PRR CNJ RDG B&O Interlude at Elizabeth

Elizabeth station was arguably the premier train watching spot in New Jersey for sheer variety in the 1950's. Two extremely busy 4 track main lines crossed each other with the PRR going over the CNJ. On the Pennsy, GG1 powered "Clockers" with P70's, MP54 MU's, long distance trains with run thru equipment from the New Haven and the various roads from the South, as well as freights. On the CNJ, commuter trains by the dozen powered by FM H15's, Train Masters, EMD Geeps, and double ended Baldwin Babyfaces, Reading's Crusader and Wall Street trains, the B&O's fleet, and freights with a variety of CNJ and Reading power. Over/under shots were a regular occurrence. Step back in time and enjoy the show! Original film by Jack Grasso. Film transfer was done 20+ years ago by Walt Berko of Railroad Video, Leola PA.

[@howardsontz983]

I remember as a ten year old going by myself to downtown Elizabeth to watch the trains. Penn RR and the Jersey Central both had terminals next to the Arch. If you took the Jersey Central, it terminated in Jersey City and you could take a ferry across to Manhattan for free with your train ticket. Were great times. New Jersey Transit today is only a dim shadow of what railroading once was.

[@jimnorton1459]

I spent many hours at the Elizabeth station watching trains in the early 60s. Great memories!

[@mikeggg5671]

Reading Fs with the Crusader! And GG1s with matched trainsets. OMG to have lived in those days!

[@DanielPRails]

It’s really interesting to see how much passenger service there used to be. It would have been a fun time to travel in my opinion

[@blakemcnamara9105]

These railroads should come back. The roads have gotten too crowded.

[@GreenbeanProductions]

Woah that first clip of the gg1 that’s where I live! Man times have change!

[@hirampriggott1689]

Jersey City station must have been a sight to see in it's heyday. I would loved to have seen a Philly-bound B&O train. I don't think anyone remembers we had two rail corridors between NYC and DC.

[@ikonseesmrno7300]

Wow! Talk about died & went to heaven.... in color!!!! I didn't know what to get giddy over first. Thanks for the awesome post!

[@tony2.0bender]

And, decent roaring sound!!

[@arthurbilenker2622]

I lived in Elizabeth about one half mile from the tracks. Late on a summer’s night, my bedroom window open,since we had no air conditioning ,my old ge fan growled. I would hear the wheezing,groaning sound of clapped out RS-3s pulling a freight train. They used to run with engine doors open in the summers. They used to park at the White Castle on the Elmora st bridge for lunch. The engineers used to let me come aboard and would rev the diesels for me. Years later in the Navy, I got to run a ge 44 tonner around the shipyard.

[@lindarusso2557]

@@arthurbilenker2622 people cant understand how i love the sound of a train going by at night. i stayed with my nan during the summer on westfield ave and hearing the train on a hot summer night was a pleasant comforting sound for me at 10 years old

[@lindarusso2557]

that white castle is still there

[@tombarnes7196]

That was terrific! Thanks for sharing. Trains were sure clean in those days!

[@michaelsmodelrailroading7665]

I had a friend who lived in Elizabeth, and got to spend some time train-watching around the Elizabeth station in the late '60s. Brings back some old memories.

[@redthepost]

Nice work. My favorite part of my home town. Great photo opportunities for those of us who were awestruck by cross traffic between the mighty Pennsylvania fleet and the rust bucket CNJ and Reading and B & O lines.

[@KingofGamingAndTrains456]

I know I wasn't born at the time this video was filmed, but being a train enthusiast myself, I probably would've LOVED railfanning in this area had I been around!

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

Now that was some very nice footage..

[@davestrains6816]

Love these old trains! Thanks for sharing. Dave

[@KingofGamingAndTrains456]

Just watching this really makes me want to live in the 1950s!

[@richarddrum9970]

Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s near Metuchen, NJ, I had opportunity to visit Elizabeth, Rahway, New Brunswick and of course Metuchen stations and watch that parade of famous trains and locomotives passing by. They were special to be sure, the Acela is nice but doesn’t measure up the the GG1’s and E44’s that cruised that corridor.

[@trainsupporter9088]

Loved the variety. Sadly, I missed those days, but thanks for uploading this great video.

[@ronnyvonallmen6892]

Must have been a Wonderful way to travel…

[@floppaeditz123]

WOW! that shot with the CNJ trainmaster and the GG1 I had no idea that many railroads shared territory here. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing!

[@mj1234321]

Wow, incredible footage!

[@F40PH-2CAT]

What an awesome spot this was

[@oldenweery7510]

Great footage!! When I heard that Baldwin Babyface at 1:25 I was reminded of a sports-car racing competitor of mine once came over to me after practice, mimed listening to my engine and after I'd shut down, said, "You know that's what they sound like just before thy _blow,_ don't you?" I suppose some of it was track noise, but it reminded me of how Alco RS-3s sounded when they needed go be shopped. I loved the sounds of those _clean_ diesels as they glided through the scene!

[@redthepost]

My home town.

[@NedPooleD818]

Great video- like my dream Lionel collection in 12 inches to the foot scale!! Whats there these days??

[@fmnut]

Amtrak overhead. Parking lot and weeds underneath. The CNJ main traffic was re routed by the Aldene Plan.

