The Blue Comet

From Wikipedia

The Blue Comet was a named passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929 to 1941 between the New York metropolitan area and Atlantic City.Designed by Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) president R.B. White in 1928, this train whisked passengers from Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City to Atlantic City, making the total trip from Manhattan (via ferry to the Jersey City terminal) to Atlantic City in three hours. The Blue Comet would take NY&LB trackage to Red Bank, then follow the Southern Division Main Line to Winslow Junction, where it would travel over the Atlantic City Railroad's tracks to Atlantic City.

The colors chosen for the Blue Comet's locomotive and passenger cars were ultramarine and Packard Blue, for the sea, cream, for the sandy coastal beaches, and nickel. The tickets for the train were blue, the dining car chairs were upholstered in blue linen, and the porters were dressed in blue as well. The locomotive was capable of 100 miles per hour, and the railroad claimed the train itself was the first east of the Mississippi to be equipped with roller bearings for easy starting and stopping.

History

Inaugurated on February 21, 1929, the Blue Comet was designed to provide coach passengers with deluxe equipment, accommodations, and service at a regular coach fare. The first revenue passengers to board the CNJ's new flagship at Communipaw Terminal were Miss Beatrice Winter and Miss Helen Lewis of New York.

As the Blue Comet made its way to Atlantic City, it was put on display for patrons, railfans, and local residents to see and inspect. Thousands of spectators along the line came to see the new train. This was due in part to a clever ad campaign via radio and newspaper which spurred public interest.

Following its first arrival in Atlantic City, a formal dinner was held for railroad officials at the Hotel Dennis. The Blue Comet was published in several periodicals and trade magazines such as Railway Age (March 1929), Fortune (The first issue in February 1930),

Periodic articles about the train would also appear in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and local papers such as the Red Bank Register. It was even featured in a British 1937 Gallaher Ltd collection of tobacco cards entitled "Trains of the world." Billed as the "Seashore's Finest Train", it was dubbed a "Symphony in Blue."

Lionel founder Joshua Lionel Cowen, was among those who frequently rode the Blue Comet. Inspired by the train's elegant beauty, speed, and the sublime power of its towering locomotive, Lionel offered a standard gauge model of the train in 1930. This gave the train and Lionel an almost mythical quality.

There were three factors behind the creation of the Blue Comet:

• To eliminate passenger service south of Winslow Junction, and replace rail service with bus connections.

• To better compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) for Atlantic City passengers.

• To eliminate a costly Pullman parlor car lease, in which the CNJ had a loss ten months of the year.

The Blue Comet would offer extra accommodations at the regular coach fare and have assigned seats so passengers knew exactly where they would sit. The PRR charged extra for its all-parlor car Atlantic City Limited and New York Limited. In addition, the PRR charged extra fees for parlor cars on the Nellie Bly. The Blue Comet ran on-schedule 97 percent of the time for the first five years. A billboard was installed on the Routes 33 and 34 overpasses at Farmingdale listing the times the train would pass that area.

The Blue Comet was initially a success but fell victim to the Great Depression. Service was reduced to a single round trip by April 1933. Also, that year, the PRR and Reading Company (RDG) consolidated their southern New Jersey routes and formed the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines.

Equipment

Three brand-new G3s Pacific locomotives were assigned to the train: numbers 831, 832 and 833. The CNJ totally refurbished sixteen cars for Blue Comet service, inside and out.

The train and its engines were painted in Packard Blue to suggest the sea and the sky. The passenger cars all had a cream band running the length of the side at the windows to evoke the sand of the shore.

The paint scheme was unusual, since the road name did not appear on each car; rather, only the name of the train, "THE BLUE COMET", appeared in gold lettering on the letter board. Each car was named for a different comet. The name of each car was placed in gold lettering at the middle of each side below the windows.

Rolling stock

• Diner: Giacobini 81

• Combines: Halley 300, Encke 302

• Baggage cars: Olbers 391, Barnard 392

• Coaches: Tuttle 1170, Holmes 1171, Westphal 1172, D'Arrest 1173, Faye 1174, Spitaler 1175, Winnecke 1176, Brorsen 1177

• Observation cars: DeVico 1178, Biela 1179, Tempel 1169

The train's last run was on September 27, 1941, Its main competitor, the Nellie Bly, lasted until 1961.