In less than an hour and a half it's possible to ride the entire system. And since almost all trains have a lead car with a front window accessible to the passengers, it isn't difficult to get interesting views. [Above left, a tourist oriented view of the "normal" services which returned on November 23, 2003;  click the map for a detailed view of the routes.]

Most tourists will probably start the trip in Manhattan. After boarding the Journal Square train at 33rd Street, you ride 1.2 miles southwards in a straight line under Sixth Avenue to 9th Street.  The sharp curve at the entrance to 9th Street marks the location of the opening to the tunnel that was planned but never fully constructed for the extension of the Tubes towards the original IRT subway on the east side of Manhattan. In this station and the next one (Christopher Street) the narrow tubular tunnel construction can be seen very clearly. 

Since its franchise obligated the H&M to follow the course of the streets, there are two extremely sharp curves after leaving Christopher Street near the intersection of Morton and Greenwich Streets just before the train heads under the river.

  The clickable black and white image below is the construction under that intersection; Expand image and then click your browser's BACK button to return.

Almost as soon as the train gets under the river, there are two more sharp curves which result from the multiple attempts to excavate the trans river portion of the line. The train is now running through the 5,650 foot long tunnel which was begun in 1874. Four minutes later you're in Jersey City running through a junction from which the train turns almost 90 degrees through a series of sharp curves to start running southwards. 

At Pavonia [the location of the former Erie Railroad Terminal and the passenger beltway described in section 5] you can go upstairs to the newly rebuilt section of Jersey City, Newport [built on the former Erie rail yards] with the immense "Newport Centre" shopping mall and towering residential and commercial buildings as well as restaurants and several major hotels.

After an additional 2 - 3 minutes the train runs through another junction of three routes and turns sharply to the west, running now in the same tunnel into which the downtown line from the temporary World Trade Center station] join in, through Grove Street, leaves the tunnel and heads onto the above ground stretch, and ends at Journal Square, with the former Pennsylvania railroad right of way on your right. 

Here you walk across the platform to the Newark train.  Now begins the stretch with the longest open distance between stations and where the trains reach their top operations speed of 55-60 mph. Until about 25 years ago gigantic railroad yards and other railroad facilities stretched for miles on both sides of the route. Although these have shrunk dramatically, there is still a lot for the railroad fan to see on this stretch. 

Harrison is the first stop after Journal Square and less than a minute after leaving Harrison, the train is pulling into (Newark) Pennsylvania Station [click here for a Youtube video of the ride from Harrison to Newark] on an upper track and platform which is connected with escalators to the Amtrak waiting room and the street and by ramps directly to TNJ commuter trains and Amtrak long distance trains to the south and the west. In the clickable image to the left the train has just crossed the Passaic River heading westwards [leftwards] into the upper level of Newark's Pennsylvania Station where the line ends. [KavanaughTransit Collection]

When returning to Manhattan it is possible to use Amtrak's long distance or Transit of New Jersey's commuter trains for a more rapid and much more expensive trip back to (New York) Pennsylvania Station. If, however, you want a complete tour of the Tubes, go  to the lower platform and board the downtown Newark - Exchange Place train.

As soon as the train leaves the exit of the Newark train station it's crossing a bridge over the Passaic River at whose east end is Harrison Station. Between the two tube tracks at this station are the tracks of Amtrak's main line [formerly the Pennsylvania mainline] which immediately after the station veer off northwards to the left and to [New York] Pennsylvania Station.  Approximately a half mile after the Harrison Station, you can see on the right hand the new PATH car repair building which covers 25,000 square yards as well as PATH's service yard covering over 50 acres with almost 12 miles of track. This has replaced the pre-PA Tubes facility which was located near the mouth of the tunnel leading down to Grove Street Station. 

At about this point the clear views of the Manhattan and Jersey City skylines start to make their appearance. But first most people will notice on the right the arch of the Bayonne Bridge, with its 1,675 foot span the second longest arch bridge of the world [just 2 feet shorter than the famous Sidney Harbor Bridge].

Then the Manhattan skyline begins on the left and then spreads out to the middle with the Jersey City skyline at Exchange Place moving in front of it.

While crossing the next river, the Hackensack, you see to the right the cantilevered Pulaski Skyway and immediately to the left one rail bridge and then the Wittpenn Bridge for both train and motor traffic; the bridges practically abut each other. That massive double-decked vertical lift movable bridge is very similar to the one you are travelling over. [Click on image for a full size view of this photo from www.nycrail.com  ]  Just as the Pulaski Skyway passes over you, your train enters the built up section of Jersey City, paralleling Newark Avenue on your left with a series of warehouses that are slowly being recycled as residential condominium buildings.  After passing Tonnelle Avenue the train veers noticeably to the right [southwards], since the Hudson & Manhattan built its Journal Square [Summit Avenue] station on a loop off of the PRR mainline. 

