New Jersey's Morristown Line is coming to Train Sim World 6! A new route, with new trains coming out of New York Penn and heading deep into New Jersey State.
American Railfan, photographer and author Gary Dolzall explains more about the real-world route and rolling stock associated with this historic line, from a railfan perspective. This is covered in two halves: The Route and The Equipment.
Information given here reflects that of the real-world railroad. Images provided are captured from within Train Sim World 6. For more details about the Morristown Line gameplay in Train Sim World 6, you can head to our previous article.
The Route: The Morristown Line
NJ TRANSIT®, across its dozen commuter rail lines and 920 directional route miles, displays countless distinctive styles of railroading and delivers diverse commuter railroading challenges. And perhaps there is no better example of a single route demonstrating this remarkable variety than NJ TRANSIT®'s Morristown Line.
The character of the Morristown Line – and its attendant operating challenges – range from dense, fast-paced, multi-track urban commuter railroading at the likes of Hoboken and Newark to a twisting, steep climb through the stout, rugged hills of northeastern New Jersey. Operations on the route can take the form of long strings of NJ TRANSIT® MultiLevel coaches powered by ALP-46 electrics hustling “Midtown Direct” commuters to and from Manhattan at rush hour to a more leisurely off-hours local service equipped with NJ TRANSIT®’s venerable Arrow III EMUs.
The Morristown Line demonstrates both the verve of today’s bustling NJ TRANSIT® – and recalls the rich history and heritage of the bygone Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.
Like most NJ TRANSIT® rail lines, the Morristown Line serves New York Penn Station (reached via Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and the Hudson River tubes), as well as famed Hoboken Terminal (via their own route between Hoboken and Kearny, New Jersey). The NJ TRANSIT® Morristown route splits from the Amtrak Northeast Corridor at Swift Interlocking (also known as the Kearny Connection) and via its own Passaic River swing bridge calls at classic Newark Broad Street Station. From Newark, the Morristown Line begins its journey across often-rugged northeastern New Jersey. NJ TRANSIT® Morristown Line extends under electric catenary west through “the Oranges” (East Orange, Orange, and South Orange), through Summit and to its namesake town of Morristown, then on to Dover, New Jersey (western terminus of the upcoming Train Simulator World route and site of NJT’s Dover Yard). The rail distance from New York Penn Station to Dover is 43 miles.
Beyond Dover, the NJ TRANSIT® route extends to Hackettstown, New Jersey. The Morristown Line is considered part of NJ TRANSIT®’s “Morris & Essex” lines which, along with the Morristown Line includes the Gladstone Branch (which connects to the Morristown Line at Summit). The Morristown Line also has connections with the Montclair-Boonton Line just west of Newark and at Denville, New Jersey.
Today, the Morristown Line is a key NJ TRANSIT® commuter artery, and yet in times past the route served a different role – that of the main line of the famed Delaware, Lackawanna & Western (or “Lackawanna” for short) and as the steel path of DL&W’s much-beloved flagship passenger train, the famed Phoebe Snow. The Lackawanna Railroad, which stretched from Hoboken and the west bank of the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York on the shores of Lake Erie, was in no small part born to carry anthracite coal from the mines of northeastern Pennsylvania. But the Lackawanna was also a conveyor of bridge traffic and of hauling passengers. On its east end, the Lackawanna was in its own right a dense commuter carrier. What is today the Morristown Line owes its origins to the Morris & Essex Railroad, which was chartered in 1835 to connect New York Harbor with Morristown, and in the following years was extended westward and in 1869 became part of the Lackawanna.
The Morristown Line was first electrified by the Lackawanna Railroad in 1930 and for decades thereafter was home to the railroad’s traditional, heavyweight Pullman-green electric MUs (as well as steam, then diesel-powered passenger and freight trains). The Lackawanna merged with the Erie Railroad in 1960 (forming the Erie-Lackawanna), which in turn was folded into Conrail in 1976. Finally, in the early 1980s, NJ TRANSIT® assumed all commuter operations in the state, including those on the Morristown Line.