[@NedPooleD818]

What’s amazing to a British viewer is that in the 1950s practically every train was steam hauled - we were still building them as part of our 1955 Modernisation Plan!! Love the RDC too - they still look modern to me:-)) Oh for a Delorean to go back and pay a visit!!

[@fmnut]

@@NedPooleD818 Yes, you were about a decade behind the US in dieselization. Canada sort of split the difference.

[@Sano_Kiyoshiro]

Wonderful Video!

[@JoshuaTheTransitProdigy]

As a resident of the city, I hate that I will never see this happen. I was born in 92.

[@TheBerkshire759]

Thanks!

[@mbenz64]

It's nostalgic and sad at the same time, I remember riding the train from Plainfield to Elizabeth as a pre-teen in the 70's (with supervision by older siblings). Then when I was a few years older in 1981 and tried it alone, the train went up a ramp in Roselle Park and crossed Westfield Ave. It's a good thing I have a good sense of direction, or I would have been lost! Living in Roselle now since 1989, I am reminded of the Central Jersey line every single day. I still can see tracks behind my Denist's office. Where did that line go past the Elizabeth station, Bayonne?

[@fmnut]

Jersey City. The terminal was what is now Liberty State Park.

[@arthurbilenker2622]

@@mbenz64 The plan is to have a rail trail from Cranford to Elizabeth.

[@richarddrum9970]

I did live then and lived in Metuchen, NJ. saw many of these trains and rode the MU's into Newark with my parents several times. Nearly bought the farm once with a GG1 standing a bit too close to that yellow line, eek.😬 wonderful time of railroading.

[@PC10.8]

Very awesome!

[@jimschneider1123]

Amazing how the 4 track CNJ line is now just a memory from Elizabeth to Roselle Park. Lots of little things out there to let you know the CNJ ran thru there. An old 4 track cantilever on Linden Ave between Westfield Ave and E. 1st Ave. A must see to any CNJ enthusiast.

[@lindarusso2557]

its very sad. im from Elizabeth and i remember going on the bridge over chilton street to watch the trains run. now its all overgrown with brush and believe it or not, huge deer have taken up residence! is that cantilever where the roselle animal hospital is?

[@Kfinnerty127]

I was young but caught one NJT shop move and a Conrail local drilling roselle paper with two boxcars circa 1986. God I wish I could go back then to Linden rd.

[@jimschneider1123]

@@lindarusso2557 Yes, that's the one

[@arthurbilenker2622]

@@jimschneider1123 The signal bridge is still there. I don’t know if it will survive after it is converted into a rail trail. There are some KZbin videos about the plan. There is a storage track that was built after the flooded tracks in Meadowlands Maintenance that destroyed a lot of equipment during a hurricane. It is in Garwood. During construction a temporary stub end siding was as built in the center of the wide roadbed. For a brief time, if you looked toward Westfield, it looked like the old 4 track main was still in existence.

[@hampton400]

Pennsy and Been-Oh in color with sound. What could be better?

[@mikeggg5671]

The only thing... actually having been there!!!

[@6680thSOG]

LOL 3:20 the White Shirt Express! People dressed with class when they travelled back then.

[@georgemurphy2579]

Old busses old taxi cabs, and, CNJ, B&O, Reading, Pennsy - what days they were. Women wore dresses and men wore ties. People were respectable.

[@mittelfruh]

Classic footage, but what was that woman thinking at 1:23 as she walked onto a live track?!

[@fmnut]

She wanted to be the first one aboard the stopping train, probably to get a better seat.

[@mittelfruh]

@@fmnut I guess, but standing in the middle of the near track was not too smart. I just hope she lived a long life after this footage was taken, and not killed some other time she waited for a train.

[@fmnut]

@@mittelfruh if you notice in the following scene, a train on the near track was holding clear of the station and did not move up until the other train pulled out. I would bet there was an employee there to let passengers know when it was safe to foul the near track for boarding.

[@mittelfruh]

@@fmnut Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. Cheerz

[@Amtrakirby]

If I ever had a Time Machine I would definitely go back to railfan In places like North Philadelphia Penn Station Jersey City Hoboken 30th St., Station Reading terminal Station

[@jabgaming2592]

imagine if these tracks wasn’t demolished

[@RedArrow73]

I read somewhere once that a GG1 was essentially powered by 12 MP54 traction Motors (2/Axle). Am I correct?

[@danielrichter5066]

RedArrow73 No, they were quite a bit different. The GG1 used twelve 385 hp AC commutator motors. There were 2 motors per axle which drove the wheels through a quill drive. Basically the drive gear was not connected directly to the wheel but drove it through a cup and spring which acted like a shock absorber. The main transformer had 26 taps to provide current to the traction motors. The PRR’s MP54 had two 200 hp series wound AC motors on one truck of the car. These motors were geared directly to the axles. These motors accelerated slowly when compared to a similar size DC motor. So the MP 54’s PRR built for the LIRR with DC equipment were quicker accelerating.

[@buixrule]

What kind of electrics were on the bridge at 2:20 very unusual looking?

[@fmnut]

PRR MP54 multiple unit coaches.

[@Robloxity_News]

Why did they rip it up?

[@fmnut]

Google "aldene plan"

[@ernestimken6969]

Mostly GG1s.

[@amtrak207]

Omg

[@dumbrailfans5285]

3:17 hahaha lagi kencing😂😂😂😂