Port Authority Trans-Hudson 745

A subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, PATH operates a rapid transit subway system from Newark and Hoboken, NJ to lower Manhattan, a system developed by the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad in the early 20^th Century.  PA-3 type cars represented a new generation of rolling stock constructed for these lines in the 1960s and early 1970s, along with PA-1 and PA-2 counterparts.  Constructed of aluminum, they presented a clean and modern image when compared to the elderly steel “black cars” they replaced.

Car 745 was part of a seven car train which was left standing in the World Trade Center PATH station on the morning of September 11, 2001 during the terrorist attack.  The strength of the subway tunnel above sheltered this car from the crushing force of the collapsing buildings overhead, and when rescue crews entered the PATH station several days later, 745 was found to be completely intact.  It and another car were stored in Hangar 17 at JFK airport in New York pending disposition as artifacts of that tragic day until 2015, when 745 was donated to the collection of the Shore Line Trolley Museum.  Upon arrival at the museum, the axle-mounted odometer on 745 registered 201,104 miles of travel during its service career beneath the Hudson.