Question about riding NJ Transit?

Hi, I am from Basking Ridge and I am planning to buy tickets from the conductor since there is no ticket vending machine at the station. However, I will need to change trains at Summit to go to NY Penn station. Should I ask the conductor for a ticket NY Penn Station or just to Summit and then buy a separate ticket from Summit to NY on that train? Im confused since if I asked for a ticket directly to NY, wouldn't, they collect my ticket during the 1st segment of the trip? Thank you