Eastern Railroad Discussion > Allentown-Bethlehem area, Wednesday 3/18

Made a trip to the Lehigh Valley area of eastern PA last Wednesday morning.  Glad I got over there last week, as COVID-19 cases are increasing there to the point that the PA governor just issued a stay-at-home order today for both Lehigh and Northampton counties.

10K was the first train that I got, shortly after my arrival, seen here crossing the Lehigh River approaching CP-ALLEN and Allentown Yard.  10K is usually a huge train between Pittsburgh and Ready, where it makes a hefty set-off, and usually has a mid-train DPU.   No DPU today though, just the two lead units and 80 cars.  Perhaps it was dropped along with the cut at Reading Yard.

A couple of the Allentown locals which work out the east end of the yard were heard working in the yard, so I headed over to Bethlehem, where H74 came across the river and was working up 3 track in River Yard with a slug/GP40-2/SD40-2 and 27 cars,  the majority of which would be set off for Lehigh Valley Rail Management.

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H74 had this interesting load of steel.  Most of the steel industry left the Lehigh Valley 25 years ago when Bethlehem Steel curtailed operations, but there is still some steel industry in the area, as Lehigh Valley Heavy Forge still receives steel and hot ingots for processing in a small part of the once sprawling complex (much of which is now part of the Sands Casino.

Coming out of Allentown behind the H74 was H76, but he had to hold up at CP-Bethlehem as westbound hotshot intermodal 21M from New Jersey was bearing down on Bethlehem.  Once cleared, H76 with a pair of SD40-2s and 9 cars in tow started east with several stops ahead across the Delaware River into New Jersey.

 

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While on the Bethlehem side, westbound 19G had already left westbound for Reading and Harrisburg/Enola, so things were going to get quiet for a while.  I decided to start heading west back home with the thought of maybe catching an eastbound or two on my way back to Harrisburg, or possibly catch 19G after he finished working Reading Spring St. Yard.  As luck would have it, autorack train 18N was approaching Reading, so I started looking for a location between Alburtis and Reading.  For some reason, I couldn't find a location which suited me (and I've been on this section of trackage dozens if not a hundred times over the past 30 years.  I finally settled for a so-so view near Fleetwood with just barely enough time to get set up.  I had forgotten that due to the PSR/NS TOP21 plan, 18N was now carrying a block of mixed freight for Allentown in front of the autoracks, on this day it was 45 mixed ahead 54 racks.

After this, I received word that a 66Z oil train bound for New Jersey was approaching Harrisburg with a BNSF SD70MAC as the trailing locomotive.  I needed a wide broadside shot as the sun was moving around, plus clouds were starting to cover the sky.  I got to Prescott near Lebanon, PA, just missing 19G when I arrived.  Fortunately I was listening to the Harrisburg Terminal dispatcher radio feed, and after a long wait 66Z started to move east. Unfortunately, 66Z weighing in at 18,000 tons on 119 cars, stalled on the slight grade climbing out of Harrisburg, so I headed west more closer to home.  I got to listen to a yard crew summoned to give him a shove up the small grade, and finally 66Z was on it's way through Hummelstown shortly after I arrived there.

I'll have more in the next day or few from some time around Harrisburg Saturday and Sunday in nice sunny weather.  In the meantime, stay safe and stay healthy everyone. 

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So where does H76 work these days.  Im guessing H74 still works up the old PRR/LHR/DLW to martins creek, belidere, etc.

H76 works the Lehigh Line as far east as Manville. The 74 is a relief job and covers different areas on different days. Not much action on the Portland anymore except the occasional unit train to Martin's Creek and the H71 at night.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/20 21:05 by OHRY.

Nice set of photos!

At the crossing in Fleetwood (Willow st I think) there is a small warehouse basically right behind where you were standing. The parking lot is elevated and the view of eastbound trains is half decent.

Dan

Posted from iPhone

Very nice..!!

Yep, I've been up on the hill before. There are three shipping containers trackside just east of the crossing which marred that view. Plus, he snuck up on me and I didn't have much time to set up when I got there.

dschlegel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice set of photos!
>
> At the crossing in Fleetwood (Willow st I think)
> there is a small warehouse basically right behind
> where you were standing. The parking lot is
> elevated and the view of eastbound trains is half
> decent.
>
> Dan
>
> Posted from iPhone

Darned containers, forgot about them! There’s containers all along the Reading line from when the new signal system and PTC were installed over the past two years. In Tooton the contAiners are actually starting to become overgrown with vines!!

Dan


sscannella Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yep, I've been up on the hill before. There are
> three shipping containers trackside just east of
> the crossing which marred that view. Plus, he
> snuck up on me and I didn't have much time to set
> up when I got there.
>
> dschlegel Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nice set of photos!
> >
> > At the crossing in Fleetwood (Willow st I
> think)
> > there is a small warehouse basically right
> behind
> > where you were standing. The parking lot is
> > elevated and the view of eastbound trains is
> half
> > decent.
> >
> > Dan
> >
> > Posted from iPhone