Riding the Metro-North Port Jervis Line: SCENIC & REMOTE Commuter Rail!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2024
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The Port Jervis Line that runs between Port Jervis, NY and Hoboken, NJ is one of the longest commuter rail lines in the United States at nearly 90 miles long. I got to ride this line on a day trip to New York City in March. This line is a true railroad oddity. It's jointly operated by two railroads and is unusually long for a commuter rail line. I enjoyed making this video and including all the history this route has to offer. As such, I hope you enjoy it as well!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Station, Route, and Tickets
03:20 The Journey Begins
04:40 Whose train?!
06:00 Moodna Viaduct
07:20 Harriman to Secaucus
15:50 To Penn Station and back
17:45 Secaucus to Middletown
Special thanks to @LibertyRailfan for allowing me usage of some of his fantastic NJ Transit/Metro-North clips. Please check out his channel or the full videos of which I used certain clips:
- • NS H70 & Transit At Ru...
- • New Jersey Transit At ...
Information on the Port Jervis Line: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Je...
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COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMERS: There are some images/clips used in this video that are not my own. These images have been used solely for comment, news reporting, and teaching as agreed to under the "fair use" agreement provided by Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976. The original photographers (whom I could find) have been credited in the video. All rights belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. I do not take any credit for their work and all credits go to them. Similarly, there are many video clips/images of my own used in the video and these may not be used without obtaining my proper permission.
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Hi everyone, I've been getting countless recent comments regarding my interpretation of "USS Illinois" at 02:55 in the video. Thank you for everyone who has clarified. "USS" refers to "United States Steel" (who figured), so my interpretation was completely off as I had anticipated!
Yep. 'USS Illionois 1980' means US Steel in Illinois made it in 1980.
I might be wrong, but I think the USS refers to US Steel. They had both Calumet City and Granite City in IL. I don’t know too much about what products each plant put out but both would’ve been operating in 1980.
Very interesting, that would make more sense than coming from a navy ship 😂
Yup it's United States Steel Corporation...
@@ASAviation well, we often joke that when an airplane gets scrapped it becomes beer cans , so you never know hehe
Yes, USS is United States Steel, and the USS Illinois was scrapped in 1920…
US Steel had a plant in Illinois that produced rails. It had previously acquired Illinois Steel.
How things change over time! In the early 1970's I lived in Harriman and then in Chester. Sometimes my wife and I would take the train for a day or two in New York City. In those days the route still had old wooden passenger cars. The toilets were open to the tracks below. Later the cars were upgraded to ancient steel cars. We would take the train to Hoboken and then take the PATH trains into the City. There were fewer stops in those days, but riding in those old wooden cars that were 50 years out of date even then was a real experience.
FYI, NJ Transit operates the Port Jervis service under contract. Metro-North does not operate any trains. All Locomotives & Rolling Stock are maintained by NJ Transit employees who also staff all the trains. The locomotives & passenger vehicles in Metro-North colors are owned by the MTA but are used for operations on the Main, Bergen, Pascack Valley & Port Jervis branches interchangeably.
I work for the railroad. USS Illinois 1980 means the steel rail was produced by US Steel, ILLINOIS, USA. Each vertical line stands for a month . In this case we have eight vertical lines meaning this Rail was produced in August ,1980.
Yes, USS Granite City Steel in Granite City, Illinois
I graduated from Middletown High School and rode this line often. It was always a lovely ride, especially during the fall.
Why didn't you start in Port Jervis? Was the line washed out or are you just lazy? It was a major disappointment to me.
I am moving from Cali to port jervis, and this is so helpful, I can take the train anywhere basically major locations in NJ and NY. Thank you It was so informative .
NY Penn to Albany on Amtrak was great less stops faster moving fantastic great scenery
I use to be a engineer for Norfolk Southern that operated over the Port Jarvis line. I loved operating up there, it was a highlight of my trip making my way up and down the railroad. Especially in fall. Just beautiful!
The Bergen County Line used to rejoin the Erie Main Line just west of Rutherford. The Erie abandoned its Main Line from just east of Paterson to Rutherford to eliminate a host of street crossings in downtown Passaic. The Lackawanna Boonton Line from west of Hoboken to Paterson became the "Main Line."
Port Jervis IS a great station as well with decent parking BUT it adds almost an hour from Middletown NY to the commute to Hoboken. Tuxedo station is a great place to get off and fish 100 feet away in the Ramapo river (Official NYS DEP fishing site there) and Sloatsburg station has steps away from the station Rhodes North Tavern, a GREAT place for weekend breakfasts, great food, outdoor dining and even a great bar to have a few after a long day.
