23-04-04 PHOTOS: Reading Viaduct

In 2020, with transit on the ropes and outdoor activities all the rage due to the pandemic, I converted my usual SEPTA Mid-Winter transit trip into an all-day rail history walking tour. Part of this tour included abandoned Reading Company rights of way including the City Branch and the famous Reading Viaduct in and around the old Spring Garden St station. While on this excursion I discovered the secret entrance up onto the viaduct itself, but since I was unable to suddenly transition my event to one of urban exploration, I had to retreat from the viaduct with a plan to return at a future time. In September of 2021 I acted on this plan due to the impending demolition of the Reading Spring Garden Station platforms and northbound head house. Not only was I too late in terms of the demolition, but I found the summertime viaduct to be a to be completely overgrown with vegetation, blocking sight lines and hiding homeless persons who might not take kindly to having their living space intruded upon by a long explorer with camera gear. Again I made a plan to return during the winter months when the vegetation would be more see through and I could return with a buddy. A planned attempt to return in early 2022 fell through when an interested urbexer flaked out and once again I had to put off the trip. Finally, in the Spring of 2023 did I find someone with schedule availability and we were able to get up on the viaduct as the leaves were just starting to re-appear. You can find the photos from my exploration of the viaduct and related spring transit photos here ( mirror ).

We begin at the BWI Airport rail station with Amtrak ACS-86 #659 at the head of a southbound Regional.

Two views of SEPTA Silverliner V #829 at both 30th St Station and Market East.

Back down at BWI on a rather foggy March night.

Between NEC trips I managed to sneak down to Garrett Park, MD to catch the westbound Capitol Limited led by P42DC #83.

On the day before my planned Reading Viaduct expedition I was back at BWI to catch an Acela Express lead by power car #2006.

SEPTA Slverliners V #709 and IV #425 at 30th St station.

The Reading Viaduct was largely constructed in the 1890's in conjunction with the Reading Terminal we all know and love, replacing a previous station near Broad and Vine that had been accessed via a right of way along the Schuylkill River. The viaduct ran from the old Philadelphia and Germantown Railroad terminal near today's North Broad to the new Reading Terminal at 12th and Market. Construction is largely of steel, however there is a brief section of fill between Buttonwood and Hamilton Streets. Shown below is the structure as it crosses Noble St at Ridge Ave.

Reading Terminal served as an active railroad station until November 6th, 1984 when all service was rerouted to the new Center City Commuter tunnel and the replacement Market East station. After the closure of Reading Terminal both the train shed, the approaches and most of the related infrastructure south of the cutover point at Fairmount Ave were abandoned in place. This included overhead signaling infrastructure like the southbound home signal for RACE STREET interlocking seen here.

The reason most of the infrastructure was left intact was due to the continued use of the Reading Callowhill rail traction power substation at the southern apex of the old City Branch Wye at Callowhill St. The substation made use of the 12kv overhead catenary and 24kv feeders as well as the rails and also required SEPTA to generally maintain and secure the right of way. In 2010 the substation was retired and most maintenance activities ceased.

22-08-13 PHOTOS: Fire Up 2102 With 425

I haven't been the biggest steam excursion enthusiast. Although broadly popular within the railfan community for all of the pomp and circumstance associated with steam locomotion, they tend to be limited to tourist/shortlines and their popularity means that any resulting content will be in no way unique and not as good as those with much more expensive camera equipment (or drones). However in 2021 I was given the opportunity to attend a CNJ 113 trip on Reading Blue Mountain and Northern trackage in the former Reading RR coal region and I had a standout experience given RBMN management's pro-railfan attitude even compared to steam tourist operations like Strasburg. When RBMN announced their new series of steam excursions for the 2022 season featuring rebuilt Reading T-1 class 4-8-4 #2102 I purchased a ticket for the August seating. This turned out to be particularly fortunate as RBMN later sweetened the deal by adding 4-6-2 #426 to the consist for a rare steam doubleheader. Anyway here are the photos ( mirror )from the August 2022 RBMN Iron Horse ramble with videos to follow in a later post.

Upon the advice of Kevin Painter I arrived early enough to get a parking spot and seated myself in former Reading MU car #308, located 4 cars back from the engines, when boarding opened just a few minutes later. As I was unable to secure myself a partner for the trip I could not leave the seat to get initial terminal photos at the North Reading passenger station.

The doubleheader increased the number of trackside photographers and train chasers and made for large crowds at every location with easy vehicle access such as the Main Street grade crossing in Leesport, PA.

For those riding behind, curves near the town of Berne allowed for our first view of the two leading engines.

Making a station stop at Port Clinton to pick up additional passengers.

