Saturday, July 6, 2024

Reading Lines streamlined 'Crusader' train


from Wikipedia:

"The Crusader was a 5 car stainless steel streamlined express train that ran on a 90.3-mile (145.3 km) route from Philadelphia's Reading Terminal to Jersey City's Communipaw Terminal, with a ferry connection to Lower Manhattan at Liberty Street.

"The Reading Railroad provided this service in partnership with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), in which it was the majority owner of capital stock. Trains including the Crusader ran on Reading Railroad tracks from Reading Terminal in Philadelphia to Bound Brook, NJ, where they continued on CNJ tracks to Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City. Passengers then left the train and walked aboard the ferry or boarded busses that loaded onto the ferry. Introduced in December 1937, the Crusader service declined during the 1960s, and the name was ultimately dropped in 1981."

The Crusader in the picture is either coming into Reading Terminal after a run from Jersey City, or is pulling out for servicing. There was only 1 trainset, so crews were busy cleaning up after each leg of the set's two round trips. There was an extra engine with stainless steel cladding, so each engine could cover one round trip while the other got serviced.

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