Passenger Trains > Lots of Action at Secaucus Jct.

Monday marked Earth Day and I did my part by using the train to spend the afternoon at one of the busiest spots in the Northeast, Secaucus Jct. NJ.  The ride up was in a set of Comet coaches with actual clean windows(!).  The Portal Bridge seems to be taking shape nicely with many steel beams in place.  Looks more like a highway bridge than rail.
At Secaucus, the upper level is the NEC with Amtrak just passing through, NJT trains to/from NYC to Trenton, Raritan & High Bridge, South Amboy, Long Branch & Bay Head, Dover, Montclair State University, Jersey Avenue and Gladstone.  The lower level has trains in and out of Hoboken to Waldwick, Suffern, Port Jervis, NY via either the Mainline or the Bergen County Line and Spring Valley, NY on the Pascack Valley Line. Below are a sampling of things between 2pm and 5:15pm Monday, April 22, 2024.

1.  Amtrak 633 on a southbound headed for Washington.  You need to be quick on the shutter to grab a shot like this.

2.  Most NJT trains seemed to have the cab cars on the east end this particular day.  Unlike trains out of Hoboken, most trains can run cab car or motor leading either way.

3. While waiting for train 3951 to head back, I grabbed this Amtrak passing a crowded platform en route to New York.  It is seldom quiet here.  Train 3951 is one of those express trains that by pass most NEC stations.  After Newark Penn, it runs non-stop to Princeton Jct. in just 34 minutes with much 100mph running.  Not bad for a humble commuter train.

 

---

---

---

Looking out from the north (east) end of the station.

4.  Acela 2019 on track 3 headed for Washington.  That fencing is where the tracks cross over the old EL Croxton Yard.

5.  NJT 4604 coming in on the center track for track B at the station.  Rather odd numbering at this station. Track 2 is the one entering from the right and track A is on the far right.  This interlocking is called ERIE, while the similar interlocking on the other end is called LACK.

6. In addition to all the scheduled trains, NJT makes numerous deadhead moves, such as this one.  The billboard advertising a Broadway show is for the benefit of drivers on the adjacent New Jersey Turnpike.

---

---

---

Down on the lower level is all diesel action on former Erie Lackawanna lines.  I walked over the County Road overpass and down to track level for these few.

7.  NJT heritage 4101 leads a Pascack Valley train out of the station and under County Road.  The sound of these EMD's in notch 8 is a great experience that is hard to find these days.

8.  These colors were inspired by the EL U34CH engines bought by the NJDOT back in the 1960's.

9.  One of the last two NJT F40's still in regular service on a Mainline train via Paterson.  Got a friendly wave and a toot from the engineer.

---

---

---

10.  The dual modes can be found just about everywhere.  Sometime in the distant future there will be a direct connection built between these lines and the NEC to allow a one seat ride into New York Penn Station.  Called the Bergen Loop, it will be a jughandle type thing in the southeast corner of this junction.  This will happen after the new tunnels under the Hudson are completed.   Don't hold your breath just yet.

11.  A MetroNorth West of Hudson train to Port Jervis NY with the midtown Manhattan skyline visible in the distance.

12. Another MN train, this one to Spring Valley, NY.

---

---

---

Is that a train number displayed in the windshield in pic 2?

(Guess it is -- I see 6644 is due out of Secaucus
at 2:14. So how many NJT cab cars have that display?)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/24 10:29 by timz.

They should all have that display with the train number and destination.  Of course, not all work.  6644 is a midday train from Dover.

Very nice set!

texchief1

Like it!

There's a significant height distance btw the lower level tracks and the upper level tracks. Maybe 40 feet?

Posted from Android

I'm guessing PRR built a fill high enough
to clear the lines it crossed. Why go higher?

timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm guessing PRR built a fill high enough
> to clear the lines it crossed. Why go higher?

My response was focused on connecting the upper and lower tracks as mentioned earlier in the thread. It had been considered when the Lautenburg station was planned.

Actually, the Pennsy crossing of the NYS&W and Conrail in North Bergen was often a flooded mess. Conrail eventually dropped its tracks and put in pumps.

Posted from Android

The fill for the Pennsy was sufficiently high as it was to accommodate the two levels. The waiting area and the concourse are actually on the third level. You can see the dome type structure that covers the central waiting area. A series of escalators takes you to the various track levels.

To transfer between the 2 track levels, one must go all the way up above them to and then come back down. 

I've always thought the Secaucus station is one of the coolest active train stations on the Amtrak system.

Tom Loftus
Omaha, NE