The Blue Comet was a named passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929 to 1941 between the New York metropolitan area and Atlantic City.

The locomotive was capable of 100 miles per hour, and the railroad claimed the train itself was the first east of the Mississippi to be equipped with roller bearings for easy starting and stopping.

As the Blue Comet made its way to Atlantic City, it was put on display for patrons, railfans, and local residents to see and inspect.

The Blue Comet was published in several periodicals and trade magazines such as Railway Age (March 1929), Fortune (the first issue in February, 1930), The Modelmaker, and several advertisements for ELESCO Superheaters and Feedwater Heaters.

Periodic articles about the train appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and local papers such as the Red Bank Register.

Also that year, the PRR and Reading Company consolidated their southern New Jersey routes and formed the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines.

This had the Blue Comet service at a disadvantage, as PRR Atlantic City-New York information was readily available for passengers heading to points north.

The stop at Lakehurst was for people needing a connection for the Barnegat Branch, later replaced by Jolly Tar Trail service during off-peak hours in the early 1930s and for the locomotives to take on water.

[5] For residents of the more isolated sections of the Pine Barrens, the Blue Comet's railroad crews dropped off newspapers.

In Chatsworth, the train slowed as it went through the center of town on its return from Atlantic City to disperse a bundle of the daily papers – including The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, among other big-city publications – which had been provided for passengers to read while on board.

However, this anecdote has been disputed by some who lived in the area at the time and insisted the express train did not stop in a location where such an exchange would have happened.

On Friday, December 26, 1935 the Blue Comet experienced a small fire in the roof of the dining car Giacobini.

The fire was discovered while the train was en route to Red Bank by the chef, who promptly alerted the steward Lewis Herring.

When the train failed to arrive at Chatsworth Station, personnel and local residents waded over a mile through the woods in water waist deep in parts to reach the wreck.

On Friday, January 10, 1936, William Taylor, 42, a farmhand, was instantly killed when his produce truck was struck by the Blue Comet while crossing the tracks at Finkel's Lane, Shrewsbury.

[10] Engineer Smith stated that the bell of the Blue Comet had been kept ringing ever since the train pulled out of the Red Bank station.

After a delay of about an hour, the train limped into Eatontown station, where an extra locomotive from Red Bank took up the interrupted journey.

[10] Shortly before noon on January 14, 1936, a National Biscuit Company trailer-truck stalled on the tracks of the New York & Long Branch railroad at the Shrewsbury Avenue crossing and was struck by a southbound Pennsylvania train.

A wrecking crew removed the truck from the tracks so as to permit the Blue Comet, due at Red Bank at 10:04 o'clock, to pass.

[11] At 6:10 PM on Monday, September 8, 1941, a mother and two of her children were killed when the Blue Comet express train crashed into a light delivery truck at an unprotected crossing not far from their home.

The accident took place as Mrs. Mocciocca was driving back to her home after visiting a neighbor to obtain advice on canning vegetables.

The locomotives' marker lights, headlights, handrails, coupler lifting rods, cylinder head covers and back valve chambers were nickel-plated.

The name of the train was painted in gold lettering on a blue nameboard that was mounted to the front of the locomotive smoke box just below the Elesco feedwater heater.

The observation car seats were triple-cushioned, 48 rattan lounge chairs in silver and blue, lining either side.

The tables were set with the finest embroidered blue tablecloths with the train's logo, special china and flatware, and a silver base lamp with parchment shade.

The lampshades had an astral pattern of comets and stars, and tinted lightbulbs were employed to cast a soft blue glow.

As passenger traffic diminished, the G3s engines were withdrawn from Blue Comet service and other locomotives pulled the train.

NJ Transit eventually donated Tempel to the Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc.[15][16] and the car was moved to Morristown.

[17][18][19] The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey currently owns three cars, DeVico, Westphal and D'Arrest.

[22] In September of that year, both cars arrived in Boonton and were coupled up to the DeVico with plans for further restoration to return them to Blue Comet livery and be operated on excursions.