The Morristown Line is one of three NJ TRANSIT® routes, along with the Gladstone Line and Montclair-Boonton Line, whose trains originate (or terminate) at either New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal and call at Newark Broad Street Station. Busy in its own right, sections of the Morristown route also host trains to and from the Gladstone branch and Boonton line, which makes the action on the Morristown Line all the more frenetic and captivating.
A short distance west of Newark Broad Street Station, at Roseville Interlocking, the Montclair-Boonton Line diverges from the Morristown Line, taking a northerly route via Wayne, New Jersey, then reconnecting with the Morristown Line at Denville.
Today’s Montclair-Boonton Line is a combination of ex-Lackawanna and ex-Erie Railroad trackage. The Gladstone Line shares trackage with the Morristown Line west through Summit, New Jersey, then the line (still often called the “Gladstone Branch”) diverges on a south-westerly path to its namesake town. Like the Morristown Line, the Gladstone Branch has a Lackawanna Railroad heritage.
Thus, in addition to the scores of NJT trains operating solely on the Morristown Line, Gladstone Line trains operate on the Morristown route east of Summit and select Montclair-Boonton Line trains operate on the Morristown Line both west of Denville and east of Roseville Interlocking.
Weekday NJ TRANSIT® trains operating in whole or in part on the Morristown Line generally fall into the following series of commuter operations:
6600-series trains: These are the Morristown Line’s flagship “Midtown Direct” trains operating between Dover and New York Penn Station. Typically, Midtown Direct trains operate with ALP-46 or ALP-46A power and MultiLevel cars, although they may on occasion employ Comet single-level equipment. The locomotives on Midtown Direct trains may be positioned on either end of the consist.
600-series trains: Dover-Hoboken services. Traditionally, these trains often merited Arrow EMUs and still do, but as the fleet of venerable Arrow cars has diminished, the trains often are assigned Comet equipment with ALP-46, ALP-45DP, or diesel power. Trains operating to and from Hoboken typically operate with motive power on the west end of the consists.
300- and 6300-series trains: Summit-Hoboken and Summit-New York (Midtown Direct) services, respectively.
400- and 6400-series trains: Gladstone-Hoboken and Gladstone-New York (Midtown Direct) services, respectively. Gladstone Branch services to and from Hoboken have long been a primary haunt of NJ TRANSIT®’s iconic Arrow EMUs.
800-series trains: Hackettstown/Mount Olive-Dover-Hoboken trains operating via the Morristown Line. All trains operating west of Dover utilize ALP-45DP or diesel power.
1000-series trains: Hackettstown/Lake Hopatcong-Hoboken trains operating via Denville, the Montclair-Boonton Line, and Roseville Interlocking.
200- and 6200-series trains: Montclair University (on Montclair-Boonton Line)-Roseville Interlocking-Hoboken and Montclair-University-Roseville Interlocking-New York trains, respectively.
In addition to busy commuter operations, the NJT Morristown Line hosts limited local freight services provided via trackage-rights agreements by both Norfolk Southern and the regional Morristown & Erie Railway. CSX has a small but important footprint on the route, too, in that it interchanges with the Morristown & Erie at Harrison and Kearny, New Jersey.
The Equipment
NJ TRANSIT® Arrow III EMUs
Nearly half-a-century. That’s how long it has been since NJ Transit’s veteran Arrow III electric-multiple-unit railcars began rolling out of General Electric’s erecting halls. The Arrow III has been an iconic fixture of New Jersey’s commuter railroading scene for more than a generation, serving on NJ TRANSIT® routes including the Morristown Line, Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Gladstone Line, Montclair-Boonton Line, and Princeton Branch.
