New Jersey Transit Arrow III MU on the Morris & Essex Line.
Good day fans of Train Simulator & the people of Dovetail Games, today I propose that the New Jersey Transit Arrow III should be created for Train Simulator and if we want to go into route specifics then it would have to be for the North Jersey Coast Line. Seeing how finally NJ Transit content is being made for this simulator I think the Arrow III MU would be a perfect addition to this route. So let me get started on the overview, the history, the current operation of this train and the reason why I think this train would be a benefit for this simulator.
This is a picture from my personal collection I took this on 9/15/2015 3 car Arrow III MU set at Newark Broad Street Station on the Morris & Essex Line in Newark,NJ.
Overview
The New Jersey Transit Arrow III MU are one of the few General Electric multiple unit trains still running in the northeast (aside from the Septa Silverliner IV and the Metro North M2). They are only seen on the electrified NJ Transit lines (Morris & Essex Line, Montclair & Boonton Line, Northeast Corridor Line and the North Jersey Coast Line). On the Northeast Corridor they usually run a 10 car consist and on the North Jersey Coast Line it's a 8 car consist. On the North Jersey Coast Line they used to run all the way to Long Branch but after 2002 Arrow III MU trains can't go south of Aberdeen-Matawan Station due to the voltage change so they terminate at Aberdeen-Matawan.
Arrow III MU 1332 at Hoboken Terminal This was the train I took from Newark Broad Street on the Morris & Essex Line (All pictures posted on here are from my collection).
History
Arrow III's were built by General Electric in the late 1970s and they were ordered by NJDOT (New Jersey Department of Transportation) to supplement the later (NJ Transit Hoboken Division), some Arrow III's were running down in Maryland as well. Most of them were used on the NEC and the North Jersey Coast Line. GE made some excess amount of Arrow III's that were converted to coach cars known as Comet IA just like the Comet IB that once were Arrow I MU, but the Comet IA was owned by the Metro North Railroad and were retired and scrapped in 2004. Arrow III's have 200 married pair sets and 30 single cars, between 1992 & 1995 all 230 Arrow III's were overhauled by ABB (ASEA Brown Boveri) This overhaul replaced the DC propulsion with a new solid state AC system. It also recieved a higher powered traction motor which gave a total of 375hp per 2 axle truck. Around 2011 Arrow III's started getting their original Stemmann pantographs replaced with the single arm Schunk pantographs.
NJ Transit Arrow III Montclair State University bound at Newark Broad Street Station.
Why should this be in TS2016?
Now theres a number of reasons why it should be made for TS2016.
- 4 years ago the NYC-Phila section of the Northeast Corridor was released and everyone was thinking that Septa and NJ Transit equipment was going to be made for this route but that never happened and a lot of fans are still waiting for Septa and NJ Transit content to be made for it.
- A couple of months ago a fan on this site made a proposal for a commuter rail line in the northeast to be made running from New York City and Hoboken down to the Jersey Shore known as the North Jersey Coast Line which the line feature both electric and diesel trains.
- The Arrow III MU is commonly seen on the North Jersey Coast Line and since one of the terminals on that route is Hoboken terminal despite the fact that Arrow III's running on the NJCL (North Jersey Coast Line) never go to Hoboken they're always seen at Hoboken Terminal because those Arrow III's are coming from the Morris & Essex Line and the Montclair & Boonton Line and honestly they're a must for this route to make it look realistic.
- Fans of this simulator have been asking for this train for over 4 years and now that NJ Transit content is being made and also a NJ Transit route that features both NJ Transit electric & diesel trains, this train would be perfect for this route because they're common on this line and to add some variety on this route.
- Also did I mention that if this is made that the DLC sales for this would skyrocket? Let's face the facts the Arrow III is one of the most requested trains for any train simulator game and being that out of them all, TS2016 is the most advanced simulation and has the best graphics. This train would be an excellent choice for TS2016 and I think that its time that the world should see another famous American electric multiple unit and that should be the New Jersey Transit Arrow III. This is now the time to make it and I believe that it would be one of the greatest additions to the Train Simulator franchise.