Passenger Trains > Wednesday NEC Action

1. AEM-7 No. 945 doing the posted speed eastbound at Croydon, PA.
2. Acela 2039 going away eastbound at Croydon, PA.
3. SEPTA No. 400 westbound at Levittown, PA

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4. Acela 2022 westbound through Levittown, PA.
5. Siemens Sprinter No. 613 at Levittown.
6. Westbound Keystone service train at Levittown.

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7. NS freight westbound on track 2. SEPTA train on Track 4. Levittown, PA. NS 5290 was the lead unit with the 2105 on the rear.
8. AEM-7 No 924 westbound at Levittown



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/14 14:22 by birdman.

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Great series of pictures.

On your #5, there's a viewliner observation car at the back end of the train. It looked to me (upline) that there were business guests inspecting the line.

Another business car with a glass inspection rear window was on the tail end of a northbound train a little earlier

Always enjoy your pictures. One question, is Croydon in a safe area? I remember someone telling me that he witnessed a car break in during the day.

Mark

I don't go there very often, but I have never felt that it wasn't safe. Of course, I have only been there in broad daylight and there have always been other people around waiting for a Septa commuter train. A nearby location that I often visit is the Septa station at Cornwells Heights. The light for photographing eastbound trains is particularly good between 07:00 and 10:00 there. For greater numbers of trains and greater variety, it's hard to beat Princeton Junction, NJ. Train frequency there with NJT and Amtrak is fairly high. Princeton junction is very safe but parking can be difficult. The Septa Levittown, PA station is best in the afternoon for photography of westbound trains. Croydon is best in the morning for eastbound trains and okay in the afternoon for westbound trains. I happened to stop there just after lunch today for an hour or so. During that time the sun was blocked by clouds every so often.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/14 15:31 by birdman.

Thanks for the reply birdman. I'll think of that when I'm up in the area. I've been to Cornwells Heights and Princeton Junction, both were great places to visit. Guess I'll have to check out Levittown and Croydon.

Thanks,

Mark

A very nice sequence of excellent quality shots. Thanks for posting. You make me want to get back east again.

Marty Bernard

D'oh - you think you can just pop into the neighborhood and get
a cloudy day shot with Sun at Levittown, do ya?! Why I oughta!

Kidding - though I think in the last 5 visits, I've gotten
skunked by clouds 4 times trying to catch a Sprinter! And
even had the Sprinter show on the outside track when it
WAS sunny. Shooting Amtrak... if it ain't the trains, it's
the shadows that will get you.

Nice shots - especially the Sprinter - might I suggest a tighter
crop to eliminate the catenary poles all together?

It's amazing just how many different angles can be had at that
station - one you want to be sure to get is the station itself.
It's being torn down soon to make way for a new modern station
with... wait for it - an overhead walkway. Apparently the
tunnel often floods and requires too much work to clear the
snow and ice.

As for Croydon - never felt unsafe there - even through till
11 PM or so.

/Mitch

Mgoldman Wrote:
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one you want to be sure to get is the
> station itself.
> It's being torn down soon to make way for a new
> modern station
> with... wait for it - an overhead walkway.
> Apparently the
> tunnel often floods and requires too much work to
> clear the
> snow and ice.

ADA compliance, it's easier to build an accessible path over the tracks than to try to modify the tunnels. All of SEPTA's stations are on a mandate to go to "Full Length" level boarding with accessible paths. At many this will mean the end of the station building to make way for the new construction.

Seems SEPTA takes the most economical approach when it comes to crossing
the tracks at most stations. I guess, that would've really been the PRR
itself - putting stations near overpasses which served as the "tunnel"
between stations. It's nice to see some more direct paths to the other
side.

/Mitch