This line used to travel through Orange County's biggest towns but was moved to a bypass line in the 80s. A huge mistake IMO.
Campbell Hall was the western most point of the NHRR maybrook freight line. That was the spot where the L&NE, EL, and NYO&W ran to go into maybrook yard.
This is my favorite local regional train ride. I have traveled on this train dozens of times in all seasons. LOVE IT !!! Thank you for sharing.
The ride all the to/from Port Jervis is particularly scenic. The Otisville tunnel is about a mile long, going under the Shawangunk Mountains.
My wife and I travelled from the UK to Canada and the US in June 2001. We caught the train from Toronto to New York, and am pretty certain that it followed the last bit of the journey here, alongside the Hudson River.
This was my daily commute, end to end (PJ to Hobo, vice versa). Never had to worry about missing my stop if I fell asleep going home, lol. The Erie Depot in Port Jervis (a short walk from the station) built during the time of the Erie-Lackawanna RR days, is still there, but not as a Depo. There are offices within. Thanks for posting!
Wow that’s one heck of a commute. Interesting about the depot! Haven’t been all the way to PJ yet but would love to one day take the train down there from Middletown next time I’m there.
@@ASAviation Actually, I enjoyed it, believe it or not. After a hectic workday it was calming just to sit back, exhale, and relax. I love trains, plus the sound of the horn at grade crossings. If/when you take the train to PJ, when you're on the platform, look straight ahead. You should see the Port Jervis-Matamoras bridge (not far). If you decide to walk it, stay to the left. About mid-bridge, turn and face South (you'll see the Kittatinny mountains with the monument that marks the highest point in NJ, and from where you can see 3 states: NY, NJ, Pa). Hopefully it's a clear day, visibility at least 30 miles. You may be able to see it from the train station if you don't feel like walking the bridge. Also, there's a rock underneath the I-84 overpass that connects NY with Pa, near a graveyard (Laurel Grove) that marks the common boundary where NY/NJ/Pa. meet. YOu can literally stand in all 3 states at once. However, it's a hike from the train station.
@ASAviation ..................Way back in the days of Steam railroads,,,,,Port Jervis was a major hub......Erie,,,,Pennsy,,,Central railroad of NJ,,,,,,NYC.....Gotta get there to stand in my favorite three states.,,,,born in NY,,,,now live in PA,,,,,Raced in NJ......
There was no USS Illinois battleship. Eric5680 has it right. US Steel, probably from a steel plant in Illinois. BTW, Metro-North also partners with the State of Connecticut to jointly operated the New Haven Division from Grand Central to New Haven.
I enjoyed the sightseeing, but from the perspective of a civil engineer, I would have appreciated a bit more fact-checking regarding claims about infrastructure rankings. First, Moodna is nowhere near the "second-longest ... railroad bridge east of the Mississippi River." New York State alone is home to two much longer structures, the Alfred H. Smith Bridge south of Albany and Hell Gate Bridge in NYC, and Rockville Bridge near Harrisburg, PA is also longer. Second, while Otisville Tunnel may the longest tunnel through a mountain on the Metro-North system, it's nowhere near the "LONGEST tunnel" -- the mainline runs under Park Avenue for more than two and half miles north of Grand Central Terminal.
The tracks under Park Avenue are not a tunnel. They are just underground and were built and covered.
@@cgmoog respectfully, the Park Avenue Tunnel functions as a tunnel despite not having been constructed by boring a hole. The AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering provides the following criterion in Chapter 1, Part 8 Tunnels, 8.3.2.3 Cut-and-Cover method: "The contractor will be permitted to use the cut-and-cover method for construction of portions of the tunnel around the portals or in areas with shallow covering."
Thank you for the trip my friend
I am so glad I found this video. I have been looking to see what this line was like. Thank you for doing such an interesting and thorough recording.😊
need to try this sneaky cool route. thanks for posting.
Cool. As a former Orange County resident, I found it very interesting.
What a fantastic and well done video! Excellent narration and wonderful examples of various things along the way, thank you very much Loved it felt like I was on the train with you!
Very serene and peaceful!
Great video. I've taken this train at times.
Nice looking locomotive and consists. Gave me some inspiration.
TY. I'm planing to explore the Hudson Valley this summer. This would be a nice ride.
The wye at Newburgh Junction is still in use and used for parking and passing as needed.
