A few shots that didn't make the prior posts from the road.
Port Jervis, NY is a normal gas stop on the way to PA so why not check out the NY&GL power at the old Erie turntable. This Alco RS-2 and the Erie E8 were on hand. The commuter trains are all in Hoboken in the middle of the day though. From the spartan commuter station you can see the old depot and a steam era cantilever signal bridge, plus the MN/NJDOT layover yards.
Here we see a westbound intermodal on a misty Saturday morning in Reading. The signals cover Wyomissing Jct. where the line from Allentown meets lines headed south through town. Most importantly, this is from the parking lot for the Dosie Dough Bakery! The Fiddler knows how to prioritize local railfan sites.
A westbound freight is about to pass under the route 75 bridge and light the signals at Port Royal west of Harrisburg. There seems to be something from every era here. The old bridge, the PRR signals, the Conrail signal box treatment.
Old Conrail paint WB pulling new NS hoppers at Warrior Ridge. NS seems to be running the wheels off these old units and not bothering with black paint. It is rumored that they won't be kept much longer. The export coal surge probably helps keep them around a little longer.
Two guys waiting for the next train to pass before their lenses at the old flyover below the east portal of Allegheny Tunnel. (HAPT's own Videoman, left and The Fiddler, right) The westbound Pennsylvanian was not far off. A couple of eastbounds emerged from Portage Tunnel and passed here on the upper track - track one - while we waited. (see view from the top of the hill)
An eastbound coal train glides through the curves at Tirone. Coal dust was flying! In fact we got quite a dose of dust from the many passing coal trains. Black Lung anyone! Hopefully they don't have the same track problems found in the Powder River area with coal dust mixed with track.
A westbound coal empty passes through the old yard complex at Denholm. An HO model of the area in the steam era was part of the layout at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. PRR had track pans for watering steamers on the fly and Conrail had a scale system for weighing moving trains located here. Interesting stuff happened here once upon a time.
A westbound double stack rumbles through the semi-quiet town of Mifflin. The new signal bridge just barely in view has only been up for a few months now, replacing the old PRR position signals. The pedestrian underpass pokes out by the depot just out of view to the left.
An eastbound intermodal crawls to the grade crossing at Huntington. The defect detector west of town at Warrior Ridge did not give them a reading so the conductor had to inspect the train before proceeding. Then the crossing had to be flagged because of a malfunction. Hunt Tower, now a county office building, watches silently. Signal crews seemed to be busy enough in the area with two work zones nearer Tyrone without these aggravations.
The view overlooking the old flyover junction from the top of Tunnel Hill. An eastbound autorack train emerges from Portage Tunnel. Tracks 2 & 3 through the Allegheny Tunnel were busy too, but nothing within the same view of course. The locos are crossing the bridge over the abandoned "Mule Shoe Curve" route to Hollidaysburg which once added some capacity to this busy area.
An old friend seen several times on these expeditions. This time it was too easy to photograph from the relaxing perch at the Tunnel Inn. Too bad I only had my spare camera handy.
What would visiting PA be without a stop at the Strasburg RR for some coal smoke! Actually, this was my first visit to the area and long overdue. The RR Museum of Pennsylvania across the street was worthwhile too. Plan carefully when you visit because everything in the area closes at 5pm. We missed the hobby shops and the Toy Train Museum, but then we now have an excuse to return.
BC
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