As enduring as the operating careers of the Arrow III EMUs have been, the genesis and family tree of the railcars date even further back. Following its great electrification project of the early 1930s (creating much of what is today the Northeast Corridor), the Pennsylvania Railroad amassed a fleet of more than 500 MP54 EMUs which would serve as the mainstay of the PRR commuter fleet for decades. But by the late 1950s, the classic PRR MP54s needed replacement. At about this same time, the Budd Company had created its Pioneer III lightweight passenger car, which, with the decline in U. S. intercity rail travel, proved to have no market. In an attempt to find another purpose for its Pioneer III concept, Budd recast the design into an EMU, and in 1958 the Pennsylvania purchased six EMU prototypes, designated PRR MP85s. No further Pioneer III EMUs would be constructed, but in 1963 the City of Philadelphia’s Passenger Service Improvement Corporation funded the purchase from Budd of 38 “Silverliners” for use on the PRR and another 17 for duty on the Reading Railroad. In core design, the Silverliners were generally similar to the prototype Pioneer III EMUs. In 1967, another 20 Silverliners, these built by St. Louis Car Company, arrived for use on the Pennsy, and then in 1973-1976 more than 200 Silverliners, assembled by General Electric with carbodies built by Avco, were acquired by Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) for use on Philadelphia-region ex-PRR and Reading lines.
Meanwhile, north of Philadelphia – in the state of New Jersey – there was also a need for new-generation EMUs to serve on both ex-PRR and ex-Lackawanna electrified lines. In 1968-69, the New Jersey Department of Transportation purchased, from St. Louis Car Company, a group of 35 “Arrow” (often called “Jersey Arrow”) EMUs. Although there were differences – in pantograph design and carbody details, for example – the design roots of the Arrow cars to the kindred Silverliners was clearly apparent. This original order of Arrow EMUs was earmarked for service between New York City and Trenton, New Jersey on the Northeast Corridor.
In 1974, an order of 70 “Arrow II” cars arrived from General Electric, primarily for service on ex-PRR lines. Then, in 1977-78, a large order of 230 “Arrow III” cars were constructed by General Electric, again with carbodies by Avco. This order consisted of 100 two-car married sets (with cabs on one end of each carbody and a shared pantograph) and 30 single cars with dual cabs. The Arrow III EMUs were largely intended to replace aged commuter equipment on the Morris & Essex Lines (Hoboken Division) that dated back to the days of the Lackawanna Railroad yet were used extensively elsewhere while a modernization of the electric systems on those lines was completed into 1984. Today, the Arrows III fleet has been trimmed by retirements, but approximately 170 cars remain as an integral member of the NJT roster (Arrow I cars were removed from service in 1980 and Arrow II cars were retired in the 1990s). A fleet of 174 NJ TRANSIT® Alstom Multilevel III Hybrid EMUs, now under construction and testing, are earmarked to eventually replace the venerable Arrow III fleet.
A key reason for the longevity of the Arrow III railcars was a fleet-wide rebuilding program undertaken in collaboration with ABB Traction in the early 1990s that included replacement of the EMUs original DC propulsion with microprocessor-controlled AC systems as well as addition of dynamic-braking capabilities and other upgrades.
Especially in rebuilt form, the Arrow III cars have been noted for their ability – critically important on commuter lines with numerous and closely-spaced station stops – for fast acceleration and crisp braking. Accordingly, the EMUs have often drawn duty on NJ Transit’s “all stops” local schedules. Another attribute of the Arrow IIIs is versatility in train lengths, which can range from one car (usually on the Princeton Branch) upwards to 13-car consists, although on the Morristown Line consists are typically limited to no more than five cars.
One unusual trait – and operating limitation – of the Arrow III cars is their inability to switch “on the fly” between the 12,000V and 25,000V electrical power variously used on NJ Transit routes. Thus, for example, Arrow III cars cannot be used on Midtown Direct trains operating to/from the Morristown Line and New York Penn Station (which would require an “on the move” change from the 25,000V power of the Morristown Line to the 12,000V of the NEC route). The Arrow III cars can, however, be set up to operate exclusively on either of the two voltages.
NJ TRANSIT® ALP-46 electric locomotive
NJ TRANSIT® has a remarkable heritage of electric locomotion. It is a heritage that began with the final regular-service use of the iconic GG1s originally constructed for the Pennsylvania, and that has included hand-me-down General Electric E60s and purpose-built Swedish ABB Traction ALP-44CW – and now is entrusted to a fleet of 64 powerful and fast German-built ADTRAN/Bombardier ALP-46 and ALP-46A electric locomotives.
