Railfanning 5-31-2012

Hi, On Thursday, May 31 NS sent their PRR commemorative unit accompanied by 2 executive Fs, an A and a B, along with their exhibit car and a business car to Strasburg, PA for NS Days at the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum.  Friends Bill Kalkman and Rod Peterson, and I headed up to the Lancaster area to try to get some photos.

After finding a location we liked at Ronks, PA Bill got a phone call and we learned the train was at Duncannon, PA waiting on a freight train ahead and that it would be routed through Columbia, PA so it could stay on NS trackage until Lancaster, where it would move onto Amtrak's Harrisburg Line for the short trip to Leamon Place and a connection with the Strasburg RR.  Therefore, we backtracked to Columbia and waited.  Our first shot of the train was at 12:55 PM, a long wait but plenty of company.

We then moved Mountville, PA on the route between Columbia and Lancaster.  This was slow trackage which was good because we were flying blind in heavy traffic.

Next up was Ronks.

The train easily beat us to Leamon Place but we arrived before it entered Strasburg Railroad trackage.

The chase from here was surprisingly brisk but we are able to catch it again at Cherry Hill,

by the Railroad Caboose Motel just outside of Strasburg,

and from the car.

We then joined the photo line at the west end of the passenger station in Strasburg.

The PRR unit was uncoupled from the rest of the train and pulled down past the station and the old J tower.

It then backed into the museum.

Before leaving Bill and I walked back for a few photos of the F Units and the former Lancaster Oxford and Southern doodglebug.

I hope you enjoy the photos.