A heritage streetcar circulator may be incorporated
into the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, a massive waterfront redevelopment
project that’s now in the planning stage featuring a maritime district and
mixed-use neighborhoods with up to 6,700 housing units. The trolley would
connect with the Hudson Bergen light rail system at the 34th Street station.
Twenty First Century Rail Corp., which has the design, build, operate and
maintain contract for Hudson Bergen, has already moved several former Newark
City Subway PCCs to its maintenance facility in Jersey City. The company
reportedly plans to use at least six — and possibly eight — of the cars for
the Peninsula line, which will be about 1.5 mi. (2.41 km) long. The
vehicles will remain under New Jersey Transit ownership.
According to Doug Bowen of the Association of Railroad
Passengers’ New Jersey chapter, Twenty First Century will also try to obtain
some of the 11 Twin Cities PCCs stored at New York’s Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The cars, declared abandoned for non-payment of rent, were obtained by an
enthusiast group that hoped to restore streetcar service in Brooklyn (see
story below). The Navy Yard development corporation is offering the cars at
no cost to groups or individuals who will pay to move them off the property,
although legal issues reportedly could make the offer more difficult to
accept than first thought. There’s no firm timetable for the Peninsula
project, although Bowen says an announcement may be made in mid-February.
