Eastern Railroad Discussion > Lucking Out in PA 07/22 to 07/25 Trip report

For my son Hayden's 16 birthday he asked to go on a railfan trip instead of getting a gift of some kind.   He wanted to railfan the Buffalo and Pittsburg as well as the Bessemer and Lake Erie.  So on July 22 I took a half day of work and headed to Punxsutawney PA.

1) In Punxsutawney we caught some power switching the yard around sunset.

2) Hayden had an entire schedule for the trip and we were out of the hotel by 7am on the 23rd and headed toward Indiana, PA to catch an empty coal train coming north.   Not knowing the area too well he was my navigator.   We intercepted the northbound lead by SD60i 3880 a Locust Lane.

3) The train went into the yard at Punxsutawney but with the scanner we had heard a northbound had just left headed toward Johnsonburg, PA where a SB train is met and the crews switch trains.   Here is the northbound with SD60i 3890 a few miles north of Dubois pulling up a steep grade at Old Grade Road.   The train was down on its knees from here up to the summit about a mile north.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/21 15:18 by cjvrr.

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Excellent.  Congratulations, you obviously did something right in his upbringing.
JB



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/21 13:35 by 3rdswitch.

The NB did some switching in Johnsonburg and met the SB.   The crews swamped trains.   It took perhaps 30 minutes total for the crew swap.

4) Here is the SB train with B and P Sd60i 3889 passing the Brockway, PA station.

5) Same train passing through Dubois, PA.   They stopped in the yard in Punxsutawney.  We headed over to Butler PA for our overnight stay.

6) Saturday was our day to chase the Bessemer and Lake Erie ore train.   This train runs on pretty well set times.   Again we left the hotel before 7am and headed north stopping at Boyers Road in Harrisville, PA just around 8am.   Within 10 minutes the SB ore train lead by CN 8876 showed up.   We chased that south. 

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7) I will say the train speed is quite high and the track in excellent shape so its difficult to keep up with the train.   We did manage to catch in Butler, PA and a few other spots but the day was overcast with spots of rain.   We did stop north of the bridge over the Allegheny River.   About an hour and half later the empty train comes back north.   Here it is on the bridge.   Lots of haze in the air.

8) Chasing north we caught the train a few times but when we got south of Grove City we began hearing a local switching a customer.   What we didn't know is we already missed the northbound empty ore train at that spot.   We headed into Grove City and there were the only two Bessemer and Lake Erie painted engines left on the line switching the yard.   My son was elated!   The crew dropped a loaded centerbeam in a local lumber yard and picked up the empty.   They were taking it back to the yard in Butler, PA and picking up some boxcars.   Of course we chased.   Here is the train in Grove City lead by B&LE 905 as the engineer was notching it out to head south.

9)  Again it was a quick chase.  We did manage one or two spots for photos but missed the train arriving in Butler.   Here the train is done switching (about an hour of work) and headed back north with B&LE 868 leading.

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10) Here is the northbound approaching Greenville Yard at Scott Road.

11) Just noth of Scott Road is a set of signals as well as an older style speed limit sign.   I took two photos showing the signal with a proceed

12) And finally with the signal dropped.

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The next day we hit Letchworth State Park in NY but then headed down toward Binghamton.  As soon as we neared the city we heard the NS dispatcher giving 11Z permission to head south.  So we chased it to Scranton.

When we got back to NJ and headed the "back way" home we also caught a local New York Susquehanna and Western Train between Hardyston and Butler, NJ

My son's timing was impecible.   I don't think I have ever been that lucky.

13) Here is the SB train at Kingsley, PA 07-25-2021

14) Now on Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson, PA 07-25-2021

15) and not in PA but on the way home, NYS&W 3018 in Oak Ridge, NJ headed eastbound

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/21 13:56 by cjvrr.

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Wow you guys nailed that trip!!

Dan

Posted from iPhone

Awesome, I reckon you'll both have great memories of that trip for a long, long time! Congratulations.

What a great present request, for both of you!

Fritz in MD

Great series. Your son proved to be an excellent navigator to the right spots.
John

Great series.Thanks. Always good to see a father and son enjoying time together. 

Thanks for sharing that time with your son. It sounds like a great trip

Great series!

Fantastic!