of a new jersey freight line called "Penn Central". It is NOW known as "The River Line". When I was growing up '60s-'80s is was Penn Central then Conrail before it was turned into the River Line. Most of my life it was a single track from Trenton to Camden that clearly had been double track at one time. I also know it was originally built as "The Camden Amboy Railroad" - one of the very first passenger services in the entire country. They claimed to be THE FIRST but as I later learned, several railroads were competing for that distinction and several railroads claimed it in spite of the facts. I don't know which one is correct, only that several claim it. In its current incarnation, its under the banner of NJT although it is being run almost entirely as an independent service by Bombardier. Neighbors tell of passenger service along that line up into the '50s when a named train "The Nellie Bly" came around a corner too fast or found the bridge out - I don't recall which. All I know is that is crashed into the Rancocas Creek. I am wondering if you have any films about my line. I will always think of it as Penn Central but it has so much history surrounding it.
Hey! Show me the camelbacks again; LV flogged those loco's also. Wonderful production. Loved the Wilkes-Barre shots.
I really enjoy the Jersey Central, especially with all the footage of diesels.
I bet Mike Bednar had this voice when he has 7yrs old !! Lol : D
"Hershey" squirts !!!!! HHHHhhhaaaa ; D
Wow! Onboard on the back track! Can’t wait to get my hands on this gem!
This program is now available from our website www.johnpmedia.com
This is so cool. To have lived during steam to Deisel.
Beautiful shots! :)
I love Big Mike's commentaries.
Always wondered what the locomotive engineers thought of going from steam to the new diesel engines. ? Im a retired engineer from Canadian National/ Michigan based, never worked with anyone old enough to remember the switch from steam to diesel. 🤔
I wish these are organized but hey these videos are epic
Good Work.
Pretty cool. Enjoyed that.
Great stuff. Would love to see Alden, Wanamie, and the Lee section of Glen Lyon
I presume you mean of the CNJ in those areas. I too would love to see footage in those areas, but I haven't seen anything other than the Wanamie mine railroad in our Short Lines & Branch Lines Volume 3 program
Do you have anything on the NYS&w
Is there any movie footage of the link from perth amboy to elizabethport/jersey city? I had an opportunity to ride it once when the newark/rahway got closed in an emergency and that was the only way south!
Been looking for video of any trains coming thru cementon on the old lines.
are there any videos of The Blue Comet?
There isn't much video footage of the Blue Comet in existence. There is at least one video that I know of in existence here on RUclips, but if you're looking for color forget about it...
Big Mike rides again!
I so love your vids, John! More RDG steam!!!
More RDG steam is in the queue. Will be released later this year
@@JPMediaRR awesome! Thank you so much!
You know, I'm actually very anti diesel, but they are history, and the narration with Mike, make me even enjoy the later. Videos! Thank you again so much for all that you do!
mike ggg ....anti diesel.....I guess we can’t be friends lol. Just kidding. I used to be anti steam until I came across the Southern Pacific Cab Forward which is absolutely a beautiful loco
what is in the 55 gallon barrels on the bridge at 3:50
I wonder if Mike has relatives in Neptune, NJ?
By the way, he is an amazing commentator!
Very good, thanks.
Can anybody explain the steel drums on the trestles @3:44?
Is there a fire barrels, usually filled with sand, water or some other sort of fire retardant in case the trestle catches fire.
The switch at 4:02 that Walter is closing, what is the purpose of that one rail switch?
It is a derail. It's purpose is to prevent any unauthorized movements onto the mainline
@@JPMediaRR Thanks. That is what I thought, never seen one like that.
Also video John. Any chance you and Big Mike have anymore clips of the Valley and Conrail in the Phillipsburg area. I know it’s been touched on in some ,but I would love to see some more stuff from my home town.
That was suppose to be awesome not also
The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore; not they did back in 1954!
great video.
Hey John? Can we get a Wilkes-Barre area films collection? So the Wyoming valley. Idk buy that up in a heartbeat beat even if it was 80 bucks!
I would love to produce something from the Wilkes Barre area, but I don't have any footage other than what appears in the program
Do you have any footage between Elizabethport and Bound Brook? I’d love to see some action at Aldene or something.
Yes, Along the Jersey Central volume 3 covers this area
Great video!! Thanx.👍🏻👍🏻
The clip at 4:30... is that push up past stefko blvd to where Just Born is?
I believe so
2:04 i smell cn 89
Great video love it
I was just working on reclaiming ties over the curve for the ashely miners park for our next few railcars. The caboose track is in place and part of the main. Seeing it in the 40s is q treat knowing i waled that ROW and among the yard. Standing in a Turntable pit.
Great Clip!
Jersey Central, high iron and zero ballast.
Don't forget Agent Orange!
Thanks 😊
The Hershey squirts?
Uncontrolled liquid version of going #2
Seriously, you never heard that term before? Still, WTH happened to his shirt, and surely crews had heard of toilet paper back then! I even keep a spare roll in each vehicle - ya never know when it'll come in handy.
Definitely enjoy these videos. Do you have any footage of Hopatcong junction near Wharton New Jersey?
Yes, there is footage at Hopatcong Junction in both steam and diesel eras in this program
Hershey squirts 🤣😅🤣
There's no shitter in a caboose?
We had a boarded up crummy at the clifton
Was weed killer agent orange? Out BH.
Do you have any footage of the CNJ’s operations in South Jersey? I don’t think their passenger trains went that far, but I believe they had freight operations that went all the way down to the Delaware Bay.
I believe the furthest south any of the footage I have is Matawan
John Pechulis thanks for responding
@@JPMediaRR I grew up in Forked River and there was a line that went through town and to points south.
They went all the way to Bayside till the thirty s and bridgeton to seventy s the line Winchester Western uses from Vineland was cnj Pennsylvania Reading seashore line use the traction went out to glasboro cnj crossed the the Pennsylvania Reading seashore in Vineland near park ave
Awesome 👍🏽👍🏽🤯🤣💥😭🥳😂😉🥰
An excellent video. ♡ T.E.N.
Good stuff!
Hope the flagman got past the Hershey squirts lol
Hershey Squirts are better serviced by ny post or the Daily Snooze!!! LMBO!!!
Check for Eggs 8:13 ? As in REAL Eggs, or rail-speak for something else?
Wayne Jones supervisors were known to place an egg in the switch points to verify compliance with operating rule requiring crews to check points for debris before operating the switch. If a guy spotted and removed said egg he got an attaboy. If not, well............ And yes, there would be a boss in the weeds somewhere “making observations”.
@@jackcottrill5039 Got it, thanks. OMG!! :)
Do run a bit faster dear Walter, you must catch that caboose..!!
I was gna say this sounded like one of the voices from alcatraz
That stuff the weed sprayer train used was nasty! It would kill anything and I'd bet that included some of the guys that worked w/it!
Narrator sounds like Jesse Ventura.
It’s amazing to see railroading in the days before today’s society decided to destroy it with graffiti. What a sad world we live in today
Great video. I plan on getting it as soon as my income tax refund arrives.
I came here to listen to Mike Bednar.
How many strokes has this guy had???
Several, evidently! And thanks for mentioning the hershey squirts.
@@tomlebudzinski7716 Tom, while everyone is entitled to their opinion, yours is a little on the salty side. I appreciate you refraining from such comments. Recovering from a stroke is very difficult, especially when it affects your speech. Mike is extremely knowledgeable on the Anthracite railroads and has a very unique way of telling a story of them with his colloquial humor. I hope you never have to recover from a stroke like Mike has
What a totally ignorant comment. Please have some respect.
Really, Tom? Not cool.