I was excited about the trip as it would allow photos of some of the RBMN's recent CTC signals like these examples at mileposts 84, 87 and 91.

A double S-Curve near the old Atlas chemical plant was the official location for excursion passengers to get running photos of the engines.

Here we see the duo passing through South Tamaqua Yard.

Although a feature of the regularly scheduled RBMN steam and RDC excursions, I had never been across the Hometown viaduct north of Tamaqua. Built by the CNJ to connect with its corporate parent at Haucks, economic conditions including reductions in anthracite coal use prevented the planned second track from being constructed.

Passing the signal at JIM THORPE JCT, the excursion is approaching its layover/shore activity at the town of Mach Chunk. The RBMN recently completed a new bridge over the Lehigh River that allows through freights to run between Reading and Scranton without a reverse move. It also created a turning wye that can be used by steam locomotives, like 2102, that are too large for the old Mach Chunk turntable. JIM THORPE JCT also marks the northern end of the last gap in CTC coverage on the RBMN's hybrid main line.

RBMN SW1500 #1548 hanging out at Mach Chunk.

22-01-15 PHOTOS: Nicholson Cutoff

In the winter of 2022 I finally made it out to the famous Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson, PA. Although closer in proximity to me than many of the sights in central and western Pennsylvania, Scranton was just not a place I had either the ability or motivation to visit until recently when Subchat buddy Phil N moved into the area. Phil was nice enough to drive me around to both the viaduct and a variety of signal locations over the course of a day, and although I got about 1000 infrastructure photos we scored a goose egg for actual train movements. Fortunately another Subchat buddy, Kevin Painter, was able to bail me out with not only the usual tour of Reading and Northern equipment at North Reading, but also an introduction to the Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown, PA. You can view the lengthy set of photos here ( mirror )with the non-signal stuff all the way at the bottom.

The Tunkhannock Viaduct, sometimes known as the Nicholson Viaduct or Nicholson Bridge due to the community it spans, is typically viewed as a singular achievement of railroad engineering. In actuality it was just the showpiece of a far larger project initiated by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1915. The Clark's Summit-Hallstead Cutoff (aka the Pennsylvania Cutoff or Nicholson Cutoff) was the second great construction project undertaken by the DL&W shortly before The Great War (the first being the famous Slateford cutoff in New Jersey that proceeded the PA cutoff by a few years) and replaced over 40 miles of the 1850's era alignment with a brand new, high speed and low grade main line. The viaduct, measuring 2,375 feet in length and 240 feet above the ground at its highest point, was necessary to traverse the Tunkhannock Creek at an elevation sufficient to free the railroad from having to follow the path of existing rivers just north of Scranton.

Fueled by the flush profits transporting premium home heating coal at the turn of the century, the DL&W had the financial resources to not only reconstruct its greater Pocono region main lines, but also use the era's high tech wonder material, reinforced concrete. It would be the bridge's 167,000 cubic yards of concrete that would make it such an iconic and imposing presence compared to a similar bridge of steel beams.

The bridge consists of 10 spans, 9 piers and 2 abutments, all made from reinforced concrete. At the time of construction it was the largest concrete structure in the world and is likely still one of the largest concrete bridges in the world.

Although still branded Lackawanna, the DL&W Main Line did not survive the 1960 Erie Lackawanna merger with most traffic transferring to the Erie side. The Conrail merger of 1976 saw the line pass to the Delaware and Hudson, which was able to abandon its own less efficient Scranton-Binghampton route. In the 90's the D&H was sold to Canadian Pacific before ultimately falling under the umbrella of Norfolk Southern in the 2014.

The scope of the cutoff can be seen at other points along the line where local roads have to literally tunnel through the massive embankments.

The DL&W applied its use of reinforced concrete technology to everything, including station buildings and interlocking towers. Here the station in Glenburn, PA has been repurposes as public works offices with EL caboose #C267 on display nearby.

Moving down to North Reading the next morning, Kevin and I encountered the NRFF lashup awaiting its departure with GP38-2 #2014 on the tail end behind the two NRFF painted SD50s.

21-09-04 PHOTOS: Demolition Targets

To be interested in railroad or any sort of industrial history is to face the constant threat of demolition. The summer of 2022 was no different with the northbound headhouse of the former Reading Spring Garden St station approved for demolition and the former PRR SHORE interlocking tower suffering a fire making demolition likely. In late August I finally had some free time to head over to Philly and try to get my photos in before the hammer tropped. You can find the full set of photos here ( mirror ).

I started my morning with PATCO rebuild car #1012 at Haddonfield.

