I used to work for NJT. I now live in Arizona, so I am not on top of what may be going on there - check the website for service advisories. For scenic rides, this is one of two I would recommend on NJT, the other being the 95 mile trip from Hoboken to Port Jervis, which is far more time consuming. The Gladstone Branch used to be known among train crews as the P & D ( Passaic and Delaware ) as it was originally intended to be built to Philadelphia. Originally it was finished to Bernardsville, then reached Gladstone in 1890 and that is as far as it went. ( I am not familiar with the rest of the story as to why it was not built further. ) The Gladstone Branch is 22 miles long, diverging from the Morristown Line at Summit and uses mostly Arrow MUs. Many of the stations are small and quaint country type stations. I believe most are open to the public in one form or another, although only one has a working ticket office, Lyons. The further out you go, the more bucolic the scenery becomes. Just west of Millington, the Passaic River is crossed on a trestle. ( New Jersey's longest river, 100 miles!) After crossing Interstate 287 on an overpass, it makes a bend to a sharp descending grade into Bernardsville. This is a single track line with numerous passing sidings. When the line was re-electrified in 1984, three of the passing sidings were converted to remote operation; it used to be all hand throw switches. I believe these three are the only ones regularly used, at Murray Hill, Stirling, and Bernardsville. The final several miles pass through a beautiful rural area with fields and babbling streams - so much for New Jersey being a big toxic waste dump. The red Gladstone station building, painted red with a sort of turret, is not open to the public. The electric railroad yard in the middle of this affluent New England like town is rather incongruous. Note the white Reformed church up on the hill above the yard. Enjoy your ride.
