17-09-16 PHOTOS: Buffalo Line

So the Norfolk Southern re-signaling blitz isn't limited to the glitzy PRR Main Line. The Buffalo Line, running from Harrisburg to Buffalo, is a signaling time capsule with much of it's pioneering 1950's PRR vintage CTC system still intact. Unfortunately the line has already seen numerous signaling downgrades as coal traffic diminished and sections of the route were leased out to short lines. Then, with NS's purchase of the former D&H Main Line south of Albany, NY, the line south of Sunbury, PA ceased to be the backwater that it once was. With the storm clouds threatening I set out with my friend Todd to document what we could before the route was sterilized.

We would first make a couple of PRR Main Line stops at CP-BANKS and CP-CANNON before crossing the river and making our way up the rural east bank on small local roads. Stops would include the Miller and Boyles sidings before reaching the town of Sunbury and then ultimately Northumberland. Running express back south on US 11 we would make one final stop at CP-BANKS to get some additional coverage of things we had missed earlier in the morning.

You can find the full archive of over 1500 photos here.

Arriving at CP-BANKS we found an eastbound train waiting on main track 1 with NS C44-9W #9579 in the lead.

CP-BANKS is the junction between the PRR Main Line which crosses the Susquehanna River at Rockville and the leads to Enola Yard with access to the Lurgan Branch and points south or the Port Road to Baltimore and Delmarva. Eastbound trains get this nice 3 track PRR Position Light gantry with elevated signals.

The other end of the Duncannon siding is located at CP-CANNON where another 3-track PRR position light signal bridge is situated.

The stone arch bridge over Sherman Creek is located within the limits of CP-CANNON.

While driving to the US 11 bridge we passes this former fire tower that was being used as by a flock of vultures as a morning perch.

The PRR always preferred manned block stations to CTC, only installing a few isolated projects compared with the NY Central which embraced the technology. However when the PRR decided to dip its toe in they did not take the cheap route. Here at CP-SOUTH MILLER we see a typical Buffalo Line relay hut built of painted sheet steel. All of the signaling kit on the line was refurbished with a new coat of paint and some other improvements within the last 6-8 years.

The interlocking at the other end of the Miller siding at CP-NORTH MILLER is located just a few feet off PA 147 and is a popular railfan location during the fall leaf season.

Years ago while searching for photos of CP-NORTH MILLER on google, I came upon an old phone book listing for...CP-NORTH MILLER. I was aware that each of the relay huts contained an old school Western Electric Model 505 phone as I had heard them ringing so I decided to use the magic of mobile telephony to test out if the Google supplied phone number still worked :-)


Most of the PRR position light automatic block signals had been replaced back in the Conrail era, but those at MP 278 date from just after NS took ownership of the line before the railroad standardized on large target Darth Vader style heads.

In the middle of the Mahantango Creek bridge the PRR installed a marker indicating the border between Dauphin and Northumberland counties.

The signals at 273 are one of the few surviving pairs of original PRR position light automatics left on the line and also one of the most accessible. A clear indication on auto 273S is a hint of things to come.

Not long after a southbound NS freight led by ES44AC #8160 and sister unit #8157 rolled through.

Next I got a real treat because back in the consist behind NS C44-9W #9418 was former Conrail SD80MAC #7222. All told this train had 22,600 hp!!

Here we see a view of the lashup from behind.

End of the train passing milepost 274. Miles are counting up towards Harrisburg from a zero at Buffalo.

17-09-02 PHOTOS: Mt Washington Scenic

At 6288 feet, Mount Washington is the tallest mountain in the northeastern united states, the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi and home to the world's worst weather. Oh, did I forget to mention that it is also rail transit accessible? Built in 1868, the Mount Washington Cog Railway was half folly, half tourist trap and half technical marvel. It was the world's first cog railway and still one of the highest. Until 2008 the line was operated entirely by steam power, but as an efficiency move to transport more people, the MWCR implemented a shift to in-house built diesel hydraulic locomotives. Today there is only one operating steam locomotive running a single round trip early in the morning. Because of that inconvenient scheduling, the excessive cost of a ticket (~$80 a person!) and the fact I was traveling with non-railfans, I decided to take the equally popular Mount Washington Auto Road and just take some railfan photos at the top. In addition to the MWCR, I also stopped at North Conway, NH and got some photos of the Conway Scenic Railroad's base of operations. Finally the set includes some Amtrak and MBTA photos taken on my return trip to Baltimore. You can find the full gallery of photos here.

Let's begin with the Conway Scenic Railroad operating out of North Conway, NH. This is a typical tourist operation with a Budd RDC and a number of locomotive hauled options. While two steam locomotives are on property, they are both out of service. Here we see former New Haven RDC #23 pulling into the station, still painted in it's NYS&W colors from its time operating south of Syracuse before 2008.

The yard was open to the public and one can see former B&M F7A #4266 and stored NHCR GE 44-ton #360.

The complex also hosted some historic signaling appliances such an operating Wig-Wag, a diamond crossing ball signal and a lower quadrant semaphore intermediate signal.

#501 is a former Maine Central 2-8-0 Consolidation type locomotive built by Alco in 1910. It is currently on display, but is a candidate for restoration to operating condition.

North Conway supports an operating turntable and small engine facility which is used for maintenance and restoration projects.

Former B&M F7A #4268 had long been displayed on this track next to the engine house as the mechanical components had long since been gutted. However in April 2018 it was moved into the shoppes for restoration using doner parts from GP9 #1757.

Which in 2017 was on display behind the engine house with the doors open for public inspection. This unit has never operated with the Conway Scenic and was purchased solely as a source of parts for the more photogenic F unit #4268. The rebuild will result in the F7 having the mechanicals of a later model F9, including the EMD 567C engine seen here.

As I mentioned before the weather on Mt Washington is notoriously bad with freezing temperatures and hurricane force winds to be expected in every month of the year. However on the Saturday before Labour Day the weather was uncharacteristically clear with near unlimited visibility and temperatures around 60 degrees. Basically Mount Washington only sees about 10 or so of these days a year so we were very lucky to go when we did. Here we see the toll booth for the Auto Road. Due to the nice weather we had to wait about 20 minutes in line, but that given the weather the wait wasn't actually that bad.

This isn't a mountaineering blog so here is a token photo of the 5000 foot marker on the road with Mount Adams in the background. Under normal operations traffic moves at about 10-25mph in the up direction, however the record for the 5 mile ascent is a mere 4 minutes.

It's hard to resist the urge to stop at the numerous scenic overlooks. This one provided access to the Appalachian Train, which, above the tree line, was marked by stone cairns.

The historic stage building is a testament to the mountain's weather as it has been equipped with chains to literally prevent it from blowing away. Today this structure houses the peak's gift shoppe.