Open Forum → Re: Weekend Open Thread, Friday, October 8, 2021

The old 3000 V DC Lackawanna MUs were retired in August 1984, when the line was reelectrified to 25 KV AC. The above Arrow III cars, built in 1977, have been running since then. There are also double-deck trains hauled by electric locomotives which run to New York Penn Station. The Arrow III cars run to Hoboken because they can't switch voltages.

The Gladstone Branch never went beyond Gladstone. There was talk in the late 1800's about extending it to Pennsylvania, but that ended once the Lehigh Valley RR was built.

Rode in those Erie Lackawanna cars in the 60s.

My uncle lived in Glen Ridge in the 50's & 60's. Took that line (and those cars!) every day into Hoboken and then to NYC.

...and I rode them in the early 70's. Went to college in Newark (NCE then , NJIT now) My aunt lived just off Bloomfield Center. The bus to the City Subway to the stop at the edge of campus was best, but there were... several? bus worker strikes. So I walked to the Bloomfield station, took Erie-Lackawanna to Central Avenue in Newark and walked to school.

Gotta say... those trains were always EXACTLY on time. If the timetable said "2:43", that train pulled in and stopped at 2:42:40 and left at 2:43:20.

FWIW your aunt and I were almost neighbors and your uncle and my father took the same train between the same two stations every day.

When I went to NJIT, PATH was 30 cents and the Newark City Subway was 10 cents. If I had two hours between classes I'd take the subway to Penn Station, then PATH to the World Trade Center, and go to J&R and buy an album or two, then take PATH and the subway back to campus. Total round-trip fare: 80 cents.

Was the City Subway only 10 cents? I seem to recall thinking at the time that it was more expensive to get from NJIT to Penn Newark than it was to take PATH from Newark to the WTC! I DO recall the 30 cent PATH fare.

When I was there, no classes were held on Wednesday afternoons. Gave the commuting students time for clubs and stuff. I think I saw almost every show on Broadway... Wednesday Student Matinee tickets were cheap... $7? And the convenience and price of PATH to get there?... Priceless!

The subway was 10 cents between Penn Station and Warren Street, except westbound from 4-6 PM. Otherwise the fare was 40 cents.