Passenger Trains > Hotels along the NEC for Photos

I just took a trip into New York this weekend, and found 2 more hotels along the NEC that would be great for railfans. The first is a Hotel Indigo (Holiday Inn Chain) in Rahway, NJ. It's less than a year old, maybe 1000' East of the station platform at Rahway, and has maybe 10 stories, lots of windows facing the tracks. There is a nice parking garage behind it, and the area looks like it's been re-vitalized, with several restaurants & shops nearby. The website shows the clean, new interior.

The second one I found was the Best Western Newark Airport West. I know there's a plethora of hotels near the airport, but you can see this one clearly right outside the train window. It's maybe 1/4 mile east of the platform for EWR airport station, many rooms facing the tracks. Again, their website shows some nice, large rooms (compared to tiny rooms in the city) at a moderate price. They have a 24 hour shuttle to Newark Penn Station and the airport.

I haven't stayed in either of these, but I plan to this Spring/Summer on my next trip to NY. I hope to get some great pictures of Amtrak & NJT traffic passing by.

Thanks for the post! It will be neat to see the views.

B&OB

Am I nuts, or was there an internet list somewhere of railfanning hotels (specifically ones that you could actually railfan from your room or balcony)? Maybe it was just something that I thought was a good idea.

erielackawanna Wrote:
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> Am I nuts, or was there an internet list somewhere
> of railfanning hotels (specifically ones that you
> could actually railfan from your room or balcony)?
> Maybe it was just something that I thought was a
> good idea.

There is at least one list like that, maybe more. Some of them even have windows/balconies from which decent photos can be taken. Others have heavily obstructed views that yield only crap photographs, though that doesn't stop some people from trying.

The Ramada Plaza at Newark Airport has a nice view of Oak Island freight yard from the north side of the hotel. No passenger service through there, though.

From google maps, it looks like the Newark airport Wyndham hotel may have a good view of the NEC from its upper floors. I haven't stayed there, so I don't know for sure.

Unfortunately, most of the hotels right along US 1-9 don't back up on the NEC. There's anywhere from a few hundred feet to a half mile between them and the tracks near Newark Airport. But, the Budweiser brewery backs up on the NEC, and even has its own siding...