Where did the Blue Comet run?

Between 1929 and 1941, it ran between Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City, NJ to Atlantic City, NJ over the CNJ (for the majority of the run, at least).

 

If you want more history on it, just Google The Blue Comet.  Wikipedia has a decent write up on the train.

 

Curt

There's a great book ( long out of print, but shows up on ebay or amazon from time to time) called "Trail of the Blue Comet"    Very good book. 

So I guess that's why the guy on 'The Sopranos' wanted the Blue Comet, a Jersey Line. thanks

 

Here is a link to a great website about the CNJ and the route that the Blue Comet took,

the Southern line, the in-service northern section is now known as the Southern Secondary.

 

http://www.thebluecomet.com/cnj.html

 

The Southern line ran through the Pine Barrens of South New Jersey, mostly flat lands dotted with scrub pines and sandy soil.

 

Ken

As Curt said, it ran on its own (Jersey Central) rails from Jersey City (with bus connection to New York City) to Winslow Junction.  From 1929 to 1933, it then ran on the rails of Atlantic City Railroad (the Reading) from Winslow Junction to Atlantic City.  In 1933, the Pennsy and the Reading merged their south Jersey lines into the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines and the surviving route from Winslow Junction to Atlantic City was the Pennsy's so the Blue Comet switched to this parallel route for the rest of its short existence.  The Reading had ties to the CNJ (it was a friendly railroad) but the Pennsy was not "friendly" and Pennsy was the dominant partner in the Seashore Lines.   Plus the Blue Comet competed with Pennsy's less famous (but better patronized) NYC-AC train service of which the one named train was the "Nellie Bly."  

 

The Blue Comet captured the imagination but the Pennsy captured most of the business on the NYC-AC route, which was a pity in many ways. 

I remember some talk on these pages a couple years back about a site seeing line around Ocean City, NJ. If memory serves me correctly they had a diesel pulling one of the original cars.

I could be way off base on this so please correct, or up date me on the facts.

The Pennsy had the advantage of a direct route from Broad Street Station in center city Philadelphia [by City Hall] and 30th Street Station to Atlantic City. The best-known train on that route was named the NELLY BLY, after a famous female reporter (a real-life Lois Lane). The BLUE COMET bypassed Philadelphia. To take a Reading train to the seashore on the Atlantic City Railroad, Philadelphians had to cross the Schuylkill and board in Camden, New Jersey.

 

Some time ago, Amtrak restored the route between 30th Street Station and Atlantic City. But ridership did not meet projections. NJ Transit runs those trains now. The route looks like an upside-down "V." I like to ride them.

 

The original railroad station in Atlantic City is now a bus station. The current railroad station is father uptown.

 

Now and then, the subject of building a steam locomotive lost to scrappers' torches comes up. A leading candidate is always a New York Central Hudson. But I would like to see a BLUE COMET Pacific.

Cape May Seashore line is still active running from Richland to Tuckahoe. According to their website, service to Cape May city was suspended due to grade crossing removal and relocation that also involved construction of a new road and utility relocation.

 

Allegedly, the railroad has an observation car belonging to the Blue Comet awaiting restoration.

This was very much a NJ train and several of the cars remain, although in what condition?

See this link from Railroad.net

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=94917

 

If you like Northeast railroading, then this train will have a place on your layout.

And, yes .... "Bobby Bacala" was wacked as he was bargaining for a Blue Comet.  (Filmed at the TrainLand train store on Long Island)

 

 

Cape May Seashore line is still active running from Richland to Tuckahoe. According to their website, service to Cape May city was suspended due to grade crossing removal and relocation that also involved construction of a new road and utility relocation.

 

Allegedly, the railroad has an observation car belonging to the Blue Comet awaiting restoration.

I believe the United Railroad Historical Society of NJ has three more ... awaiting funds, etc for restoration.

 

Jim

For the gent interested in Pics of the car that became a diner a link to their web site.  It is a short (45 min) drive from Allentown Pa along I 78 if some folks who visit the first frost show are interested in a side trip..

 

http://www.clintonstationdiner.com/

... Too bad this is New Jersey. Anywhere else and we might have had a chance of seeing them all restored and running together in honor of the Blue Comet.

          .....from necrails' railroad.net link

 

So, true, and sad. Especially when we live across the river from Pennsylvania, and see so closely what restoration has been done there over the years. 

 

United Railroad Historical Society of NJ is trying to move forward with what little they have. A building is being built in Boonton now. As a prefab aluminium building is bieng reassembled in Tuckahoe at the Cape May Seashore wye.

 

Just moving those 3 Blue Comet cars it owns to a restoration spot is a very expensive ordeal.

 

Jim

 

"Jersey Coast"

 

Here's a car--that was not on the Blue Comet---but of the same blueprint.

Recently restored, operational  and found in Whippany, NJ. It's set up

as a  dining car. Expect it to be on the Easter train.

Please see link for details.

 

 

http://www.whippanyrailwaymuse...ars/the-jersey-coast

 

Floyd

I always pass the Clinton Diner when I attend Allentown shows, now I know more about the train car that's there. thanks much

 

There also use to be a train diner car called 'The Express' restaurant on Long Beach Is., NJ,  but it had to move, the expense was just too much and I heard that it had to be destroyed.

