Trains and Farms: The Norfolk Southern Reading Line
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- The NS Reading Line runs through the center of eastern Pennsylvania farm communities, providing some of the best rural scenery in the state while watching trains. The former Reading mainline, which runs between Reading, PA and Allentown, PA, still contains active Reading searchlight block signals, that serve about 30 trains daily.
Selected are scenes from May, August, and November 2012, that show vast farm scenery, railroad related structures, or the Reading signals along the route.
0:00 - We start out on May 18, 2012 with the first scene of a heavy loaded garbage train speeding through Mertztown past the freight depot. Power for the train is a nice eclectic mix of EMD motors:
65J - Garbage Loads - Kearny, NJ - Mingo Junction, OH
NS SD70M-2 2717
NS SD70 2519
NS SD60 6674
1:37 - That evening trains 15T and 261 head through the farms at Longswamp and the 222E block signal.
15T - Mixed Freight - Allentown, PA - Birmingham, AL
NS D9-40CW 9628
NS D9-40CW 9609
NS SD60 6518 (UP Paint)
3:23
261 - Roadrailer - Bethlehem, PA - Chicago, IL
NS SD70M-2 2662
NS D9-40CW 9132
4:48 - The next day on May 19, 2012, the weather was just as spotless, therefore warranting another visit to the Reading Line. 11J is seen from afar as it enters the small town of Bowers with a weak and whiny horn on the leader.
11J - Empty Autoracks - Doremus, NJ - Bellevue, OH or Detroit, MI
NS SD60M 6796
NS D9-40CW 9906
6:16 - High priority mail and intermodal train 21M races west between Topton and Bowers as farmers ready the land for planting of crops.
21M - Intermodal / Mail - Croxton, NJ - Chicago, IL
NS D9-40CW 9824
NS D8-40CW 8455
NS D9-40CW 9754
NS D9-40CW 9254 "Operation Lifesaver"
8:26 - H68, a local mixed freight turn from Allentown to Reading heads back to Allentown with interesting freight cars in tow, including original Erie Lackawanna hopper cars!
NS SD70M 2619
NS D8-40CW 8336
NS D9-40CW 9619
NS GP38-2 5355
9:25 - Loaded autoracks round the curve by the 221W block signal at high solar noon. This signal is unique to the others along the route because of its larger signal head, which resembles those found along the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
18N - Loaded Autoracks - Fostoria, OH - Doremus, NJ
NS SD70M-2 2680
NS D9-40CW 9697
10:23 - Van train 20K with a nice leader also passes Longswamp at a different angle of the 222E signal.
20K - Intermodal - Chicago, IL - Croxton, NJ
NS SD70 2559
NS D9-40CW 9021
NS D9-40CW 9529
11:34 - 38G is getting back on the move after making a quick stop to observe a problem that was noted by the 18.8 detector in Topton. As it turns out, the 4th locomotive has a bad traction motor and flat spot, therefore the train travels slowly to Lyons, where it will drop off the 5210 on a siding before continuing on its journey.
38G - Mixed Freight - Allentown, PA - Camden, NJ
NS D9-40CW 9750
NS D8-40CW 8458
NS GP38-2 5621
NS GP38-2 5210
14:16 - Hot shot intermodal 211 heads west on the opposite main track to get around 38G. Because the railroad is signalled in one direction, the westbound move is permitted by a Track Authority given by the dispatcher. 211 crossed over to the opposite main at the CTC island in Alburtis.
211 - Intermodal - Croxton, NJ - Atlanta, GA
NS D9-40CW 9862
NS D8-40C 8752
NS D9-40CW 9454
15:50 - On July 28, 2012, 19G heads west past the remnants of the autobody plant in Fleetwood. The train has commuter locomotives in tow-these locomotives from the MBTA are going to JBS in Altoona for servicing.
NS D8-40CW 8411
NS D9-40CW 9436
MBTX GP40MC 1124
MBTX GP40MC 1115
18:11 - Local H47 had finished its duties along the Reading Line, starting its high-ball back to Reading Yard. Here, it passes corn fields and the 142E and 131W block signals. The main plant for Deka Batteries is just to the right out of the picture, being mostly blocked by the corn.
NS GP38-2 5303 "Operation Lifesaver"
NS GP40-2 3061
19:01 - 38G heads west through the open corn fields just east of Mertztown on August 19, 2012.
NS SD70M-2 2719
NS SD70 2569
NS D9-40CW 9350
21:21 - 211 heads west through downtown Emmaus on November 17, 2012.
NS D9-40CW 9707
UP AC45CCTE 7635
UP AC45CCTE 7665 
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I remember watching this 5-6 years ago.... oh the nostalgia
The NS Reading Line has a lot of farms by it!
Great video! Especially loved the shot at the auto body plant in Fleetwood & the long distance shots across the fields with the farmer on his tractor in the foreground. Nice!
One of your best.... Great job!!!
I really enjoyed this video. Cool!
Very nice man!!!!!!!!
Beautiful country. My old stomping grounds. Worked in Topton. Chili Festival in Bowers, Fiddle Festival in Lyons. Fished the Saucony Creek.
This is what I call a professional train video. The fact that you don't only get the train in the video, but the landscape to. Both make a wonderful video. Thanks
Awesome! Enough said!
good vidio,,some long trains there,,a lot of trailer trucks,,some nice countrey,thanks for poasting,,
Great video once again! This is my favorite NS mainline to railfan. Has the best scenery all packed into about 30 miles!
