On Saturday 11 October 2025, a group of Lackawanna Coalition members took the train to Port Jervis, New York. We decided upon this date as the leaves will have started to change, weather should be decent, it is the last open weekend for the Port Jervis rail museum. We will have three hours to see the town’s sites.
Trip Itinerary: Train #71, departs Hoboken at 9:20 a.m, arrives in Port Jervis at 11:48 a.m; returning on Train #78, departing Port Jervis at 3:04 p.m.
The meeting point for most people was Secaucus Junction. Train #71 departs Secaucus Junction at 9:30am. I decided to leave early to catch NEC train #7816, 9:10am departure from Newark Penn. It provides a 12 minute window to connect at Secaucus. Before leaving the house, I found out this train was cancelled. My only other option was M&E #6914 which gives a 5 minute window Secaucus. I took the bus to Newark Broad Street and took my chances. However, those who relied on #7816 had no other option and were forced to wait for the next Port Jervis train, #73.
Train #6914 was nearly on time. When we arrived at Secaucus, I fought through the Comic Con crowd on Track 2’s platform. I then ran up and down the stairs and arrived on Track G by 9:30 a.m.
Our trip coordinator, David Peter Alan was waiting for me. However, no one else from our group was there. He said that he would muster everyone else at Secaucus. So I took the train #71 to Port Jervis by myself.
Train #71 operates via the Bergen County Line, skipping a number of stops. Many passengers detrained at Ridgewood. There were a maximum of 43 passengers in my train car. North of Suffern, many of the riders were hikers and mountain bikers or tourists.
Due to the stations’ short platforms, Otisville passengers were directed to the rear of the train, Port Jervis passengers to the front. We arrived in Port Jervis at 11:45 a.m. Before reaching the station, the train stopped. I later observed that the engineer steps down from the locomotive and manually throws the switch. Since I arrived earlier than the rest of the group, I had time to explore the town, visit the museum with the old rail yard and the historic turntable.
#73 arrived a little late, so there was barely an hour for the group to see the town. The return train #78 departs at 3:04pm. On the return train, there were a few local passengers. The train picked up many passengers at Ridgewood, from where it ran express to Secaucus via the Bergen County line. When we arrived at Secaucus at 5:22 p.m., eight minutes late; about 100 passengers detrained, 5 boarded.
At 5:30pm, the group spilt up. Other Coalition members went to PSNY to catch their trains because the next NEC and NJCL trains do not stop at Secaucus. I had a return ticket via Hoboken, but because Montclair-Boonton Line trains operated to Penn Station this weekend (due to construction at West End), NJ Transit’s advisory indicated that such tickets would be honored for trips via Secaucus. However, I had to explain this weekend’s situation to a customer service representative. I remained at Secaucus on track 3 until the next M&E or MOBO train could take me home.
In conclusion, this is not a leisurely trip because of the stress to make the connection at Secaucus. Have a back up train and/or a 20 minute cushion. Of course, the main attraction is, along with Otisville tunnel, the Moodna viaduct. After Harriman, you really feel that you are going up the mountain. At some points the track cuts close to rock faces. It would be nice to see them iced-over. Regarding the town of Port Jervis, it looks of a “bygone era”, and I had a nice lunch, beer, and coffee at the brew pub and nearby café. Despite the stres, everyone should try to make this trip at once.
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