The Philadelphia Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society

Established in 1936

From its inception until last weekend, the Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) trains running between New York City and Atlantic City consisted of an NJT (former Amtrak) P40DC diesel engine on one end, four ACES double decker cars in the middle and an NJT ALP-44 electric engine on the other. The arrangement allowed the train to access the tunnels to NYC using the electric and run the non-electrified Atlantic City Line using the diesel for one seat service.

On February 13 2010 NJT P40DC 4800 on the hind end of Train 7174 caught fire near Morrisville PA and shortly afterward NJT withdrew the P40DC's from service. The P40DC's were replaced by NJT PL42AC diesel engines and, since the PL42AC's do not have the clearance to operate in the tunnels to NYC, the electrics were also removed from the trains. Now ACES passengers must take regular NJT trains between Newark and NY Penn Station to connect with the ACES trains in Newark. They have added to the north end of the train an NJT double decker coach for use as a cab control car (but not for passenger use), with the PL42AC on the south end and the four ACES cars in between. There is currently no public information available regarding how long this arrangement will last.

Train 7181 with NJT PL42AC 4001 rounds the curve at Frankford Junction.

All pictures February 21 2010 Copyright © 2010 John P. Almeida

Photographs for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited.