Penn Central

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I remember riding on a commuter train from Matawan, NJ to NYC as a kid in the mid-70's and the lead unit was an all black PC E-unit. I've even found pictures of that train nearing Matawan (or one very much like it) on a few websites. I'm wondering if they ever "helped" the GG-1 on its route, or is this just a pipe dream?

while anything is possible, More likely than not the GG1s just interchanged with the E8s at Long Branch, NJ.

I hate to admit it...but I never even considered owning a PC engine...but I keep seeing good shots of PC on Ralph's layout and I've really grown to like that all-black PC look. It's amazing that in such a highly traveled and populated area there were so few pictures taken of Penn Central in the later years. Or at least, those pictures haven't found their way to the web yet.

There really aren't any pictures. At the time, most people didn't like penn central (and later conrail), preferring the "old" railroads. Even of those surviving, many of their passenger operations that weren't taken by amtrak were getting controlled by local governments, and during the Penn Central era, you'd find a lot of CNJ, and Erie Lackawanna equipment with NJ DOT logos on the flanks. This appeared to turn people off.

There is such contempt for that time period that many "experts", dvds and books by respectable publishers are just flat out wrong (some captions on penn central era commuter cars are hilarious. the same unit can be on two pages back to back and both times be mis-identified as something else). people just stopped paying attention, and so its very difficult to find any information. the best thing you can do is try and find books and go to train shows where this sort of thing is the subject.

Or at least, those pictures haven't found their way to the web yet.

^ That. There are very few people scanning and posting old shots online. Those that are posted are generally lost in the sea of new shots right off the digital cameras.

RO is absolutely right. What i usually do is go to RRpicturearchives.net, and find the equipment i want to see, and try to home in as close as possible. If i need a particular year, or place, i use "Ctrl+F, and type what i'm looking for, and tell it to highlight those words, and then i just skim through the shots until i see something highlighted.

otherwise, if you search something like NJ trainsit Arrow III in rrpicturearchives, you'll get a sea of photos from the last ten years or so, and just maybe a few shots in between from the 70s, 80s, or 90s