I just caught those EL Hoppers on the CSX Big 4 the other day outside of Ridgemont, Ohio. Fortunally they were part of a MW move that was parked on a siding so I was able to get still photos of those hoppers. Very neat to see them in video in a different state on a different line lol.
NICE LOVE IT
Didn't realize the NS still has searchlight signals. The BNSF in December got rid of the absolute Last of the searchlights from the old Santa Fe first week of December 2012. Sad to see them go. It was part of the original thrill for me watching the train part those old signals, watching the light change back to red, in the same lens. They have the newer goofy looking color lights, with the "unibrow" over all three lights. Looks like an olympic diving board holding them up. Mike in Fresno, Ca.
Great video and catches!
gotta love that trains ripping thru the countryside! :) always seeing fields which remind me of when i worked in them in summer of '12 will never forget that despite the fact i worked in 1 "near" railroad tracks but could only hear it & not see it which was frustrating as hell lol >:O
I agree, and the signals! The signals make it classic!
Great stuff as usual.
LOVE IT
I've always wanted to "take a ride on the Reading", maybe one of these days I'll take a drive and see it done for a weekend. The one thing that has always peaking my interest in the Reading Line was the amount of wide open vistas there are to view the action across the farmlands, ect, apparently you thought the same way haha. I didn't realize there was that much Reading signalling still left out there, unlike the Harrisburg Line to the west hehe.
By the way, EXCELLENT VIDEO! Couldn't spot a thing wrong with it, all ticks from me, lots of info, good presentation, looks PRO!
nice video
Cool engine with the old UP paint scheme but in NS heritage. Saw that yesterday on a manifest EB
Nice video ... :-)
Fantastic video. Thoroughly enjoyed it and have watched it a number of times now.
Great video! Thanks for sharing!
Great video once again!
Great shots, loved those long distant ones.
I sit, listen, and wait.
Wow definitely BEST quality railfanning vid I've seen in a while! Nice job and bring us more!
I've seen that OLS Dash 9 more times than I can count!
Another AMAZING video from you man!
love the shot at 1:53! keep up the videos!
Most of the freight trains here run around the same time everyday, so that helps, except for the ones that come from long distances, you never know with those.
Great video mate. Good for us aussies to see some of your surrounding country. Always been a big fan of the prancing horse. Keep up the great work...
cool
Great shots! Thanks for sharing!
Nice Whiteface SD70M! only a few left!
Absolutely a great video!!! Thanks for sharing.
Excellent Video! I REALLY enjoy your uploads!
Agreed my friend!
4:49 11J, 6796 horn sounds like a alarm
GREAT VIDEO! One of the best I have seen. You left me with no choice. I had to subscribe. And the best part is I am not to far from these locations. Keep the videos coming. Great job.
Thanks for share!!, i like sd 60 NS locomotives!
Wow 19:10 is my favourite shot!
Nice video and beautiful scenery. I FINALLY looked on googlemaps to see where the NS goes, while the Amtrak takes over the Keystone Corridor from Harrisburg to Philly. I'm guessing that the NS goes to Reading, Allentown, and so on. Yeah that poor sick goose carrying those autoracks needs help at 4:48. At 8:37 that horn (doppler, I'm guessing) needed a sip of water to clear it's throat. LOL
Hi, I live up here north of Boston where the T uses F-40PH and GP-40MC for
commuter rail power. Very likely, those GEEPS are headed to the Juniata
Plant in Altoona, Pa for either refit, rebuild of repaint. As you can see, they are a "cut-down" version of the SD-45, ie. "chopp-nose" and "flaired radiators"
I believe they are powered by the same 3,000 h.p 645 engine.
Hope this helps!
I still use a Canon HG20. It's very out of date. There are current models similar to it, but I would recommend the Canon HF G10. It's about $1000, but I'd rather pay a couple hundred more for quality and durability than those handy cams, but it depends how much you want to use it, in which case I would go for a cheaper model if it will be an once-in-awhile bid.
OK. Thanks for the info.
Freight traffic is very unpredictable. Best case is to get yourself a scanner. Otherwise get yourself at a station or a place near signals and wait and listen.
Were you out railfannin today? We went out and heard some other of those trains like 20k and 21m and others
NS had C40-8s!?
just a curious question, you guys ever go down south?
Where were those MBTA GP-40's going? Does anyone know?
Ah yes..The reading line.I went to Reading and didn't see a single train!
Great videos. One question...how do you find out what times the trains run on the lines you photograph? I would love to watch and film some near my home but have no idea other than waiting around until one pops up. Any suggestions?
9:46 Rip your ears and headphone users
08:57 old EL hoppers!!!!!
I see 15t where I live all the way in alabama
So the majority was August? It looks like summer there. What kind of temperatures? Anything get past 100F there? I suppose inland is hotter there, like Australia.
I should read it more. Majority was May. Late May?
Summer do get hot and muggy there. 90 to 100 F in the day. May and October are the best months to visit.
hey Deisel Ducy is that ya'll the first enougne
why do some of the rail cars click like that?
The wheel may have flat spots from wear and tear or a flat spot from manufacturer Defect
Well then, I am on the right track (sorry...that was pretty bad)
I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a real miracle that the first train didn't have graffiti on the it. If you are an atheist, that should convince you that there is a God and He can do anything.