Nostalgia & History > A unique farewell fantrip

Back in 1982, a portion of the CNJ mainline west of Bloomsbury was about to be severed by the construction of the missing piece of I-78.  A fantrip was run as a "Farewell to the west end of the CNJ".  The trip ran with three NJT E8's which the CNJ never owned.  The turn around point was the Allentown yard, including a stop in the Bethlehem Engine Terminal.  Since none of the traditional anthracite roads ever owned any E-units, perhaps this was a first as well.  The return was via the former Lehigh Valley, which also never saw E-units before.  The LV had Alco PA's for their passenger service back in the day. We jumped on at Roselle Park which is located on the former LV main, thus allowing the return trip to stop there later for those not wishing to board at Newark.

1.  A runby was held at the site of the former CNJ layover yard at Hampton, NJ.  Once the furthest point for commuter trains prior to the cutback to Raritan, aside from the short-lived extension to Phillipsburg in the mid-1970's.

2.  Parked under the imposing concrete coaling tower from the days of steam.  The units were re-fueled here although I didn't think they really needed it considering the short distance.  Perhaps it was a union thing or an excuse to bring the engines into the facility for photos.  Conrail was very cooperative with fantrips in those days.

3.  Some Conrail Geeps sitting along the service tracks.  Today, the buildings seen here are all gone and the area is used for MOW storage.  

Trip date was October 10, 1982.

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4.  Former Blue Comet observation car 1178, later to become NJT #1, gets a spin on the turntable.

5.  Another look at the power.  That paint scheme looks really good on these units.

6.  Another runby was held on the return trip at the site of the former LV yard at Richards, PA.  Fighting the sun and the crowd made things a bit of a challenge.

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Super set to commemorate a sad event.
Bob

First, thank you for posting the interesting narrative and providing the photographs.

​thebluecomet Wrote:
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  Since none of the
> traditional anthracite roads ever owned any
> E-units, perhaps this was a first as well.  

Remember this poem?

Says Phoebe Snowabout to goupon a trip to Buffalo
"My gown stays white
from morn till night
Upon the Road of Anthracite

"The "Road of Anthracite" was the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western which (after Phoebe was Phamous) owned E-8s.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/21 15:51 by RuleG.

Very nice series of a unique run.  E Units looked great.
Here is a link to my post of #4267 new-in-the-box.
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4891056,4891056#4891056
Thanks for your super posting.
ALLEN

 

That October of 1982 trip was one that I was lucky enough to ride. It was organized by the Tri-State Historical Society and Billed as the "Queen of the Valley" excursion.  NJT train service to Phillipsburg,NJ. ceased at the end of 1983. The Tri-State Historical Society ran a similar trip on 11/24/85 with another set of E units billed as the "Farewell to the CNJ" excursion. I decided to chase this trip. Top shot westbound at Annandale,NJ. Middle shot at Asbury,NJ. Final shot of the train pulled out onto the ex-LV bridge at Phillipsburg. Classy way to say goodbye to the Queen of the Valley route.

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Great photos from both photographers.  A very classy excursion.

Rich