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{{Short description|Railroad junction in New Jersey}}
[[File:Aldene Connection Map.svg|right|thumb|map of Aldene Connection]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
⚫
The '''Aldene Connection''' is a connection between two [[railroad]] lines in [[Roselle Park, New Jersey]], United States, one formerly belonging to the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] (CNJ), the other formerly of the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]], allowing trains on today's [[New Jersey Transit]] [[Raritan Valley Line]] to travel from [[Cranford, New Jersey|Cranford]] through stations at [[Roselle Park, New Jersey|Roselle Park]] and [[Union Township, Union County, New Jersey|Union]] to the [[Hunter Connection]] outside [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], which in turn allows access to the [[Northeast Corridor]] and [[Newark Penn Station]].<ref name="steve_thorpe">{{cite web|url=http://www.thorpefamily.us/bayonne.html
[[File:Aldene Connection diagram.png|right|thumb|upright=1.4|A diagram of the Aldene Connection, showing [[NJ Transit]] [[Raritan Valley Line]], former [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] Main Line, [[History of the Staten Island Railway|Staten Island Railway]], [[Lehigh Line (Conrail)|Conrail Lehigh Line]], and the former [[Rahway Valley Railroad]]]]
|title=CONRAIL/NJ D.O.T. Draws the Curtain on the Bayonne Shuttle
{{NJ Transit Newark/Hoboken Division approaches}}
|author=Thorpe, Steve
⚫
The '''Aldene Connection''' is a connection between two [[railroad]] lines in the Aldene neighborhood of [[Roselle Park, New Jersey]], United States, one formerly belonging to the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] (CNJ), the other formerly of the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]]. The connections allow trains on the [[New Jersey Transit]] [[Raritan Valley Line]] to travel from [[Cranford (NJT station)|Cranford]] and points west through stations in [[Roselle Park (NJT station)|Roselle Park]] and [[Union (NJT station)|Union]] to the [[Hunter Connection]] in [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], which in turn allows access to the [[Northeast Corridor]] and [[Newark Penn Station]].<ref name="steve_thorpe">{{cite web|url=http://www.thorpefamily.us/bayonne.html |title=CONRAIL/NJ D.O.T. Draws the Curtain on the Bayonne Shuttle |last=Thorpe |first=Steve |access-date=April 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007055759/http://www.thorpefamily.us/bayonne.html |archive-date=October 7, 2011 }}</ref>
|accessdate=2009-04-23}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
[[File:Aldene.jpg|right|thumb|NJ Transit, CSX, and former Central RR of NJ tracks meet at Aldene]]
[[File:Aldene.jpg|left|thumb|NJ Transit, Conrail, and former CNJ tracks meet at Aldene]]
The CNJ at the time was losing money hand over fist and desperate to cut costs turned to the state who created a "railroad transportation division" within the high way commission headed up by Dwight R. G. Palmer, and charged him with persevering rail commuter services as a cheaper alternative to a new highway building program. <ref>Bear, Christopher - Coxey, William - Schopp, Paul. ''The Trail of The Blue Comet''. p. 369.</ref> After producing a report called "The rail transportation problem" stating that the state should partiality subsidize service until more fundamental changes could be made. One of these "fundamental changes" was the Palmer plan (named for Dwight Palmer, later know as the Aldene plan for the station that would be demolished for the new ramp.) witch would involve the building of a ramp to connect the CNJ and the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]] at the site of the recently abandon Aldene Station, allowing for the rerouting of trains bound for jersey city up the LV to the PRR line (today's [[NEC]]) and on to [[Newark Penn Station]] where passengers could transfer to PRR trains into [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)| New York Pen Station]]. This would allow the CNJ to abandon its labor-intensive ferry service and much of its [[Communipaw Terminal]] in Jersey city, all local trains operating east of Cranford, all totaling up to about 1.5 million in annual savings. <ref>Bear, Christopher - Coxey, William - Schopp, Paul. ''The Trail of The Blue Comet''. p. 370.</ref> as a consetion to a few hundred factory workers that worked in various area along the line a set of [[Budd Rail Diesel Car]]'s would operate up and down the stretch between Cranford and Jersey city until the end of that service on August 6, 1978.<ref name="steve_thorpe">{{cite web|url=http://www.thorpefamily.us/bayonne.html
The CNJ in the mid-1960s was losing money, in a permanent downward spiral that would lead to the railroad's filing for [[bankruptcy]] early in 1967. Desperate to cut costs, the CNJ turned to the state which created a "railroad transportation division" within the highway commission headed up by Dwight R. G. Palmer, who was placed in charge of preserving rail commuter services as a cheaper alternative to a new highway building program.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bear|first=Christopher|author2=William Coxey |author3=Paul Schopp|title=The Trail of The Blue Comet|page=369| ASIN=B07X22S3ZN |date=January 1, 1994|publisher=New Jersey Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society}}</ref> Palmer's office produced a report called "The Rail Transportation Problem" stating that the state should partially subsidize service until more fundamental changes could be made. One of these "fundamental changes" became known as the "Aldene Plan". It would involve the building of a ramp to connect the CNJ and the Lehigh Valley Railroad at the site of the recently abandoned Aldene Station to reroute trains bound for Jersey City to follow the LV to the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] mainline (now the Northeast Corridor) and on to Newark Penn Station where passengers could transfer to PRR trains into [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|New York Penn Station]]. This would allow the CNJ to abandon its labor-intensive ferry service and much of its [[Communipaw Terminal]] in Jersey City, and all local trains operating east of Cranford, all totaling up to about $1.5 million in annual savings.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bear|first=Christopher|author2=William Coxey|author3= Paul Schopp|title=The Trail of The Blue Comet|page=370| ASIN=B07X22S3ZN |date=January 1, 1994|publisher=New Jersey Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society}}</ref> As a concession to a few hundred factory workers that worked along the CNJ east of Aldene, [[Budd Rail Diesel Car]]s were operated as the "Bayonne Scoot"<ref>{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Richard J. |title=Aldene Plan |url=http://www.trainweb.org/rahwayvalley/route_rosellepark_aldene_aldeneplan.htm |website=www.trainweb.org |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> between Cranford and [[Bayonne, New Jersey|Bayonne]] over the [[CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge]] until August 6, 1978.<ref name="steve_thorpe"/>
|title=CONRAIL/NJ D.O.T. Draws the Curtain on the Bayonne Shuttle
|author=Thorpe, Steve
|accessdate=2009-04-23}}</ref>


