The Gladstone Branch was converted to electric passenger operation in January 1931, but freights continued to run on steam until dieselization in March, 1953. Passenger trains ran to the terminal at Hoboken. The usual off-peak service for about six decades in the mid-20th Century consisted of a pair of Gladstone cars that were cut in and out of mainline Morris and Essex trains at Summit. The line was amazingly rural in nature, consisting of a single main track with passing sidings and hand-thrown switches worked by train crews. After New Jersey Transit took over operations in 1983 some of the sidings were removed, severely limiting reverse-peak services, and the practice of cutting cars in and out of trains ended, requiring passengers to change trains, usually at Summit. Beginning in June 1996 some peak trains were operated directly to and from Penn Station, as part of the Midtown Direct service. Any expansion of current service levels is problematical due to lack of storage space at Gladstone.