21-11-21 PHOTOS: Wyomissing Jct

When driving home for Thanksgiving or Christmas I usually take the opportunity to make a side trip to Reading, PA as between the Reading & Northern and NS, it's a reliable location for both train movements and railroad related infrastructure. Since prior to 2021 I had largely exhausted the supply of signaling and infrastructure locations in the Reading area, I decided to meet up with Phil N. at CP-WYOMISSING JCT to see what might be moving on the Harrisburg Line. Luck and the sun were both shining on my that day with a bevy of through freights appearing in the space of an hour or two. After lunch a visit to the Cumru Bridge did not yield any additional results, but I had gotten more than my fill earlier in the day. The full set of photos can be seen here ( mirror ).

CP-WYOMISSING JCT is located on the former Reading Railroad Lebanon Valley Branch just west of Downtown Reading and Reading Yard. The Junction part of Wyomissing Jct is in the form of a connecting track that links the former Reading Belt Line that is currently used by through freights heading east to Philly (via the Harrisburg Line) or New York (via the Reading Line). Needless to say, most traffic is of the New York Variety. Here we see a westbound doublestack intermodal train heading up the ramp from CP-TULP with ET44AC #3645, AC44C6M #4134 and C44-9W #9910 passing AC44C6M #4136 at the head of a westbound manifest freight in the process.

A Medium Approach Medium signal indication on Track #1 implied that an eastbound heading to the Reading Line and North Jersey was approaching. The manifest freight with a trailing autorack block train soon appeared with AC44C6M rebuilds #4122 and #4392 leading.

The signal on eastbound track 1 was fleeted for a second intermodal train flowing closely behind with NS ES44AC #8122 and C44-10E #7595 leading.

A Limited Clear signal meant that a Philly bound train was up next. This came in the form of yet another intermodal train with C44-10W #7545 and ES44AC #8002 leading.

On my way downtown for lunch, I stopped by VALLEY JCT tower. Unfortunately a year of being unsecured had resulted in locals trashing most of the interior and stripping out the past bits of recyclable metals.

After lunch I stopped off at CP-CUMRU, but there was nothing moving and new signals so I headed home to Philly. While on the Schuylkill Expressway I did catch an NS movement with NS AC44C6M's #4025 and #4376 along with BNSF ES44AC #7217 near Falls Jct.

Well that's all for my pre-Thanksgiving travels. Next week I'll be back with Chuchubob as we hang out at Croydon for all the pre-Thanksgiving Amtrak action.