Nice work, thank you. I ride the lower part of the Bergen line frequently into NYC and found this informative. I'm a bit disappointed that there was no Middletown to Port Jervis segment, a ride I got to take only once.
Taking this train tomorrow and I’m excited. Last time I took it was with my mom when I was young and I was freaking out when I was going over the Moodna viaduct
In Campbell Hall the old NYO&W crossed the old Erie. The O&W roadbed runs very close to Stewart Airport. There was once talk of a dinky type service but with the O&W defunct for 70+ years thats a lot of work.
I’ve always thought it was funny NJT decided to keep calling the Erie main line the “main line,” since the Raritan Valley (Jersey Central), Northeast Corridor (PRR), and Morris & Essex (Lackawanna) were all also another railroad’s main line, and all of them have more riders and similar or better frequency, so they’re more “main” in the NJT context. Realistically you’d have to give that crown to the NEC.
They are calling it the Main Line to distinguish it from the Bergen Cutoff. The other "main lines" don't have alternate routes to be distinguished from.
The LIRR has a main line that is sometimes referenced as such to describe the routing of trains between Jamaica and Babylon. The alternate routing is the Montauk Branch, which is currently called the Babylon Branch; "Montauk Branch" is now reserved for the portion of the line east of Babylon.
@@harveywachtel1091 The LIRR Main Line runs from Long Island City, Queens, NY to Greenport, Long Island, NY via the Main and Ronkonkoma Branches. (It is named such as this was the first line of the LIRR back in 1844. It was the primary route to Boston, MA connecting with ferries to New London, CT. This was until the current NEC(part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad NY-Boston main line) opened in Southern Connecticut in 1852). The Babylon Branch( trains terminating at or west of Babylon, NY) do not utilise the Main line except for a small portion between Jamaica/Harold Interlocking and a trestle flyover just west of Hillside Support Facility. This is because the Central Branch(connecting Bethpage, NY to the Babylon Branch just east of Lindenhurst, NY is not electrified and so therefore, current M3, M7 and M9 EMUs can not run on the line (unless being pulled as coaches by an electro-motive diesel locomotive such as a DM30AC or DE30AC. The EMUs may have different couplings as opposed to the Kawasaki C3 bi-level carriages and would subsequently be unable to be pulled by an EMD locomotive). Montauk Branch trains mostly use the Central Branch to access the Main Line, although some trains now I think, post East Side Access travel along the Babylon Branch. The Montauk Division runs from Long Island City to Montauk via the Lower Montauk(currently abandoned), Main, West Hempstead, Babylon and Montauk Branches. The Babylon and Montauk Branches are two distinct services that are both part of the Montauk Division. Technically the Montauk Branch includes stations west of Babylon built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island.
Good grief - United States Steel Illinois Plant rolled in 1980. Had you kept panning you would have seen hashmarks indicating the month (III = March, etc.) and the weight in pounds per yard (136 for example)
And - the stations from Mahwah to Hoboken were NOT on the "original" (1841) Erie mainline. From Suffern the original Erie mainline ran east across Rockland County to Piermont on the Hudson River. The railroad didn't reach Suffern via New Jersey until 1868.
Also, prior to 1963 after Paterson the Main Line continued through Clifton and downtown Passaic to Carlton Hill & Rutherford Jct. After the merger with Lackawanna the train detoured on to Lackawanna's Boonton Branch to Passaic Park, Delawanna, Lyndhurst & Kingsland & Hoboken rather than Erie's Pavonia Terminal. Prior to 1963 Rutherford was on both the Main & Bergen Lines like Ridgewood.
It's cool to see an aviation TH-camr review a train trip for a change, and even better when it happens to be a line that I've ridden many times, mostly from the Tuxedo station. I have ridden the entire line from Port Jervis on two occasions.
The agreement that exists between Metro North and New Jersey Transit is complicated, and results in some interesting quirks in the schedule. If you look at train 49, it has a stop at Ramsey Route 17 that is only to receive passengers. This stop was added so that students at the nearby Don Bosco private school can board there and ride the train back to Orange County. The operating expenses for train 49 are covered by Metro North alone, and they did not want to be subsidizing trips between New Jersey stations. However, this is rarely enforced, and I've been on that train and seen people get off at Ramsey Route 17.
The vast majority of Port Jervis Line trains utilize equipment from Port Jervis Yard, and they are supposed to be cars and locomotives with the Metro North livery. However, sometimes it doesn't work out this way, and you'll see equipment with the NJ Transit livery on Port Jervis trains. Some of the Port Jervis sets also run on other lines as part of their normal rotations. Trains 59 and 68 use Hoboken-based equipment that is always in the NJ Transit livery.
