This July 21st trip departed from Newark’s Penn Station at noon and proceeded over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to Hunter Interlocking where it diverges onto the Conrail Lehigh Line to Port Reading Junction in Manville, NJ. This excursion continued east over the Port Reading Secondary Track to Port Reading, will proceed to the "Chemical Coast" through the Oak Island Terminal and cross the Upper Newark Bay to the National Docks Branch with clear views of New York skyline and Statue of Liberty. After passing through the recently enlarged Bergen Tunnel, the train will be at Croxton and enter the Northern Branch, cross the Hack movable bridge and run the former PRR Passaic & Harsimus branch back to Newark. Power for the train will be Juniata Terminal Company's restored PRR E8 locomotives 5711 & 5809 as well as business cars Pennsylvania 120 and Warrior Ridge. The Morristown & Erie Railroad will also provide business cars from their fleet for this train. The trip is being operated by Amtrak & Conrail for the benefit of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents during their 117th annual meeting held in Newark, NJ.
Image 1: Shows the two E8s heading to Manville on track 1 minus their five car consist. Those cars were uncoupled from the E8s just west of the Bound Brook station. At Manville the E8s would switch over to track 2, head east and couple back up to the coaches for the trip over the Port Reading Secondary.
Image 2: Rolling down the Port Reading Secondary, the special is about to pass beneath the Old New brunswick Road overpass in Middlesex, NJ.
