On September 29, 2015, we set out to Lancaster County catch a rare move of Superliners under the wires on the Amtrak Keystone Corridor, then stayed for the rest of the day to catch the Pennsylvanians and usual Keystone Service. However, the day became very unusual when track work and inspections caused delays and trains to run opposite main, keeping things interesting.
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Video Information:
0:16 - Opening Scene:
Amtrak Keystone Service 648 flies east with AMTK Sprinter 623 by Milepost 76 on the Amtrak Keystone Corridor, passing well-preserved brick buildings that have been repurposed since the era of the PRR-the building marked "Colonial Shoe Factory Outlet" is now a furniture store with an active wood shop next door.
0:45 - 643 barrels west toward Harrisburg with the cab car leading, which is typical for the majority of trains in this direction. ACS-64 612 pushes on the rear. 857 was closely following this train.
1:20 - Right behind 643, "hotel train" 857 zooms west with a short consist of 6 Superliners that were sent to Philadelphia during the Papal Events to house employees because of the hotels in the area being completely booked. ACS-64 647 pulled this rare move.
2:10 - Moving into the afternoon, things started to get interesting as we chance locations to the former Eby Chiques Road Crossing in Mt. Joy. Track speed has been raised at this location, so I was not anticipating the Pennsylvanian (Train 42) to be barreling at me at over 100 MPH, even more so, running on the opposite track! The eastbound track was out of service for much of the afternoon for reasons not known to me, other than likely wayside maintenance and inspections. A single P42DC is the usual power on this train.
2:55 - Amtrak "Pennsylvanian" 43 was also on time today, with an unusual consist of two P42DC's, 194 and 197. The second locomotive was added for extra power, because the Superliners would be added to this train for the trip west of Harrisburg to Pittsburgh.
3:55 - Well into the afternoon, the rainy weather kicks in, as I change locations to the former Newcomer Road grade crossing closer to (just east of) the Mt. Joy town center. Also, for unknown reasons, a very late Keystone Service 645 was running at restricted speed over 45 minutes late, accruing most of its delays west of Lancaster. ACS-64 617 leads with some noisy wipers activated in the drizzle. Because of the single tracking, this would cause delays to several other trains, east and west.
5:15 - The rain intensifies as 652 finally heads east on the opposite track with an hour delay, presumably waiting at ROY or RHEEMS for the 645 to clear. Right after the train passed, the rain began to pour, so I packed up and got into the car, within minutes both a catenary inspection train and an on time 654 head east on the EB track without any warning for me to set up my gear.
6:25 - I was tired and ready to head home when I remembered this view across the field along Newcomer Road. You may have noticed by now in the video that trains have been blowing their horns when they passed me WB at Eby Chiques and EB by Newcomer's. That's because a private farmer's lane still crosses the tracks between the location of the two former road crossings, which still is posted for crews to give horn. I was too far away to get numbers off of the engines, but I like the farm scene here, which is common, but representative of Lancaster County. With the schedules of the trains all mixed up at this point, I had to wait in the rain with the camera on stand-by until 647 finally emerged.
6:55 - 649 was not far behind the 647, with the EB 656 waiting for both of these trains before continuing east.
7:15 - The sun is setting earlier as the days move into October, and the thick shades of gray are of no aid to the lighting situation for the very late 656. If you look closely to the middle of the frame, you'll see an opening between the ever green trees, which is the private farm crossing. Aside from Amtrak utility crossings, this is the last motor vehicle crossing any where on the Keystone Corridor.
Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed this video!
15 окт 2024