Glad you enjoyed. I really want to ride the line up to Port Jervis sometime, especially considering my grandmother works over there and drives from Middletown to get there. Very interesting about train 49, never heard of any similar instances that's for sure. I remember back in the day I used to see a lot more NJT equipment on these trains, one occasion I believe I had a GP40PH pushing my train to Hoboken.
Oh gosh I been few time at Woodbury Commons Outlets it pretty nice up there and I have taken the train up and then got pick up at the station and went to the outlets..
I live in Philadelphia and would like to take this route via NJ or NYC. This video reminds me that the first passenger rail trip I ever took was from Middletown NY to NYC (probably through Secaucus or Hoboken) as a child. In the last 1950s, I was visiting my beloved Aunt Esther who lived in Middletown. She had to go into NYC, and I went with her. Ever since, I have loved trains, and have traveled almost all of Amtrak's routes.
how about taking the train all the way to the end, Port Jervis? would love to see that scenery and the tunnel
I was surprised to see timetables showing the route selection [Main vs. Cutoff]. When I used to ride this line occasionally [for fun] 25 years or so ago, a train that ran nonstop between Secaucus and Ridgewood Junction had no indication, at least none that I could find.
IIRC, the track connection between the Cutoff/Pascack lines and the Main Line is south/east of Secaucus Junction station, so northbound trains were predictable because NJT didn't want to confuse passengers about which platform to wait on [my Saturday mid-morning train was reliably Cutoff].
However, the routing of my usual southbound late-afternoon train seemed up to the whims of the tower operator at Ridgewood. At least once we were bounced over to the Main, I think possibly to avoid conflicting with a northbound Main Line train. The fireman [I think that's what he was] seemed mildly surprised and warned the engineer verbally.
The LIRR sometimes plays these games with trains running nonstop between Jamaica and Babylon and with trains running nonstop betweeno Jamaica and Valley Stream, although in the latter case there is a clear default routing depending on the train's eastern terminus. I guess they have ltheir reasons. Track maintenance, perhaps?
I hope someday Amtrak will continue from Port Jervis through Narrowsburg, NY to Binghamton. And maybe from Binghamton to Elmira on to Jamesburg and Erie, PA. But the stalled Lackawanna Cutoff restoration in New Jersey may be an indication that these potential Amtrak routes will never materialize.
Amazing video I really enjoyed this video I've taken this ride out to Port Jervis plenty of times amazing scenery especially Moodna Viaduct and when did you take this trip to be exact back on March?
...I love the charm of those old wooden stations...back in the late 50s/early 60s, my dad had friend who worked on the old Erie-Lacakawanna RR and was always promising to take myself and two brothers for a train ride...one week dad told him to 'put up or shut up' - but not in those words...the following week he took us for that ride - started in the train yard, we rode to Suffern, got out went for walk around and ate our bag lunches in the dugout of a local ball field before getting back on the train and eventually going on the ferry across the Hudson & back...a great adventure for us boys...still remember it today some 65 years or so later...I'll be 75 in November...
Nice video. I live in the area, and I've taken this route many times, both as commuter, and steam excursion! You did yourself a disservice by not going all the way to Port Jervis. If you ever happen to do it again, dive to PJ and take the train from there.
By the USS is United States Steel, the plant location, and date the rail was made.
I'd love to take the line to PJ. My grandparents live in Middletown and my grandmother sometimes works in Port Jervis so I've always wanted to ride the short route to PJ to visit her at work or something.
Great vid! Man, that woman would just not let up with the singing... bajeesus! Hope she didn't impact your ride. :p
Excellent video AS Aviation like a ll that B roll footage, lol.. Really an excellent job putting it altogether making this video excellent narrations and you're right it's way more expensive here than most other Transit systems. Really the NYC Metro is expensive, take a trip on the LIRR that's expensive as well or just use the bridges, tunnels, or toll roads around here..
Thanks a lot man, and for letting me use the footage!
@@ASAviation anytime 🙂
Its shocking but not surprising there is no connection to Stewart Airport. NY State has got to have more rail based public transportation than any other state, yet you cannot use it to get to almost every airport in the state. Other states, if they have any rail transit at all, just about always goes to the airport at the very least. Its a nightmare getting to any airport near NYC no matter how you get there. Its actually easiest to get to Newark.
