![]() Some Amtrak trains still stop there, but not like it was when the Clockers were in place. But there were some Amtrak/SEPTA stops in PA that got hurt really bad when the Clockers were discontinued (i.e. For example, a Keystone train was brought into operation during the morning rush hour (out of Harrisburg) to make the trip up to NYP by 8:30 a.m. This helped to ease some of the Clocker's demise. There was a shortage of electric engines, but NJT filled that void when asked as they were flush with ALP46's.Īs the Clockers were dropped, the Keystone Corridor went to "all-electric" service. So I am not convinced with the equipment issue. As Amtrak then ramped up service in the late 2000's with state contracts and the NEC, there was an effort made to bring these cars "out of storage." David Gunn wanted to put the Horizon cars in storage, not the Amfleets. I always wondered if it was more economical to keep the cars in "service" or "store them" outright as was done. They even prepped the cars for said storage. When the last of the Clockers ran, Amtrak found itself pretty flush with Amfleet equipment and they ended up storing about 70 Amfleet cars in Delaware. The Amtrak Clockers didn't have the same schedule as the NJT trains that replaced them due to the fact that NJT only ran between Trenton and NYP.Īmtrak was in talks with NJT for quite few years to drop the Clockers and for NJT to take over their operation north of Trenton. Bottom line was that NJT wanted the Clocker slots, didn't want to pay Amtrak a subsidy anymore for operating the Clockers and finally took over operation direct. NJT leased (or at least there was an arrangement in place) four ALP46 electric engines to Amtrak that were used for the three Clocker trains and ONE Keystone train that operated late morning rush hour and early morning rush hour.Īs a frequent rider of the Clocker trains "back in the day" - even up until their last runs - I wouldn't say "equipment" was the issue. The Clockers between Philadelphia and Trenton was lost.Įdited 6 time(s). Later the Clockers were discontinued entirely and additional Trenton-New York service replaced them. Amtrak and NJT came to an agreement to phase out the Clockers at first, NJ Transit operated the Clockers using NJTĮquipment. In 2005 Amtrak, facing serious equipment issues in the Northeast due to excessive numbers of cars out of service, could no longer support NJT would reimburse Amtrak for NJT passengers carried on ![]() Operated mostly with ex-PRR Budd coaches originally built for the Senator and Congressional later, Amfleet equipment protected theĬlockers) than NJT trains and operated as expresses thus being faster. Although lacking any food service, they were more comfortable (by the mid-1990s they Under Amtrak, New Jersey Transit commuter pass riders could ride the Amtrak Clockers (and their predecessors) between stations Before that they got individual train names, asĭid just about everything else on the Corridor. Under Amtrak the trains were not called "Clockers" until the Octotimetable. Operated by Amtrak, but a court ruling declared the Clockers to be intercity trains, not commuter trains. Under the Amtrak law, commuter trains were not supposed to be New York Penn Station, departing every hour on the hour from 7am to 10pm (exact start and end hours varied over the years).įrom the every hour on the hour departure schedules, the PRR gave the service the name, Clockers.Įventually the service got watered down until by Amtrak Day, the Clockers were, in effect, morning and evening commuter trains Beginning in the 1920s, the Pennsylvania Railroad operated express passenger trains between Philadelphia Broad Street Station and
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