Conrail provided its own E units and locomotives from its freight pool as required. In an effort to present a new image for the benefit of passengers, NJDOT's blue, silver and red scheme, which had debuted on the U34CH fleet operating on former Erie Lackawanna lines out of Hoboken Terminal, began appearing on North Jersey Coast Line power. E8s were rebuilt by Illinois Central Gulf at Paducah, KY, Conrail at Elizabethport and General Electric at North Bergen. The pressing need for service improvement served as the catalyst for the equipment variety seen on the following pages. CNJ's shore trains had been re-equipped with new GP40Ps and coaches purchased from a variety of roads, some of which were Burlington Northern, Kansas City Southern and Rock island however, by 1976, much of the former PC motive power and rolling stock covering the New York runs was suffering from years of deferred maintenance and required rebuilding or replacement. NJDOT had been funding replacement equipment for the state's commuter operations since the late 1960s. Conrail then began operating passenger service along its North Jersey Coast Line under contract for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. On April 1, 1976, the Central Railroad of New Jersey and Penn Central, co-owners and operators of the NY&LB, were absorbed along with other bankrupt northeastern roads into the Consolidated Rail Corporation.
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