If one ventures to NJ TRANSIT®’s multiple routes which stand under catenary alive with alternating current (A.C.) power, odds are that the trackside experience will soon include an ALP-46 flashing past at speed. It was back in 1999 that NJ Transit placed an order with Adtranz (then Bombardier, now Alstom) for construction of 29 electric locomotives at the company’s Kassel, Germany facility. Based on the design of the Deutsche-Bahn Class-101 electric locomotives that had been in service since 1996, NJ Transit’s new electrics were given the designation ALP-46 and began arriving in the U. S. in 2001 (“ALP” stood for “American Locomotive Passenger.”)
Compared to the classic final handful of ex-Pennsylvania GG1s NJT had inherited and briefly employed at its formation in the early 1980s, the ALP-46 is, in technology and visual appearance, simply from another world. The ALP-46 drive system includes a transformer, two type GTO independent traction converters (which permit continuous dynamic regenerative braking), and squirrel-cage induction. The traction converters also include an integrated GTO inverter supplying auxiliary power (HEP). Riding atop two-axle (B-B) “Flexifloat trucks, the ALP-46 delivers 7,100-horsepower (with all that power controlled via MITRAC electronic controls) and is capable of 100-mph operations.
Externally, the ALP-46 certainly shares a close family resemblance to its European cousins, featuring a striking, 64-foot-long dual-cab carbody that in the case of the NJ TRANSIT® fleet was dressed in a flamboyant multi-color livery designed by Cesar Vergara. Regularly powering NJT’s push-pull consists in and out of New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal, the ALP-46s (road numbers 4600-4628) quickly proved ideally suited to the commuter carrier’s demands, and, as a result, NJ Transit returned to the builder for an advanced version – designated the ALP-46A. In 2008-2011, NJ Transit acquired 35 ALP-46As (4629-4664), which, aside from minor details, are visually similar to their slightly elder sisters, and offered both more horsepower (7,500) and a higher top speed (125 mph). Together, the ALP-46s and kindred ALP-46As are the electric workhorses that power a sizeable share of NJ TRANSIT® nearly 700 weekday train movements. NJ TRANSIT® uses its ALP-46 and ALP-46As quite interchangeably, powering push-pull trains on electrified portions of its route system.
NJ TRANSIT® ALP-45DP dual-power locomotive
NJ TRANSIT®, with its mix of electrified and non-electrified routes, is ideally suited to utilizing a dual-power locomotive, and events which would bring such a locomotive to NJ Transit began in 2008 when Bombardier (now Alstom) won a contract to build 26 (later expanded to 35) dual-power locomotives, which came to carry the designation ALP-45DP and wear NJ Transit road numbers 4500-4534. NJ Transit placed its first ALP-45DPs in service in May 2012.
To no small degree, NJ TRANSIT®’s distinctive ALP-45DP locomotive is a close cousin in core technology to the railroad’s ALP-46/ALP-46A electrics. The major difference, of course, is that the ALP-45DP employs a pair of four-cycle, turbocharged Caterpillar 3512HD 12-cylinder high-speed diesel power plants to fulfill its dual-power promise. Each “Cat” diesel is matched with its own alternator, providing a combined maximum of 4,168 horsepower for diesel-mode operations. In electric operation, the locomotive can deliver up to 5,364 horsepower. The ALP-45DP is also different from its electric brethren in being a single cab design rather than a dual-cab configuration. Nonetheless, an ALP-45DP, at 72 feet in length, is nearly eight feet longer than its electric cousins, and, at 288,000 pounds, is almost 90,000 pounds huskier than an ALP-46. The ALP-45DP is nonetheless a capable racehorse, rated for 125 mph operation in electric and 100 mph operation in diesel mode.
Operationally, the premium benefit of the ALP-45DP is its versatility and ability to provide NJ TRANSIT® customers with “single seat” service to and from New York Penn Station or Hoboken across routes that require a mix of electric and diesel propulsion. The ALP-45DPs have become regulars on the Morristown Lines and indeed are frequently seen across much of the sprawling NJ Transit rail system.
