Eastern Railroad Discussion > New Possibilities....(NS Conemaugh Line)

One of the things the railfan community (myself included) tends to do is lament the passage of time from a railfan's perspective:

"I remember when Conrail used to run through here with matched sets of SD40-2's and position light signals, and don't get me started on all the shots you can't do any more since all the trees have grown up!"

Fortunately, every once in a while, life will throw you an unexpected positive development as time passes, whether it comes in the form of heritage engines, the revitalization of a little used branch, or in a recent case for me, a newly opened photo location offering new possibilities that didn't previously exist. For years, the only project that seemed to languish on the Penndot drawing board longer than the reconstruction of PA route 28 in this area was the replacement for the Hulton Bridge, which connects the towns of Oakmont and Harmar across the Allegheny River. The bridge is named for Jonathon Hulton, one of the first landowners in the Oakmont area. This 1908 vintage Parker Pratt steel through truss bridge is a thorn in the side of daily commuters with its outdated single lane in each direction and congested intersections at each end. This spring, Penndot finally started on a replacement structure, a 4 wide lane affair with an improved interchange on the Harmar side.

Construction in the area has also opened up a shot of the NS Conemaugh Line that was formerly obscured by buildings and tree growth...and even better, its a shot that is well lit for the afternoon eastbounds which predominate Conemaugh Line traffic patterns. I've been trying to get a sunny afternoon shot of a train working through the construction area all summer, and finally pulled it off last week.
1& 2: NS 564, a coal train running from Shire Oaks PA to the Huff Generating station near New Florence, PA rolls through the work area...work has started on piers and spans for the new bridge on this side of the river, while the original bridge handles bumper to bumper rush hour traffic.
3. This shot also works for the few westbounds that run, such as this 561 empty Shelocta coal train headed back for Shire Oaks on a cloudy Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago behind class unit NS SD70ACE 1000.

Work on the new bridge is slated to finish in the fall of 2015, with the old span slated for demolition shortly thereafter. This transition period should offer some interesting photo potentials as things develop.

Thanks for looking!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/14 21:26 by PittsburghMike.

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Good shots Mike! I guess I will have get down that way and try the area out.

Posted from iPhone

Mike, thanks for sharing this information. I will add this to my list.
John

Nice Mike...

Gratitude 'n' 'at, Mike!!!!!!!!!

NIIIIIICE....!!! Its good to see NS 1000 too...... :<)

Thanks for this, Mike. I grew up right down the road and crossed this bridge a million times. I even remember the old buildings there in Harmarville, like Alice's Pool Hall and the ones on the OTHER side of Freeport Road before they built the Route 28 expressway. Haven't been back in years. But thanks for the memories of the wonderful Allegheny Valley!

Mike, how was the South Carolina trip? The river site supper as always by you.... keep up dates if you can. Thanks...Don.....