Opening day for the Aldene plan was officially announced for Monday, May 1, 1967 but a full-service rehearsal occurred the day prior (a Sunday to avoid the commuter rush). CNJ [[FM H-24-66|FM Trainmaster]] #2411 powered a 15 car push-pull consist with cab car 1321, WABCO equipped and rebuilt from a 1300 series arched-roof coach, leading eastbound. Today, operation is nearly identical. Passengers bound for New York must disembark at Newark and change either to a [[Northeast Corridor]] or [[North Jersey Coast Line]] train operated by [[New Jersey Transit]] to [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|New York Penn Station]] or [[Port Authority Trans-Hudson|PATH]] trains to the [[World Trade Center]]. The change of motive power is necessary for two reasons. The Raritan line was never [[Railway electrification system|electrified]] when it was built and neither [[Conrail]] nor [[New Jersey Transit]] feel it would be profitable to do so now. Thus, the trains cannot enter [[Manhattan]] as only electric-powered trains are allowed to operate below [[96th Street (Manhattan)|96th Street]]. The end result is that a trip between New York and the Raritan Valley Line necessarily requires the use of two trains.
Opening day for the Aldene Plan was announced for Monday, May 1, 1967, but a full-service rehearsal occurred the day prior (a Sunday to avoid the commuter rush). The CNJ operated [[Push-pull train|push-pull]] consists of a cab car leading eastbound. Until 2014, operations remained the same: passengers for New York would disembark at Newark and change to a Northeast Corridor or [[North Jersey Coast Line]] train operated by New Jersey Transit to New York Penn Station or [[Port Authority Trans-Hudson|PATH]] trains to the [[World Trade Center (PATH station)|World Trade Center]]. However, in 2014 NJ Transit began offering a one-seat ride to New York making use of their [[Bombardier ALP-45DP|recently purchased dual mode locomotives]], which can change between diesel power and electric power. The trains operate under diesel power on the Raritan Valley Line which has never been [[Railway electrification system|electrified]]. At Newark, the diesel engines are shut down and a [[Pantograph (transport)|pantograph]] is raised, since only electric trains can operate into New York Penn Station. Currently the dual-mode service is only run during off-peak hours as Penn Station cannot accommodate any more trains during rush hours.


