Blue Comet

The Blue Comet

A reproduced sign for former Blue Comet service at Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	New Jersey, United States
First service	February 21, 1929
Last service	September 27, 1941
Former operator(s)	Central Railroad of New Jersey
Route
Termini	Jersey City, New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey
Distance travelled	136.3 miles (219.4 km)
Average journey time	3 hours
Service frequency	varied
On-board services
Seating arrangements	Reserved coach seat
Catering facilities	Dining car
Observation facilities	Observation car
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Route map Legend Jersey City ( Communipaw Terminal ) Newark Bay Bridge over Newark Bay Elizabethport Raritan Bay Draw over Raritan River Red Bank Farmingdale Lakewood Lakehurst Barnegat Branch Atsion PRSL to Philadelphia Winslow Junction Hammonton Atlantic City This diagram: view talk edit

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 travel via the CNJ-co-owned New York and Long Branch Railroad to Red Bank, then follow the CNJ Southern Division Main Line to Winslow Junction, where it would travel over the Atlantic City Railroad's tracks to Atlantic City.^[1]

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.^[2]