Passenger Trains > The PATH through Jersey City

Not long after he left the Pennsylvania Railroad, my civil-engineer dad when to work for a consulting firm in Newark. One of his earlier projects that he worked on was the new Transportation Center in Journal Square, Jersey City. Both with my dad's work on the building and the PRR line to the Jersey City terminal running through here (my mom rode the PRR on this line before I was born), the Journal Square facility has always held a special place for me.

Despite that, I've never tried to shoot any pictures there before about two weeks ago.

Image one is actually at the Newport (former Pavonia, nee Erie) station in Jersey City. Not a lot of roof clearance.

Image two is at Journal Square of a westbound train coming into the station area.

Image three is an eastbound leaving Journal Square.

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Image four is from the parking deck behind the Loew's theater and shows the yard with the Transportation Center tower above it. The tracks to the top of the photo are the old PRR line.

Image five is of an older PA4 car in MOW service and a newer PA5 car awaiting its next run.

Image six is a close up of some PA5s.

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Image seven is another view of the yard area.

Image eight is of a train arriving at the station platforms.

Image nine is another shot from the platforms.

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Image ten is one more from the Journal Square platforms.

Image eleven is back at Newport.

Image twelve is an artsy fartsy try of a train arriving on the far platform at Newport.

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Great shots

And more importantly it looks like you were not arrested or otherwise hassled by PATH security.
I have heard that PATH is very photographer unfriendly

WP17

I heard that too and frankly didn't try Harrison because of it. The platform shots you see here were all taken fairly quickly. I didn't hang out long in those spots. I did hang out in the public areas above the tracks, but what were they going to say there?

Interesting overhead clearance...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

I saw that too. One good bounce could leave a mark.

MojaveBill Wrote:
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> Interesting overhead clearance...

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

Those PATH cars look good! Great series of photos!

Now that's low ceiling clearance in those tunnels.

Jim
Hatboro, PA

Most of the tunnel shots appear to be lower and fatter than in person.

The Pavonia station had several direct H&M platform to Erie platform stairways. Older pictures looking east from the tower show them very clearly.

Posted from Android

The Port Authority Police will be knocking on your door shortly.
I was accosted by them at Harrison last year.

Great series of photos!

rfprr

rfprr Wrote:
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> The Port Authority Police will be knocking on your
> door shortly.
> I was accosted by them at Harrison last year.
>
> Great series of photos!
>
> rfprr

Harrison and Newark PATH seems to be where the police officers are most active in chasing folks. I was on the NJ Transit side of the Newark Penn PATH platform when a motor woman hollered at me last year. She threatened to call a PATH police officer, I told her to go ahead. (I knew that the NJ Transit officers wouldn't bother, and PATH wouldn't go onto the NJT side.)

I was chased off the Harrison platform a few years ago by the all seeing surveillance. If you remain on the platform after the train leaves, the "voice" comes on and asks you to leave / take the next train.

mp51w Wrote:
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> Those PATH cars look good! Great series of
> photos!

The only negative on the new cars is that they don't have a window on the left side of the cars opposite the motorman's cab. The last generation of cars did - it was a great to sit there and look ahead.

The fact the PATH cab door is solid steel, unlike the ones on NYCT cars with full width cabs, means they don't want railfans videoing the RFW and putting them on You Tube. IOW, they did it to piss us off.

Does anyone know, has the PATH photo ban ever been challenged?

It seems like it's the only agency left that still has a ban on photographing trains. Others were put into place and quickly challenged and came down.

erielackawanna Wrote:
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> Does anyone know, has the PATH photo ban ever been
> challenged?
>
> It seems like it's the only agency left that still
> has a ban on photographing trains. Others were put
> into place and quickly challenged and came down.

The ban also exists at the Port Authority bus terminal, and, in theory at the airports. I'm not aware it's ever been challenged in court.

You need deep pockets and a savage lawyer. I for one don't have the stomach for that.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> The Pavonia station had several direct H&M platform to Erie platform stairways. Older pictures looking east from the tower show them
> very clearly.

At the top of the platform pillar you will see an "E" which indicated Erie.