 |
ERIE LACKAWANNA/NJDOT
COMET I COMMUTER COACHES NOS. 1753, 1786 and 1803
|
|
Northern New Jersey commuters on the Erie and Lackawanna Railroads spent decades riding to work in early-20th-century-vintage Pullman Green-colored coaches. The Lackawanna had its well-known, open-vestibuled "Boonton" coaches (named for the line they ran on), while Erie passengers rode in distinctively-designed "Stillwell" coaches. The cars served admirably for 50 years, but eventually commuters clamored for newer equipment that featured climate control and a brighter interior environment.
In the late 1960s, the Erie Lackawanna Railroad ran commuter service out of its Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey to outlying points within the states of New Jersey and New York. The trains, both electric and diesel powered, were becoming quite aged, and replacements soon became a necessity. The EL was rapidly losing money on its expensive-to-operate commuter service, so no new equipment was forthcoming. Realizing that the vital commuter service needed to be upgraded, the State of New Jersey stepped in and ordered 155 new commuter cars from Pullman-Standard to replace the archaic Stillwell and "Boonton" coaches dating back to the early part of the 20th Century.
|
|
New Jersey's Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Erie Lackawanna, worked closely with passenger car builder Pullman-Standard to develop a brand new generation of commuter coaches. The new car design featured a lightweight brushed aluminum carbody with lightweight trucks, and bright, climate-controlled interiors. NJDOT also ordered 10 coaches with "snack bar" sections for offering snacks and drinks to homeward-bound commuters. In addition to these coaches, special versions with operator's controls at one end, called "cab cars" were also purchased. These cars allowed entire train sets to be run in each direction without being turned, saving time and the expense of having to turn entire trainsets. All these cars had electric power provided to them for lighting, heating and air conditioning via a generator from the diesel locomotive, whereas the old DL&W and Erie coaches used batteries and/or generators driven off the car's axles.
|
|
|
A striking paint scheme was developed for these cars, making them quite different from any other cars in Hoboken commuter service. The new paint scheme was specified by the Sttate of New Jersey - a dark blue window band with a red border stripe - and featuring both the EL and NJDOT logos. In addition, 32 new diesels were ordered from General Electric to power the new trains. In 1970, the first GE U34CH locomotives arrived on the property. Until the commuter cars arrived, the units were stored or pressed into freight service. Finally, the coaches arrived from Pullman-Standard in 1971, and the train sets went to work.
|
|
After the Conrail merger in 1976, the cars and trains continued to wear their EL/NJDOT paint schemes. NJ TRANSIT took over commuter operations in the 1982, and soon after the commuter cars were stripped of their EL and NJDOT markings, replaced with the black window band and tri-colored stripes of NJT. After being rebuilt in the late 1980s, most of these cars went on to survive in daily commuter service until 2005. 34 years of active service - a testament to the original design and construction of these cars. These trainsets operatd successfully for many years, carrying millions of commuters from their New Jersey (and New York State) homes to their jobs in New York City.
|
|
|
In its efforts to provide the most modern equipment for their passengers, NJ TRANSIT began to purchase newer replacement coaches, and slowly started to retire the Comet I's. Upon their retirement, NJ TRANSIT donated three Comet I coaches to the Museum. These three cars retained their unrebuilt low doors, keeping their original as-built exterior appearance.
|
|
To honor the car's original Erie Lackawanna heritage, the Museum restored the cars as-delivered numbers and repainted the exterior to match the original Erie Lackawanna passenger scheme of maroon lettering, a maroon window band and yellow band edging. An Erie Lackawanna herald was also applied on one end, with a Whippany Railway Museum herald on the other end. Finally, each car was also given a name to go with its number, to honor towns that the Morristown & Erie Railway travel through. The cars are named MORRISTOWN, HANOVER and ROSELAND. The car's rebuilt 3-and-2 seating was retained for passenger capacity.
|
|
Return to Equipment Page
|
|
