Not enough that you could tell which train it was… I would say it was probably around 7:30 am and there was an eastbound local moments later… but,honestly, we’re guessing now… I don’t think there’s anything to be found by guessing. Maybe it was as much as an hour later because of the snow (and my dad got a late start that day…). Just no way to tell anymore.
1976 employee timetable shows a Dover train (612) pasing through Brick Church at appoximately 8:31, four minutes ahead of a Summit train (308) stopping at 8:35. Next train to stop at BC #616 at 9:08 a full 15 minutes ahead of #614 passing through non stop.
March 1978 CR public tt: shows that there were several trains between 7A and that time, too, which would also describe situation but can’t tell time because of lack of employee schedule notes and additions…
Now, since it has been snowing all day and the football game doesn’t start for another hour, I started pawing through piles of old magazines, etc. and have unearthed some old newlettersof the TRI State Chapter, NRHS called The BlockLine, (in fact a percurser to Railpace Magazine). In the March and April 1978 issues there is note of first a 15 inch snowfall in the NY Metropolitan area Jan 20th, followed by a "bigger blizzard of February 5 :& 6…MU’s and U34CH’s ar failing at an alarming rate…with snow getting into the [MU’s] traction motors…freezing…melting turning to water…shorting them out…substitution of CR units on the point of push pulls with the U34 on for head end power…NJDOT has several CR units on short term lease…(…on February 8 …#631 left Hoboken with CR SD40-2 #8074 on the head end of a string of MU cars.)…"
So that changes everything. Your picture shows a leased CR unit on an NJT MU train because the traction motors were being soaked by fine snow and shorting out. The pans were up to supply heat and lights. Further note that not only were the ill maintained U34CH’s and the MU’s being plagued by snow, NJT was facing the same problems with the GG1’s on the PC trains to Trenton and South Amboy at the time. I am sure Amtrak had the same problems but had weaned themselves of most of the G’s by then