Eastern Railroad Discussion > Downtown Newark train watching

Will be staying in downtown Newark, NJ for work in a few weeks and will have a full day to watch trains. What are some of the best spots, emphasizing photography, around downtown Newark and Harrison? I understand that PATH is militantly anti-photography and I should avoid their platforms. How accessible is Broad Street Station? What would be the best nearby station on the Corridor for photography if not Newark Penn? I am willing to buy NJT fares to access the platform if I need to. Thanks.

LiveWire Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Will be staying in downtown Newark, NJ for work in
> a few weeks and will have a full day to watch
> trains. What are some of the best spots,
> emphasizing photography, around downtown Newark
> and Harrison? I understand that PATH is militantly
> anti-photography and I should avoid their
> platforms. How accessible is Broad Street Station?
> What would be the best nearby station on the
> Corridor for photography if not Newark Penn? I am
> willing to buy NJT fares to access the platform if
> I need to. Thanks.

North Elizabeth and Elizabeth stations are both good platform-photography choices, with Elizabeth also offering its parking garage for good angles in the afternoon.

I've also seen some nice shots for the platforms at Secaucus Jct. but I don't know how far you'd have to be ticketed for to get there; not sure if that station now accommodates origin/destination passengers or is still used only as a transfer point.

You'll want to get a look at Newark Penn
in any case, and you can see for yourself
if it's any use to you for pics. And you'll
want to ride PATH Newark to Journal Square
just to get a look at the old PRR main, and
you'll want to get off at Harrison to watch
if nothing else. Once you've seen them,
Elizabeth has the curve and the parking
garage which you'll want to look over.
It will do for pics as long as you like
pics like everyone else's.

elizabeth or rahway for nec stuff.   bound brook for njt diesel and ns/csx freight

Good suggestions.  If you're interested in watching (versus photography) the Harrison garage is as good as it gets. About 30 feet from the tracks, off PATH property, with a fast food place on the ground floor, and out of the rain, etc.  There are lots of North Elizabeth shots available, although the location is a bit wedgy for my tastes.  Like Rahway a lot, also Linden


Harrison Parking garage, the new apartment blocks some of the broad view, but it's OK now. Not great.

Harrison parking garage

Here's the Elizabeth parking garage

Elizabeth

toledopatch Wrote:

> I've also seen some nice shots for the platforms
> at Secaucus Jct. but I don't know how far you'd
> have to be ticketed for to get there; not sure if
> that station now accommodates origin/destination
> passengers or is still used only as a transfer
> point.

Yes you can buy a ticket to Secucus Jct. - there is a park/ride lot there as well as some apartments.

May I suggest you buy a ticket from Newark (Penn) to Hoboken?  This will require a change a Secaucus so you can take some time to photograph there.  Hoboken Terminal is worth some time to walk around and photograph. From there you can take the PATH back to Newark Penn (change trains at the aptly named Exchange Place), OR you can take an NJ Transit train to Broad Street Station in Newark.  From there you can take the Newark City Subway back to Penn Station - 3/4 of this line is in street light rail.

If you're planning on doing this on a weekend, North Elizabeth sees very limited service.
The plus side of this is that you'd pretty much have the station all to yourself, save for a few other railfans.
Free parking on weekends too.

rfprr

Newark Broad Street station (the former DL&W station) has regular service on the weekends.  The Montclair to Hoboken shuttle will lay over on one track, while the NY to Dover trains come in on the other track. That island platform offers limited angles.

I don't know what / if the frequency of the light rail is from Newark Penn to Newark Broad Street / DL&W station on weekends.

========================

For freight traffic in the area, Bound Brook is the place if you're using public transport like NJ Transit rail. Easy to get to, lots of action

Thanks for the help, folks! Looks like this will be a Tuesday around Newark. I also plan to spend a Sunday afternoon at BWI station waiting for a flight home.