On my way up to the East Branch Susquehanna valley I stopped off at CP-ROCKVILLE north of Harrisburg to catch the late running eastbound Amtrak Pennsylvanian Train 42 as it came off the famed Rockville Bridge with P42DC #104 leading.
I stopped off in Sunbury, PA to hike out and photograph the surviving D&H bracket mast on what is now the NS Sunbury Line. Previously serving as the southbound signal for a CTC siding, the old signal was converted into a fixed distant for CP-KASE on the NS Buffalo Line when D&H successor Canadian Pacific downgraded this part of the line to TWC. More recently NS removed the bracket and fixed searchlight from service to be replaced by one of its own standard cabinet masts.
The next morning I drive directly to CP-SOLOMON at Mountain Top, PA where I was greeted by a former New Haven RR cabin car #C566 which had been acquired by a local preservation group and set up to honor the various coal region railroads. Members of the group were on hand to set up an extensive holiday display, which seemed to be the justification for the ample parking facilities.
A Clear signal indication was displaying on the 2E searchlight mast at CP-SOLOMON for the morning run of the Reading Northern's weekend Pittston to Mach Chunk tourist train via the Lehigh Gorge. Historic Mach Chunk has emerged as a significant food and shopping destination as well as a gateway to the Pocono outdoor recreation scene and the RBMN now serves the community with weekend/holiday passenger services from both the north and south. The name CP-SOLOMON is in reference to Solomon's Gap, the geologic feature that both the Lehigh Valley and Central RR of NJ took advantage of to access the Wyoming Valley coal fields and the Scranton metropolitan area.
The three car train of Budd lightweight stock was being easily handled up the stiff grade by R&N GP38-2 #2023. When Conrail came on the scene it used the best parts of the former CNJ and LVRR main lines to create its new Lehigh Line. The alignment changes from CNJ to LVRR just north of the rock cut seen in the photo.
R&N #3023 and the southbound train to Mach Chunk passing through CP-SOLOMON.
A few miles down the road we find the RBMN's Penobscot Yard and station which serves the community of Mountain Top, which as the name suggests is the high point on both the CNJ and LVRR main lines. The yard was rebuilt by the R&N with a yard office in the style of a Reading railroad interlocking tower. Excursion trains including the previous run to Mach Chunk make stops here.
In addition to MoW spares, the yard is currently home to some of RBMN's excess equipment.
At the far end of the storage line was a pair of RBMN SD50's, #5022 and #5033.
The rest were ex-NS SD40-2's that were recently picked up for a bargain during one of NS's many motive power fire sales. The specific units were #3336, #3546, #3572, #3551 and #3563.
At the far south end of the yard was a vintage CNJ signal bridge supporting the Milepost 155 automatic signal, seen below with a Clear signal indication.
The south end of the double track segment is at CP-CRESTWOOD, seen here in proximity to some RBMN MoW equipment.
The last stop was at White Haven, PA where the RBMN has established yet another intermediate station to take people to Mach Chunk. The lack of road access to the Lehigh Gorge between White Haven and Mach Chunk make the train the only way to enjoy the scenery.
We have reached the end of this journey, stay tuned for more Thanksgiving Week content!
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