Hi all, 

 

There is a lot of misinformation on this thread. Let me correct a handful.

 

First, the route of the Blue Comet. The train was (obviously) operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It used home rails from Jersey City to Perth Amboy, NJ (Woodbridge Jct.) where it joined the PRR's Perth Amboy & Woodbridge and eventually the CNJ/PRR jointly operated New York & Long Branch. At Red Bank, the train left the NY&LB for CNJ rails once again, which it used to Winslow Jct where the last stretch to Atlantic City was on the PRSL.

 

Now, for the surviving equipment...

 

The railroad.net link is exactly right. Three obs and at least three coaches remain. And of course, one substitute loco remains... CNJ #592 at the B&O museum was at least once a pinch-hitter for the Pacifics assigned to the train.

 

"Jersey Coast" just like Andy Muller's former "Queen of the Valley" are not sister cars to the Blue Comet coaches, but are conversions from standard CNJ coaches done in the preservation era.

 

Now about the Manahawkin car... the car moved from Earle was a CNJ car. There was also an Erie 1000 series coach in Ocean County that moved from Surf City to Barnegat some years back. I don't get down to south Jersey much but I was in the CNJ car that was at Earle and it was a mess the last time I saw it about 15 years ago.

 

And that is that. :-)

 

Rob

 

My father has talked about the "Nellie Bly". He remembers it was involved in a track wreck one time.

 

Ah, the cost of a Blue Comet.

 

 

The Blue Comet runs on my layout...(sorry, I couldn't resist).

Here is a great documentary regarding The Blue Comet. This came out a few years ago and you can watch the trailer for it here:

http://robertemmons.com/Deluxe_RUC_Promo.htm

Tim C.

 

Railhead,

In pre 9-11 times it was not hard to get tours of the railroad facilities at Earle. All you had to do was ask and get it cleared by the base leadership. That was before we became a country ruled by fear.

I am sure you remember the mid '80's fantrip from Leonardo, out on the pier and down to Colts Neck that went all through the the loop tracks at the south end of the base. I was lucky enough to get a cab ride in one of the Baldwins that day.

The Navy was very accomodating to fans, allowing full access to the shops and yard for photos.

That was the first time I saw the CNJ coach, but I didn't get to go inside it until a decade later. From what the crews told us, it was used to shuttle staff between locations.  At that time it was out of service and with a line of equipment waiting to be scrapped. It was full of guano, but not packed with asbestos then. I would not be surprised if the scrappers filled it with asbestos from the adjoining cars that were torched. At that time, the CNJ coach was coupled to the P70 and a line of boxcars and reefers. The strategic air command cars, which were supposed to be held for preservation were in a different location back then. For as much of a mess as the CNJ car was, the PRR P70 was a jewel.

Like I said, I don't get to Ocean County much, but there are both CNJ and Erie coaches quite near each other.

Identifying ex Blue Comet cars that still wear CNJ paint is pretty easy, as the CNJ didn't strip them to repaint them. A sharp angle look in good light will usually reveal the past lettering on a CNJ coach. The Blue Comet coach that used to sit in Red Bank yard was a great example of this, you could clearly read all the old lettering under the green paint.

Was the CNJ car at Earle a Blue Comet car? Very possibly. The day I got to inspect it closely was rainy, and I don't recall any "shadows" of Blue Comet lettering showing through.

Rob

According to the Stafford Historical website, they indeed have a CNJ coach. They ID it as #929, I don't have a CNJ roster handy to check if #929 was a Blue Comet car.

http://staffordhistory.org/index.html

Thanks for the info, German.

A Google search will reveal pictures of the Erie "ten hundred"  after the move to the Sweet Jenny's location. I didn't realize it had been cut up. Quite a few of those cars made it to the preservation era... Would be a neat project for Weaver or GGD.

Rob

Perhaps there is some confusion here regarding restaurants and cars. I never claimed the Erie car was attached to Sweet Jenny’s. It was part of the restaurant on LBI. The boxcars and passenger cars were placed parallel to each other there, with the spaces in-between connected by additional structure. All three cars were then moved to the Sweet Jenny’s site in Barnegat but nothing further happened. They were scrapped, in 2007 I believe, before the restaurant burned down. I didn’t see anyone claiming that passenger car was a comet car. An earlier post questioned whether CNJ 929 in Stafford was, which we know is not the case. As to why it was painted as a TRR car, that was the decision of the Historical Society. It makes no sense to railfans like us, but these are not railfan groups.

Westphal (1172) and D’Arrest (1173) are at Winslow Junction, leased by the SR of NJ from the URHS.  De Vico (1178) is at Boonton, in the URHS yard. This was the former NJT inspection car. Tempel (1169) is stored on Cape May Seashore Lines track, awaiting restoration. I think the URHS own owns that as well. The Santa Fe Southern Railway had combine Halley (300), which they butchered into an observation car at one point. I do not know if it still exists.

"Where did the Blue Comet run?"

 

Most recently, on the floor in my living room?

 

http://youtu.be/Ksso6bjmKSY

(sorry, I couldn't help myself...)

What about the green version? The Green Comet? 

This forum is so much more fun than Googling!

YEAH SUPER "O". Make sure this doesn't disappear. Print this thread!