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The Arrows are multiple units, which means they power themselves.  The most noticeable thing about them is their diamond-shaped pantograph that connects the train to the overhead wires (called catenary wires).  The train is capable of powering itself using the overhead electricity directly, it does not require the use of a locomotive.

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NEW! Click here to view ALL the Arrow III photos we've taken (coming soon!)

Arrow III 1487 in Elizabeth bound for Trenton	Inside Arrow III 1368.  Train on its way to New York, stopped in Newark Intl. Airport Station.	Engineer's cab of 1529 in Hoboken.
Photo by: Andrew Syvertsen, 2/26/03	Photo by: Andrew Syvertsen, 2/26/03	Photo by: Jason Del Nero, 9/29/02
Arrow IIIA 1356 arriving Elizabeth for New York	Arrow III 1329 in Hoboken Terminal	Car 1368 Arriving in Elizabeth bound for New York with doors opening
Photo By: Andrew Syvertsen, 2/26/03	Photo by: Jason Del Nero, 9/29/02	Photo by: Andrew Syvertsen, 2/26/03
Arrow III pantograph in Summit station.  Train heading for Hoboken	Hoboken-bound train of Arrows pulling into Summit station.  Back car is 1332.	Eight-car Long Branch-bound train at Elizabeth station.
Photo by: Andrew Syvertsen, 4/16/03	Photo By: Jason Del Nero, 4/16/03	Photo By: Jason Del Nero, 2/26/03
Arrow III 1344 departing Berkeley Heights on the Gladstone Branch	Trenton-bound Arrow III 1430 in Newark Penn Station
Photo by: Nicholas O'Sullivan, 10/20/03	Photo by: Nicholas O'Sullivan, 12/1/03

NEW! Click here to view ALL the Arrow III photos we've taken (coming soon!)

Facts and Statistics:
You can get a comparison of this car along with the other types of cars by visiting the Car Comparison Page.
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Detailed Information:
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Detailed information about the Arrow III
What makes the Arrow III so good?
What did the ABB rebuild in the mid 90s encompass?
What about the Arrow I and Arrow II?
What is the future of the Arrow III?

Detailed information about the Arrow III

The Arrow III fleet is a fleet of multiple units, which means (as explained above) that they power themselves and don't need a locomotive.  The cars operate in groups of 1 or 2.  The first 30 cars are single cars and have engineer's cabs on both ends of the car.  They can be used in a larger train or can be run by themselves.  There are single car trains which use Arrows in use on the Princeton Shuttle line which connects Princeton with Princeton Junction on the Northeast Corridor Line.  The remaining 200 cars are made up of 100 pairs of two cars, which operate together.  There are cabs on the end of each pair of cars.  On the pairs, one car has the dynamic brake grid, while the other has the pantograph.  Three out of the Four trucks (trucks are where the wheels are) are powered by traction motors.

What makes the Arrow III so good?

• Ability to create large trains
  Currently, the ALP-44 electric locomotive used to push/pull Comet cars into New York City Penn Station can push/pull a maximum number of eight cars (Electric locomotives must be used to travel in the tunnels to and in NY Penn Station).  During extremely crowded times, this eight-car limit is simply not acceptable; a larger train is needed, which is where the Arrow III comes in.  Since every car is powered in the train, there is a very large limit to the number of cars that can be connected.  The motors can physically handle 17 cars on the train (which is enormous), but due to power limitations, 13 cars is the maximum.   The newer ALP-46 electric locomotives that are now being used have a limit of 12 Comet cars.

• Ability to create small trains
  While overcrowding is a problem, so is under crowding.  NJ Transit is in business to make money, and running trains often with very few people on them means that they are not making money.  However, the Arrow III comes in again to solve the problem; it can be used to create small trains consisting of as little as one car.  Running a train every half hour is no longer a large problem since they are not wasting cars, and they are not using up locomotives.  It would be utterly impractical to have a three car Comet train running every half hour since NJ Transit would have to supply a locomotive to power it.

• Clean and Quiet
  Electric locomotives and Electric Multiple Units (as the Arrow III is) are extremely clean and quiet, unlike diesel engines.

• Acceleration
  The Arrows can accelerate so quickly because each car on the train is powered by one or more traction motors.  Differences in acceleration speed due to different train lengths are negligible because the motors are so powerful.  The Arrows also feature dynamic braking (see more about this below), which allows the trains to slow by basically using the power of the spinning wheels on the track.  This is used to generate enough electricity when the train temporarily loses power from the overhead lines, meaning that the lights will not go out during phase gaps, which is what happens in the ALP electric locomotives.

