No. 10157 Baldwin Class  P-47 4-6-2 "Pacific" Type Steam Locomotive, heading up the "Blue Comet" Heavyweight Passenger Train

Central Railroad of New Jersey

The Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), popularly known as the Jersey Central, had a long and colorful history as one of the early (19th century) “anthricite roads” bringing coal from the mines in northeastern Pennsylvania to the industrial cities of the east coast. These smaller “coal roads” also included the Reading, Lehigh Valley, Delaware and Hudson, and Lackawanna Railroads.

The Jersey Central’s eastern terminal was at Jersey City, New Jersey, a short ferry boat trip from Manhattan across the Hudson River. CNJ operated Pullman service from Jersey City to Philadelphia, Pottsville, and Williamsport in Pennsylvania, and to Atlantic City, New Jersey, a popular east coast ocean side resort city.

The “Blue Comet” luxury all-coach Pullman-built heavyweight day train from Jersey City to Atlantic City was the pride of the Jersey Central. It operated from 1929 to 1941, providing first class high-speed passenger service on the 136 miles between the two cities. The rebuilt coaches and dining cars carried the train name on their letterboards and each car was named for a different comet.

No. 10157 represents an accurate scale model by MTH in “0” gauge of Jersey Central’s handsome blue Baldwin-built Class P-47 4-6-2 “Pacific” type steam locomotive, heading up the colorful 7-car “Blue Comet” heavyweight passenger train (Nos. 10158 and 10159), as it would  have been seen in the 1930s on its way to Atlantic City. Five Class P-47 “Pacifics” headed up Jersey Central passenger trains in the 1930s, with three (No. 831, 832, and 833) assigned to the twice-daily “Blue Comet” service between Jersey City and Atlantic City. The other two “Pacifics” headed up Jersey Central’s “Bullet” and “Queen of the Valley.”