Queen of the Valley

The Queen of the Valley was a named train on the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ). Operating from 1911 to 1967 it was the longest continuing operating train of the CNJ. Also, its route was the longest in the system, operating on a 179.5 mile route, exceeding the CNJ's Atlantic City-bound Blue Comet.

Queen of the Valley
Queen of the Valley, circa 1930s, including mail car and passenger revenue cars
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleNortheastern United States
First service1911
Last service1967
Former operator(s)Central Railroad of New Jersey/Reading Railroad
Route
StartJersey City, New Jersey
EndHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Distance travelled179.5 miles (288.9 km)
Average journey time4 hours, 47 minutes, westbound; 4 hours, 18 minutes, eastbound
Service frequencyDaily, except Sunday (1936); daily (1961)
Train number(s)199 (westbound) and 192 (eastbound)
On-board services
Seating arrangementsCoach
Catering facilitiesDining-Club car
Observation facilitiesParlor car (1936)
Other facilitiesMail car
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The train left the Jersey City CNJ Communipaw Terminal, traveled south to Bayonne (but not stopping, until the train's later years),[1] traversed the harbor at Elizabethport, headed west along the CNJ's Main Line. It continued past Elizabeth's CNJ station, Plainfield Station, to High Point station and Hampton, the end point for the regular NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line commuter service. From there, the route continued to Phillipsburg's Union Station, Easton, Pennsylvania, Bethlehem's Bethlehem Station and Allentown's Allentown Station. From Allentown, the train traveled along the territory of the Reading Railroad, continuing west to Reading (Reading Outer station) and finally to Harrisburg. In the mid-1930s it ran six days a week.[2] In the early 1960s it was daily in operation.[1]

In the train's waning years in the mid-1960s the route was shortened to Allentown, owing to the loss of mail contracts. Following the creation of the new Aldene Connection in 1967 and the closure of the CNJ Terminal in New Jersey, the train was terminated. However, some commuter service on the Allentown to Newark (via the new Aldene Connection) continued.

References
  1. Official Guide of the Railways, June 1961, Central Railroad of New Jersey section
  2. Official Guide of the Railways, August 1936, Central Railroad of New Jersey section, Table 1
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