Also affected by the change was the [[Reading Company]]'s ''[[Crusader (train)|Crusader]]'' service from Philadelphia, which operated over the CNJ via [[trackage rights]]. After the Aldene Plan went into effect, it began to operate into Newark Penn Station, continuing until 1981 as a through service, and then as a connecting train from [[West Trenton (SEPTA station)|West Trenton]] through 1982. New Jersey Transit has explored reactivating this service as the [[West Trenton Line (NJ Transit)|West Trenton Line]].
Prior to the building of the Aldene Connection, [[Reading Company]] trains (and prior to 1958, [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] passenger trains were able to travel from Philadelphia to Jersey City, via the Reading and Jersey Central tracks, with the trains terminating at [[Communipaw Terminal]] in Jersey City (at present-day [[Liberty State Park]]) and then connecting, via ferry, to [[New York City]]'s [[Financial District, Manhattan|Financial District]].


Concurrent with the start of service via the Aldene Connection was the rerouting of CNJ trains on the NY&LBRR (present-day North Jersey Coast Line) from Perth Amboy to Newark Penn Station via PRR trackage, eliminating the service to Jersey City (Communipaw Avenue) via Elizabethport.
Up until Aldene the only way for the CNJ to interchange between the main line from Cranford to Jersey City and the Lehigh line was by going over the now-defunct [[Rahway Valley Railroad]]. These cars were only pulled by the RV locomotives (2 [[GE 70-ton switcher]]); this added about a mile and a half to the trip over 9 [[level crossing]]s and quite possibly half a day. This was a considerable source of income to the RV from the 1930s right up until opening day in 1967. <ref> http://www.trainsarefun.com/rvrr/rvrr.htm scroll to the Aldene section</ref>

The Aldene Connection is single track, although it is graded to allow a second track to be added.


== References ==
== References ==
Line 22: Line 21:


== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/PRR/PRR%20CNJ%20Passenger%20Study%207-15-1959.pdf 1959 study]
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* {{coord|40|39|31|N|74|16|49|W|type:railwaystation_region:US-NJ|display=inline,title}}
*{{YouTube|id=U2895jCLcNQ|title=Aldene Junction, Part I, Functions at the Junction}}
*{{YouTube|id=iOXWOexO25s|title=Aldene Junction, Part II, Functions at the Junction}}
*{{YouTube|id=TAlGh5xq7gs|title=CSX, Norfolk Southern & New Jersey Transit – Roselle Park, N.J.}}
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{{coord|40|39|31|N|74|16|49|W|type:railwaystation_region:US-NJ|display=title}}


{{New Jersey Transit Rail}}
{{New Jersey Transit Rail}}


[[Category:New Jersey Transit Rail Operations]]
[[Category:NJ Transit Rail Operations]]
[[Category:Transportation in Union County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Transportation in Union County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Rail junctions]]
[[Category:Rail junctions in the United States]]

{{US-rail-stub}}

Latest revision as of 22:08, 15 December 2022

A diagram of the Aldene Connection, showing NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line, former Central Railroad of New Jersey Main Line, Staten Island Railway, Conrail Lehigh Line, and the former Rahway Valley Railroad
Newark/Hoboken Division approaches
Legend
Northeast Corridor
to Boston
&
LIRR Main Line
to Greenport
Sunnyside Yard
East River Tunnels under East River
 New York Penn Station Amtrak
North River Tunnels under Hudson River
NY
NJ
 Hoboken Terminal Port Authority Trans-Hudson Hudson–Bergen Light Rail
Hoboken Yard
Bergen Tunnels under Bergen Hill
 Secaucus Junction│
MAIN BCL PVL
Boonton Line to Hackettstown
Portal Bridge│Lower Hack Lift
over Hackensack River
Kearny
Connection
│
 
Sawtooth
Bridges
│
Waterfront
Connection
Newark Drawbridge│Dock Bridge
over Passaic River
 Newark Broad Street Newark Light Rail
Newark Penn
Port Authority Trans-Hudson Newark Light Rail Amtrak
GLAD MOBO M&E
Hunter Connection
CNJ to Communipaw Terminal
 Elizabeth
(NJT)
 Elizabeth
(CNJ)
RVL to High Bridge│Aldene Connection
Elizabeth River
Rahway River Bridge
UNION interlocking│NJCL to Bay Head
Northeast Corridor & NEC
to Trenton
Newark Division
Hoboken Division
(12 kV 25 Hz AC)
(25 kV 60 Hz AC)