In December 2017, NJ Transit ordered seventeen more dual-power locomotives, designated ALP-45DPA, and this order was increased by eight units in 2020. The first ALP-45DPA was delivered in June 2021 and all of the railroad’s twenty-five ALP-45DPA locomotives (NJT road numbers 4535-5559) are now in service. The ALP-45DPA meets Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 requirements.
NJ TRANSIT® MultiLevels
As the calendar clicked over to the twenty-first century, NJ TRANSIT® faced a challenge. Demand for its rail commuter services during peak travel periods was outstripping available capacity. Simply adding more scheduled trains was not feasible because all rush-hour operating slots at busy New York Penn Station (shared with Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road) were filled, and NJ TRANSIT® consist lengths on peak-period trains were already at the realistic maximum.
Their solution rested with a new fleet of commuter cars that could provide more passenger capacity per car, while at the same time maintaining or enhancing passenger comfort and accessibility. But how? By tradition, the New York area’s commuter railroads (presently Metro-North Commuter Railroad, the Long Island Rail Road, and NJ Transit) had largely been a land of single-level passenger equipment, a reality required by tight confines at the likes of New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, the Hudson River, and East River tubes, et al. The Long Island, in fact, was the only area commuter railroad that had embraced, at least on a limited scale, bi-level equipment, operated a fleet of heavyweight “up and downs” beginning in the late 1940s and, since 1997, utilizing 134 locomotive-hauled Kawasaki-built bi-levels.
For NJ TRANSIT®, the answer would come in the form of Bombardier-built “MultiLevel” locomotive-hauled coaches and cab cars. The term MultiLevel (versus “Bilevel”) refers to the fact that the MultiLevel cars feature main upper and lower seating areas and, at the car ends, also include an “intermediate” level” (or as NJ TRANSIT® phrases it, a “mezzanine”) which provides additional space for standing passengers, luggage, and the like. With a height of 14-feet, 6-inches, the MultiLevels stand approximately 18 inches shorter than a typical BiLevel as used by railroad’s such as California’s Metrolink and some 20 inches lower than an Amtrak Superliner, and thus the MultiLevel design could comfortably fit within NJ TRANSIT®’s clearance restrictions.
In 2003, NJ TRANSIT® placed an initial order with Bombardier for a 234-car fleet of MultiLevel cars which would include 201 coaches and 33 cab cars for push-pull operations. Passenger seating per car in the Bombardier design varies from 142 (in coaches without rest rooms) to 127 (in cab cars) and even though the MultiLevels would feature more comfortable “2 by 2” rather than “2 by 3” seating, the new equipment would offer a capacity-per-car increase of up to 20-percent compared to NJ’s existing Comet-series single-level equipment. Weighing in at 68 tones per car, the average cost of each MultiLevel was $1.82 million.
The first MultiLevel train sets entered revenue service in December 2006, and thereafter rapidly expanded the new fleet: By 2010, 321 MultiLevel cars were in service, and the number grew to 429 cars by 2015. Naturally, the MultiLevel cars have become staples of system operations, whether the services be a Midtown Direct train, runs over the Raritan Valley or the Northeast Corridor, or journeys up and down the North Jersey Coast Line.
We Are Railfans Podcast
A few years ago, the Team at We Are Railfans were delighted to get the opportunity to talk to an American railroad engineer Mr. Jim Rooney of NJ TRANSIT® for the We Are Railfans Podcast.
In this episode, Jim talks briefly about the operations around Hoboken and the Morristown Line, as well as the Arrow EMUs and ALP locomotives.
You can listen to the episode here.
Pre-order Train Sim World 6: Deluxe Edition
If you can’t wait to become part of the action, remember that you can pre-order Train Sim World 6 now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam!
Pre-ordering available bundles (including Standard edition) can entitle players to a 10% discount. Please see our TSW6 FAQs for more information on this for each game platform.
Deluxe / Special Edition players can pre-order now to get 5-day Early Access and will also receive the CrossCountry Class 220 Voyager, NJ TRANSIT®ALP-45DP and DB BR 294 in addition to all the core routes listed above.
Special Edition players will also receive additional back catalogue route Add-ons.
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