With this configuration, the railroad eliminated the need to turn the entire train around at the "stub end" terminals at both Jersey City and Philadelphia.

The Crusader, the entry of Mr. P. W. Silzer of Plainfield, New Jersey, won the prize, selected by a committee of 29 railroad officials from among 6,086 suggestions.

The Crusader then began operating with the smooth-sided cars originally made for the Reading's other upscale Philadelphia–Jersey City train, the Wall Street.

By the mid-1960s, the Crusader and Wall Street were the only Reading Railroad trains operating beyond West Trenton north to Bound Brook.

[7] In May 1967, the Aldene Plan went into effect; this closed the Jersey City Communipaw Terminal and diverted trains to Newark Penn Station, thus adding 13 minutes to the commuter going to Wall Street.

In the early 1980s, SEPTA began cutting back its diesel-powered lines in preparation for the opening of the electric-only Philadelphia Center City Commuter Connection that tied together the former Reading Terminal and the Pennsylvania Railroads Suburban Station tracks.

[7][8] This service ended on December 3, 1982, when the NJ Transit shuttle made its final trip due to poor ridership and a budget deficit.