• Reliability
  The Arrows are extremely reliable, but in the case that a car has problems, the train can still be run (unless there is a major problem).  As long as the first car (or first pair) remains OK, the "bad" cars can be run as dead-in-tow cars, meaning that they will not be powering the train.  Obviously, if the train is only three cars long, and is made up of a 1 pair of double cars, and 1 single car in the front, if the pair breaks down, the single car will probably not have enough power to pull the train.  However, in a train of 4 or more cars (depending on configuration), it would not be a problem!  As long as the pantographs are up, the lights, air conditioning/heat, PA system, doors, and everything else will work just like usual.  Most passengers will never be aware that the car is really "dead".

What did the ABB rebuild in the mid 90s encompass?

The Arrow III fleet was rebuilt in the middle of the 1990s by ABB Traction Company.  There were many reasons for this rebuild.  The Arrows were built by General Electric in the mid 70s and had DC traction motors installed.  One of the main reasons for the rebuild was to replace the DC motors with AC motors since the electrification system on the electrified lines was using AC current.  The new motors featured state of the art microprocessor control.

The fleet also received dynamic brakes.  Dynamic brakes can be explained simply as follows: the train is moving at a certain speed, therefore meaning that the wheels are also turning.  To generate electricity, all you need is something to turn a generator, therefore the wheels were the perfect thing.  Usually, the motors on each of the cars act as motors and turn the wheels.  When the engineer calls for dynamic brakes, the motors are now acting as generators.  The wheels are now turning the motors.  Generating electricity requires work, which means that the motors are getting "harder" to turn as they generate more electricity.  Eventually, the wheels slow down because their energy is being used to turn these motors (which are acting as generators and are making electrical power).  Finally, the wheels are spinning so slowly that the motors aren't being turned enough to generate any more power, and the process comes to a stop.  Because of this, the train can never be stopped using dynamic brakes, it can only be slowed down.

This new dynamic brake system also allowed the cars to generate enough electricity to power the lights, HVAC, and most other systems in the train when the train momentarily loses contact with the overhead catenary line.  When this happens, the dynamics take effect (as long as the train is not moving too slowly, in which case the individual traction motors would not be generating any power) and the train begins to slow, but the lights and air conditioning still stay on!  When the dynamics are used for braking (as explained above), the power that is generated leaves the train in the form of heat.  The large device on the top of the car is called a dynamic brake grid.  The grid receives the electricity and it is sent away in the form of heat, that is why there is always humid looking air (extremely hot air) leaving the grid, even when the dynamics are not being used at the moment.  If the fan that cools the grid should fail, the dynamics could not be used because they would almost instantly overheat.

The seats inside the cars were also changed to "phase 3" (which is not an official name) seats.  These seats are the same as used on the Comet III.  They are also the same style (although the fabric and color is different) that are used on the Comet IV and Comet IIM cars.

The rebuild, which was mostly mechanical, added at least 10 more years to the Arrows. 

What about the Arrow I and Arrow II?

Several of the Arrow I cars have been rebuilt into Comet IB cars.  They are 'odd ball' cars because they look like Arrows but always run with Comets.  The original Arrow I cars were not built by General Electric, and were known to be unreliable in their later years, although when they were made they were much more comfortable than anyone was used to.

The Arrow II, on the other hand, had a quite different end.  The Arrow IIs were built by General Electric, and were similar to the Arrow III fleet, even though they had some major differences.  The Arrow IIs were also known to be quite unreliable in their later years, and had major problems with their HVAC systems.  The Arrow IIs had been sitting in an unknown location for years since they were retired in the early 90s.  Finally, some were seen at NJ Transit's Meadows Maintenance Complex (MMC) in mid-2000.  New Jersey Transit appeared to be installing destination screens (like the Arrow IIIs have) on their exteriors, this had several people thinking excitedly that they might be returning to service sometime soon.  Unfortunately, they will not be returning to service, and the reason they had those screens installed on them is still unknown.  Most of the fleet was scrapped in 2001, but 1 pair was kept at the MMC.  It is not known if all of them have been scrapped.  One pair caught fire a few months before they were scrapped in a yard in Morris County when some welders were removing parts from them for NJT.  It is sad to see such good (and expensive) equipment be thrown away.  Most people that know the Arrow IIs say that their transformers (which are the major item of the electrical system) and other electrical components would need to be replaced in order for them to have been put back into service.

What is the future of the Arrow III?

Another rebuild (the final rebuild) is scheduled to take place within a few years, although the details are still sketchy.  Presumably since they are such good cars, the Arrows will be the only cars to be rebuilt twice!  The rebuild will probably include internal trap doors (see the article in the Comet III section for more information) and a lot more cosmetic upgrades than the last rebuild had.  The rebuild will probably give the Arrows the ability to switch voltages as they are moving (on the fly).  For example, on MidTOWN Direct lines to New York, the power is 25,000V in the overhead lines, but on the Northeast Corridor line (which is where New York Penn Station is), the system is operating with older components and the lines have only 12,000V in them.  Right now, only the ALP-44 and ALP-46 locomotives are capable of doing that voltage change as they are going.  The Arrows cannot be used on MidTOWN Direct service because they cannot change voltages on the fly.

Timeline:

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