Crusader (train)
Communipaw Terminal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance travelled | 90.2 miles (145.2 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Average journey time | 1 hr 38 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service frequency | 2 daily round trips (6 days per week) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On-board services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seating arrangements | coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Catering facilities | dining car with cocktail lounge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Observation facilities | observation car | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Crusader was a 5 car stainless steel
History
Creation
By the 1930s, the Reading Company offered hourly expresses from Reading Terminal to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Jersey City Communipaw Terminal via the Reading's New York Branch to Bound Brook where it connected with the CNJ. In order to better compete for passenger business from Philadelphia to New York with its rival Pennsylvania Railroad and attract more riders, in 1937 the railroad introduced its new Crusader premier service. Built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, this dedicated train consisted of five stainless steel streamlined cars pulled by a stainless steel shrouded streamlined Pacific class (4-6-2) steam locomotive. The train consisted of two stainless-steel coaches, two observation cars, and a tavern-dining car. A round-end observation car was at each end, a coach adjacent, and the tavern car in the middle. With this configuration, the railroad eliminated the need to turn the entire train around at the "stub end" terminals at both Jersey City and Philadelphia. Only the locomotive had to be reversed at the completion of each trip. Each locomotive had a specially-built tender (carrying the coal and water for locomotive operation) that wrapped around the observation car directly behind it.[4]
Naming
A contest was held to find a name for the new train, offering a $250 cash prize (equivalent to $5,299 in 2023) to the winner. The Crusader, the entry of Mr. P. W. Silzer of Plainfield, New Jersey, won the prize, selected by a committee of 29 railroad officials from among 6,086 suggestions.[5] The Crusader's first regular run was on December 13, 1937.[2] The train was scheduled to make two round trips six days a week; Sundays were reserved for maintenance work.
Decline
In the early 1950s, the streamlined steam locomotives were replaced by General Motors
In May 1967, the
This passenger service, like many former Reading and CNJ lines, was eventually subsidized by
Two of the train's original five cars survive. An observation car is in the collection of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg, Pennsylvania. The other observation car was in service as part of the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train in Washington state until 2007, and is now part of the passenger car fleet of Iowa Pacific Holdings.
References
- ^ The Official Railway Guide North American passenger travel edition: United States, Canada and Mexico September 1976. National Railway Publication Company. September 1976. p. 81.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ a b Smith, Douglas N.W. "Train of two countries". Passenger Train Journal. 19 (2): 22–27.
- ^ Discussion of the history of Commnipaw: Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal
- ^ Sidebar photograph of the Crusader.
- ISBN 9780962084430.
- ^ a b c d Pawson, John (March 1993). "New Backing for "Crusader" Route". The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger. 13 (3). Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- ISBN 9781878887955.
- ^ Kehoe, Tom (December 2, 1982). "Rail service terminations opposed". Courier News. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chapter 1: Purpose and Need" (PDF). Proposed Restoration of Passenger Rail Service on the West Trenton Line Draft Environmental Assessment. New Jersey Transit. November 2007. p. 1-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
External links
Media related to Crusader (train) at Wikimedia Commons