USS = US Steel. Illinois is the location the rail was made at. 1980 is the year the rail was made. The tick marks indicate the month of the year.
Loving the frequent use of the horn on your SB journey--you flew to White Plains from ORD, how far is that airport from Middletown? Had I done this route, I would've ridden to Hoboken and boarded a water shuttle across the Hudson to Manhattan--a VAST contrast in scenery with Times Square vs the Moodna Viaduct! A pleasant change in your video offerings, riding something other than Metra or Amtrak. Being in the Big Apple, did you feel homesick for Champaign? :) And, living in SE Texas but claim the upper Midwest as home, loving the snow!
HPN is about 1.5 hours from Middletown. I was a bit homesick but not for long of course!
United States Steel, I have photographs and movies of Conrail removing the stick rail and putting down the CWR on the Graham Line
If you go towards the end of some of the cars you’ll be able to find outlets that they usuuse for cleaning the trains but you won't have a window
How did you manage to get an NJT train where the windows are not COMPLETELY opaque? Also, how LATE was the train into NY Penn?
TheUSS Illinois, Iowa class battleship (BB 65), was dismantled in 1958. It's very possible that the rail was made from that ship's steel and is marked as such.
About the bell... on njt's engines and some cab cars, the bell comes on automatically when the horn is blown. On some other cab cars, the bell has to be turned on by hand. NJT engineers have to sound the horn when approaching stations (*usually, it's complicated) but there's no requirement for them to ring the bell.
I've always noticed they sound the horn as they approach stations. Did not know of the bell requirement not being there!
Some railroads' rules require that the bell be rung when approaching stations and also when starting movement, except in switching operations.
Nice, but this trip was not so different than an ordinary trip on any commuter line. I watched this hoping you'd take us to Port Jervis - reaching way into the Appalachians - that would be a really special commute.
Actually, Metro North leased the trackage from Conrail when it was formed after the PennCentral bankruptcy in the mid-1970s. Conrail was the federal government run freight line which was a counterpart to the federal government run passenger line Amtrak. In the late 1990s or early 2000s, Conrail was sold to Norfolk Southern because Conrail's original purpose was fulfilled and there was no need for the federal government to continue to operate it.
19:05 This is something that always bothered me about American commuter rail, the frequency is extremely low. Even peak frequency is lower than most off-peak frequencies I've seen on European commuter rail lines, especially in larger cities. They seem to operate more like regional trains than commuter trains. Also peak is not both ways, it's one-way only, making reverse commutes difficult, and the low off-peak frequencies make non-work trips difficult.
Schedules are tailored to demand. The US is not Europe so don't compare them.
United Staes Steel, made in Illinois. Sheesh!
How come you didn't originate and terminate in Port Jervis? Limited parking perhaps?
I have family in Middletown that’s why we were traveling from there.
The rails came from United States Steel. BB7, the USS Illinois, was taken out of naval service in the 1940s. There is a current USS Illinois. It's a submarine.
Those train tickets in New York can get up to the 30 something dollars
If NJT had more Multilevels, would it be possible for multilevels to fit in all lines in terms of parameters like clearance and weight (except for Dinky)?
Not sure about that.
For the Port Jervis Line, there are no technical restrictions. Multilevels have run to Port Jervis but aren't regularly assigned there.
They've run double stack trains west of Campbell Hall. So from there to Binghamton is no issue.
There is a way you can your phone on the train! It’s a trick!
Can confirm Port Jervis is in the middle of nowhere
Spent much time in the Port Jervis area. Camped at nearby High Point State Park in New Jersey. You refer to the area as nowhere, but for those seeking a beautiful refuge, the area is more than somewhere.
bro, I live near Port Jervis
US Steel (Granite City) Illinois plant. It has absolutely nothing to do with being made out of a ship, certainly not the USS Illinois.
wow.. $15 for off peak.. yeah, that is steep
USS, United States Steel.
USS stands for us steel
You lost my confidence when speculating about the origin of the rail. Why would a rail manufacturer take the trouble to trace and label the source material, especially when that material probably came from different sources?
...most likely USS refers to United States Steel..
White lettering on snow doesn't work.
USS. United States steel Illinois Works. Nothing to do with the battleship.
Check the meaning of "unique". Once you know, you will start using it properly.
Aight
Such a joke NJ has this and other north western service but no MOM line that is badly needed
Pronounced JARvis.
Lived all my life in Hudson valley retired and move to Florida you can keep NYS do not miss it at all👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻
Too bad it’s so slow
Port Jervis is the location of America's largest UFO base.
VULVA