Four Day Pennsylvania Trip - 4

Bill Kalkman and I began our last day, Thursday, October 15, back at the parking lot across from Delaware Lackawanna's Tower 60. When we arrived around 7:15 AM there very few cars present and no locomotives. By around 8:00 AM, with everything still quiet, we decided to head for the Humboldt Industrial Park in West Hazleton, PA, where we expected to find a yard crew working. 

In fact, we found two crews going to work just as we arrived. The first crew went west out of the small yard here and picked up a cut of cars (above and below).

                                        

On the rear of the cut was this caboose which the crew used as a shoving platform (above and below).

 

The crew pulled east of the small yard and began to switch.

Meanwhile, the second switcher sat outside the yard office as the crew prepared to go to work (above and below).

The second switcher pulled east

then backed west and around a curve in the vicinity where the first crew picked up their cut of cars.

They then switched some sidings a few hundred feet north of the yard (above and below)

before heading back to the yard.

Meanwhile I had spotted the first crew switching about a quarter of a mile east of where the second crew was working so we went to investigate (above and below).

Having done all we wanted to do in the industrial park we decided to see if we could get another shot or two of the North Reading Fast Freight (NRFF). We knew from our friend Hunter Richardson the train would probably pass through East Mahanoy Junction about 3:15 so we headed there to wait. We had enough time to clear a considerable amount of high grass (above and below).

Our final location of the trip was in Whitehaven, PA (above and below). The photos were taken from a huge pile of wood chips as there was some construction going on here. If any one knows the history of the road on the lower level I would be interested. I believe it was once the road bed for either the Central RR of NJ or the Lehigh valley. 

Thanks for looking,
 

Chasing Amtrak's 50th Anniversary Unit

Hi, On Wednesday, November 10 I joined friends Bill Kalkman and Jim Kleeman on a trip to photograph one of six Amtrak  locomotives that have been painted to commemorate  Amtrak's 50th Anniversary. Locomotive number 108 was the power for train #42, the eastbound Pennsylvanian.

Our first location on this trip was the 17th Street overpass in Altoona, PA. Almost immediately after our arrival an NS GP38/slug set headed down the Holidaysburg Secondary.

After a short wait the Pennsylvanian came into view and crossed over from Track 1 to the station track (above and two below). 

                                            

  

   

Our second location was Port Royal, PA where photographed #42 as it passed under the PA75 Highway Bridge. The arched portion was built in 1910.

   

We intended to photograph #42 just east of Duncannon but a delay due to highway construction nixed that idea so we moved east of Harrisburg. Finally, we decided on Elizabethtown, PA for our last shot. Just as we got to the station the train pulled in and we were on the dark side.  However, a quick look at the schedule indicated we had two minutes to get to the sunlit side and find a spot. We just made it.

Thanks for looking.

 

Four Day Pennsylvania Trip - 3

Hi, On Thursday October 14, the third day of our trip, Bill Kalkman and I had information that a crew would head out to Moosic, PA on DL's Laurel Line and then work the line to Carbondale, PA on their return from Moosic. Therefore, we decided to start our day in the parking lot across from Tower 60; which appears in a few of the photos.

When we arrived there were almost no cars in the yard and only one locomotive in the area around Tower 60. We decided to wait around to see what happened. 

While we we were waiting Steamtown opened its gate so we relocated to their parking lot and took photos. The above photo shows the period freight with the Rahway Valley 2-8-0 on the point.

A Geep in Nickle Plate colors was switching (above and below) and

former Reading FP7s were on display.

Eventually, the train we expected off the Laurel Line arrived, however, on the mainline. The crew cut off the two locomotive shown above (an Alco RS-11 and an Alco RS-32, painted red) off the power set and

began switching with the other two locomotives (Alco C-425s).

Next the crew reboarded the locomotives that had been set out. They are shown here passing Tower 60.

We headed out along the line to Carbondale and got our first shot at East Parker Street in Scranton.

 

Next up was Boulevard Avenue in Dickson City and then

Church Street in Jessop, PA.

There was a large open area behind the Rapid Pallet Company in Jermyn, PA. The crew must had some work to do as it took time for the train get here; enough time for us to eat lunch (above and below).

The train worked a number of industries in Carbondale (above and five below).

The crew left their train at a siding where it would not block grade crossings and proceeded to the end of the line with just locomotives.

At the end of the line they coupled to a string of covered hoppers (above and below).

The crew then proceeded to the west end of their train. As we could not find the cars that had been left behind and we did not know what the crew would do we elected to see if we could get a photo of the Reading and Northern train NRFF. As it turned out the crew outlawed before returning to Scranton.

We found a clear spot to phtotograph the NRFF at Mountain Top, PA but the train beat us to Pittston, PA.

Thanks for looking.

 

Four Day Pennsylvania Trip - 2

Hi, Bill Kalkman and I had decided to devote Wednesday, October 13 to the Delaware Lackawanna. As getting train info from the railroad is no longer possible all one can do is park across from Tower 60 and the Steamtown parking lot and wait to see what, if anything, happens or if another railfan shows up with information. At any rate, we learned the railroad would run a P074 to Cresco that morning. Shortly we heard the train switching so we started looking for our first photo location.

We found the location just west of the old Lackawanna Station; now the Radisson Hotel. About 9:30 P074 struggled up grade past us. The sound was incredible (above and below).

Beating the train to Moscow, PA for our next shot was easy (above and below)

as was beating it to Gouldsboro (above and below).

However, it was almost a dead heat at Tobyhanna; here at the switch to the army depot.

Next up was Mount Pocono (above and below).

Bill indicated that the crew probably would work Ardent Mills given the number of covered hoppers in their train and that if they did the Fairview Ave bridge that would make a great vantage point. Shortly after we arrived the crew cut off the rear part of their train and entered this siding with the block to be delivered. 

They left the block for Ardent Mills on the siding for later pickup by the mill switcher and pulled out on the main line through the switch at the east end of the siding (above and below)

and then backed on to the cut they had left to the west of the siding. We were amazed that no other railfans showed up. At this point we elected to forego the shot of P074 arriving at Cresco and get lunch.

We arrived at Cresco in time to photograph the departure of P075 with an MLW M636 leading.

We caught the train off the Fairview Avenue overpass in Mount Pocono and

   

just after the train passed under PA 940 in Mount Pocono.

    

Larsen Lake provided our last photo location for the train. We attempted to beat the train to the west portal of Nay Aug tunnel but could not find it before the train arrived.

We spent some time photographing some of the Steamtown exhibits parked next to the DL tracks (above and three below). 

Steamtown has set up this small freight with Rahway Valley 2-8-0 #15 on the point (above and below).

The DL power in the above photo is P075 switching.

When they were done switching the P075 crew took their power to the new Von Storch shop. While we were down there I photographed this Alco RS-3 in a Delaware & Hudson style paint scheme and 

this former Cartier MLW M636. I have since heard that this locomotive will soon enter the shop to be prepared for a return to service and painted.

Our last shot of the day was of this light power move headed for some industries on the south side of town for some switching.

Thanks for looking.