The Reading Viaduct is part of the disused approach to Reading Terminal built in 1893 and used for rail operations until 1984 when the stub end terminal was closed in favor of the Center City Commuter Connection tunnel that linked the PRR and Reading commuter rail networks. Although closed for rail operations in 1984, the viaduct remained in use until 2012 as a right of way for overhead catenary feeders and transmission lines to the Callowhill substation that supported SEPTA's 25hz traction power system. The result of this slow motion closure was that almost all of the infrastructure including signals, catenary supports and rails, was left in place including the southbound outer signal bridge shown below including the 14R and 16R high signals.

The abandoned portion of the viaduct runs between Fairmont Ave and Vine Street and has been largely taken over by nature over the previous decade.

The section of the viaduct includes portions of the former Spring Garden St station that was replaced in form and substance by SEPTA's current Temple University station a mile to the north. Spring Garden Street was once a prosperous major thoroughfare as evidenced by the triple concrete arch bridge used by the Reading Viaduct to span it.

Based on the success of linear urban parks in New York and Chicago, the City of Philadelphia is eager to redevelop the viaduct and reap the resulting real estate bonanza in the adjacent neighborhoods. The fact that trendy apartment buildings like Aspect 281 are already appearing validates the City's enthusiasm.

Getting in the way of this dream is the Reading Entertainment Company, corporate successor to the Reading Railroad where all of the leftover assets were shoveled after the 1976 bankruptcy and rail asset transfer to Conrail. in the case of the former Reading Railroad viaduct, Reading Entertainment retained ownership, but either SEPTA or the City retained a permanent easement for its use as a rail/power corridor. The reason for the name Reading Entertainment Company is because until recently its most worthwhile asset was a chain of movie theatres previously owned by the Reading RR with most locations being in California apart from a single one in Manville, NJ. Anyway. Reading Entertainment sees a payday in selling the City a previously worthless asset. However due to the easement precluding any other use, the City is confident it can force a better deal.

Throwing a wrench in the works of the standoff between the City and Reading Entertainment was the presence of the passenger headhouse and platform area for the former Spring Garden Street station. Long abandoned and serving as both a eyesore and hub for illicit activity, in 2021 a local preservation group filed a lawsuit hoping to force Reading Entertainment to cleanup/stabilize the historic structure using a local anti-blight ordinance. Instead, Reading Entertainment chose the other option available to them in the law, demolition of the problematic property and after a period of legal wrangling, Reading Entertainment was granted a demolition permit in August of 2022. 

 

 
Unfortunately my plan to get out and take better photos of the property was pretty much a day late and a dollar short as Reading Entertainment had wasted no time and demolition was just wrapping up by the time I got out there.

20-05-01 PHOTOS: Elwyn Media

Many transportation systems used the COVID shutdown period to perform normally disruptive capital projects and SEPTA was no different, performing work in the ARSENAL interlocking area to create a turnback of University City so that some trains that normally terminate at 30th St, could instead serve University City with minimal added cost. Unfortunately work in this area presented the risk to the classic amber PRR Position Light signals at WALNUT interlocking north of the University City station so I made a special trip to document the signals and nearby attractions such as the West Philadelphia High Line. Later in the same time period I made my first ever visit to Elwyn, PA, current southern terminus of SEPTA's R3 line, to get some photos of the station, interlocking and operations. You can view the full set of these photos here ( mirror ).

The University of Pennsylvania sports complex located between the Maryland Division SEPTA tracks and the Schuylkill River is dominated by the West Philadelphia Elevated, also known as the Real High Line. This viaduct was built by the PRR in 1903 to allow main line freight movements to bypass the 30th St passenger terminal area and is still used today by CSX as a second main track on it's east coast corridor through downtown Philly and for access to Greenwich Yard at the Port of Philadelphia. 

SEPTA's WALNUT interlocking was previously part of the PRR's ARSENAL interlocking plant located to the southern end of the philadelphia terminal complex and currently consists of a full crossover on what was once the PRR's "Maryland Division" tracks number 5 and 6 that utilize the center platform on the 30th St Station suburban level. Today these tracks are used by SEPTA's Regional Rail R1 Airport, R2 Wilmington and R3 Elwyn lines. The two track PRR position light signal features the northbound signals for WALNUT interlocking and the southbound Milepost 1.5 automatic signals. Here we see the track #5 signal displaying an Approach Medium indication for a Stop signal at the northern end of the 30th St station suburban platforms.

This part of University City is now dominated by the Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation headquarters building built over Amtrak property south of 30th St station.

Because of the Pandemic SEPTA was running a skeletal service with only about one train passing by per hour, which in my case was a single 4-car set of Silverliner IV's.

This roughly matched the frequency of CSX freight trains on the adjacent High Line, with CSX ES44AC #874 and AC4400 #584 passing by with a southbound train of doublestacks.