Leaving Journal Square (probably the best single spot for picture taking and after perhaps having visited the Loew's movie palace upstairs), you can see trackage branching off to the right. The first set of tracks [at the Baldwin Avenue bridge]  leads to PATH's C Yard, the car wash and inspection building and the signal shop. 

You're riding the original route of the New Jersey Railroad, one of the Pennsylvania Railroad's predecessors. The next trackage to the right leads to the location of the Tubes' former maintenance center at Henderson Street. The last trackage to the left leads to Harsimus Cove for the PRR's former freight and car float service; also to Exchange Place for the PRR's passenger service until the opening of the Manhattan Pennsylvania Station.

At this point the train dives into the tunnel mouth and the train enters the actual "Tube"  beginning the underground routes to Hoboken, 33rd Street, Exchange Place [and by late 2003 Lower Manhattan. [Click the small image for the full view from www.nycrail.com]

A very few minutes after entering the tunnel, the "tubes" themselves, the train passes through Grove Street. The station design can be seen here  and also here; the station entry pavilion is very simple and the neighborhood, although changing with commercial and residential development coming to a great extent from Manhattan, is not one to devote limited time to. With one exception: Tania's Polish American Restaurant about a two minute walk north from the station at 348 Grove Street .  

On the other hand, it's very rewarding to get off at and walk around the next station, Exchange Place. One has  not only the unusual layout of this station (see Section 5)  but there are also the fine views of the Katyn Memorial, New York and Lower Jersey City skylines less than a block away as well as of Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and the Jersey Central Railroad Terminal. One should note the  new financial and residential center with 40 story buildings that would be called skyscrapers if they were anywhere else in the country and another group a few blocks to the north at Harborside; there's also an opportunity connect to the new Hudson Bergen Light Rail (trolley) and to look at or ride the many ferry routes terminating at Exchange Place. 

Moreover, it's only a few minutes walk from the Exchange Place station to Washington and Greene Streets [or two stops on the trolley to the Harsimus Cove stop] where the  H & M power plant stands. The  building is in danger of being ripped down and a preservation campaign has been started. 

Two upscale restaurants at Exchange Place are The Iron Monkey on Greene Street and the Vu Restaurant inside the Jersey City Hyatt Regency.

Back to the train: three minutes having left Exchange Place you are in Manhattan at the temporary World Trade Center which had replaced the H&M's Hudson Terminal, as described in Section 5. An eyewitness account of the station's 2003 opening and a description of it is here.

Continuing further with the Tube trip, however, you board the Hoboken train at Exchange Place [or take the Hudson Bergen Light Rail trolley from Exchange Place] to Pavonia. [Although it is less than a 10 minute walk from Exchange Place to Pavonia, construction sites, vacant lots and traffic make the walk uncomfortable.] Leaving Pavonia on the Tubes, you  continue through another  complicated junction in a double decked caisson with very sharp turns where the Uptown Line branches off to the right. After more extremely sharp turns you are in Hoboken. 

It's certainly worthwhile to go upstairs and take a look at the newly renovated Delaware Lackawanna & Western Terminal, now used only for commuter traffic, as well as to view the large but now largely unused and dilapidated ferry slips. The original 225 foot clock tower is now in the process of being reconstructed. At the far south end of the slips, however, a new ferry service to the Battery is in operation and plans call for a major renovation of the slips. New parks and promenades along the river have been established just north of the station on the site of the American export piers from where the Independence and Constitution set sail for the Mediterranean.

A block or to directly northwards of the Lackawanna Terminal begins a very large number of music venues, bars and restaurants which are less expensive than their Manhattan counterparts. Some, like Helmer's Cafe German Restaurant, display the old Hoboken, others, like the famous [but unfortunately now closed] Clam Broth House, have kept the old Hoboken style but have a changed clientele and cuisine. Two noteworthy stops, for body and soul, are the Hoboken Historical Museum [at the north end of Hoboken] and Carlos' City Hall Bakery [at the south end].

After boarding the Hoboken Uptown line, you're back at 33rd Street in fourteen minutes.

The headways between trains are very short and a schedule is unnecessary; if, however, you want to see the PATH timetable, click here for Bob Scheurle's listing as well as for his links to maps of the area surrounding each Tube station. Additionally, the PA provides the official timetables here.    A clear map of the Tubes has been designed by Jon Bell .

[Additional photos and comments on the stations and cars are in Picture Gallery 1 and in Picture Gallery 2 and Picture Gallery 3]