The Aldene Connection is a connection between two railroad lines in the Aldene neighborhood of Roselle Park, New Jersey, United States, one formerly belonging to the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), the other formerly of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The connections allow trains on the New Jersey Transit Raritan Valley Line to travel from Cranford and points west through stations in Roselle Park and Union to the Hunter Connection in Newark, which in turn allows access to the Northeast Corridor and Newark Penn Station.[1]

History

[edit]
NJ Transit, Conrail, and former CNJ tracks meet at Aldene

The CNJ in the mid-1960s was losing money, in a permanent downward spiral that would lead to the railroad's filing for bankruptcy early in 1967. Desperate to cut costs, the CNJ turned to the state which created a "railroad transportation division" within the highway commission headed up by Dwight R. G. Palmer, who was placed in charge of preserving rail commuter services as a cheaper alternative to a new highway building program.[2] Palmer's office produced a report called "The Rail Transportation Problem" stating that the state should partially subsidize service until more fundamental changes could be made. One of these "fundamental changes" became known as the "Aldene Plan". It would involve the building of a ramp to connect the CNJ and the Lehigh Valley Railroad at the site of the recently abandoned Aldene Station to reroute trains bound for Jersey City to follow the LV to the Pennsylvania Railroad mainline (now the Northeast Corridor) and on to Newark Penn Station where passengers could transfer to PRR trains into New York Penn Station. This would allow the CNJ to abandon its labor-intensive ferry service and much of its Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City, and all local trains operating east of Cranford, all totaling up to about $1.5 million in annual savings.[3] As a concession to a few hundred factory workers that worked along the CNJ east of Aldene, Budd Rail Diesel Cars were operated as the "Bayonne Scoot"[4] between Cranford and Bayonne over the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge until August 6, 1978.[1]

Opening day for the Aldene Plan was announced for Monday, May 1, 1967, but a full-service rehearsal occurred the day prior (a Sunday to avoid the commuter rush). The CNJ operated push-pull consists of a cab car leading eastbound. Until 2014, operations remained the same: passengers for New York would disembark at Newark and change to a Northeast Corridor or North Jersey Coast Line train operated by New Jersey Transit to New York Penn Station or PATH trains to the World Trade Center. However, in 2014 NJ Transit began offering a one-seat ride to New York making use of their recently purchased dual mode locomotives, which can change between diesel power and electric power. The trains operate under diesel power on the Raritan Valley Line which has never been electrified. At Newark, the diesel engines are shut down and a pantograph is raised, since only electric trains can operate into New York Penn Station. Currently the dual-mode service is only run during off-peak hours as Penn Station cannot accommodate any more trains during rush hours.

Also affected by the change was the Reading Company's Crusader service from Philadelphia, which operated over the CNJ via trackage rights. After the Aldene Plan went into effect, it began to operate into Newark Penn Station, continuing until 1981 as a through service, and then as a connecting train from West Trenton through 1982. New Jersey Transit has explored reactivating this service as the West Trenton Line.

Concurrent with the start of service via the Aldene Connection was the rerouting of CNJ trains on the NY&LBRR (present-day North Jersey Coast Line) from Perth Amboy to Newark Penn Station via PRR trackage, eliminating the service to Jersey City (Communipaw Avenue) via Elizabethport.

The Aldene Connection is single track, although it is graded to allow a second track to be added.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Thorpe, Steve. "CONRAIL/NJ D.O.T. Draws the Curtain on the Bayonne Shuttle". Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  2. ^ Bear, Christopher; William Coxey; Paul Schopp (January 1, 1994). The Trail of The Blue Comet. New Jersey Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. p. 369. ASIN B07X22S3ZN.
  3. ^ Bear, Christopher; William Coxey; Paul Schopp (January 1, 1994). The Trail of The Blue Comet. New Jersey Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. p. 370. ASIN B07X22S3ZN.
  4. ^ King, Richard J. "Aldene Plan". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
[edit]

40°39′31″N 74°16′49″W / 40.65861°N 74.28028°W / 40.65861; -74.28028

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