Over the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday I took some time to explore the somewhat overlooked portion of the Philadelphia Main Line between Paoli and Glen Loch, PA. This expedition was motivated by the larger THORN tower re-signaling effort and I wanted to get some photos of the legacy signals before they were replaced. naturally this came with SEPTA R5 and Amtrak Kestone service pics as well.
In 1994 massive PCB contamination forced the closure of the Paoli MU shoopes and the associated yard which had served as the defacto terminus of the electrified Main Line since 1915. A new yard facility was built about 4 miles to the west at Frazer, PA which had the side effect of extending the core SEPTA R5 service from Paoli to Malvern. While a new interlocking was bult to access the yard, the modifications were done on a budget and nothing was done to change the single direction double track ABS nature of the line. However in conjunction with the Paoli Station replacement project the line segment between Paoli and Frazer was upgraded to bi-directional operation on both tracks with new signals being installed at the existing milepost 2l location. Now trains bound for Frazer yard can get an Approach Slow instead of a straight Approach.
Here we see a yard-bound SEPRA R5 Malvern train passing under the modified signal bridge. Cars are Silverliners V #834 and #833.
This was soon followed by westbound Pennsylvanian Train #43 with P42DC #129.
In the fall of 2025 Amtrak offered a Guest Rewards points promotion that offered bonus points based on quantity of trips taken. Based on my proximity to the Amtrak BWI rail station and the fact that trips to and from DC often cost the same or less than MARC, I was able to put in a bunch of DC trips to kick me up into the higher bonus levels. This short set covers both the points trips and a few photos from an unrelated trip to Ridgeway, PA
Starting off on a Regional heading south to DC from BWI.
Here I am arriving in DC in style with my regional pulling into Union Station track #17 adjacent to classic Acela trainset #16. Power on my train was the ultimate ACS-86 #670 with the Acela having power car #2012 up front.
In a cool happenstance the ultimate classic Acela power car, #2039, was over on track #20.
My destination for this trip was an event in DC's Adam's Morgan neighborhood which is accessible via the Woodley Park Zoo stop.
Skip ahead a few days and I was back at BWI for another round trip to Washington, DC. MARC has a noticeable pattern of Penn Line trains meeting at the Baltimore Washington International Airport Rail Station about the same time. Here a northbound train lead by MP36PH-3C #11 meets a southbound with single level cab cat #7761.
Because of the points promotion I let the MARC local with MP36PH-3C #34 pass by favor of the following Amtrak Regional with ACS-86 #644.
About to board DC Metro car #3204 at Union Station.
This day my destination was Metro Center. Here is a quick video as I ascended the escalator of my 3k series train departing.
My return was via Regional Train #138 from Norfolk which sent me down to Union Station's lower level. By the time
Southbound Crescent Train 19 was across the platform with bag dorm #69006 seen here next to ACS-86 #663.
Train 19's electric, ACS-86 #609, had come off the head end and was working its way back to Ivy City yard past #628, which was coupled to a single Amfleet on track #27. In the video you can also see Amtrak P42DC #19, which likely just came off Train 138, heading south towards the 1st St tunnels. Since this unit would need to be turned and serviced before heading back south, it is possible that it is being batched on a storage track so a single yard crew can return multiple locomotives to the yard.
End of my Train 138 waiting on the electric locomotive to take it on to New York. For whatever reason I decided to skip getting video of the power change.
Skipping again to a different day, while driving up I-95 my friend mentioned he was on the late afternoon northbound Next Gen Acela Train 2170 and just happened to be at the right location where I could get video of his passage behind an industrial park right off Delaware Route 279. I managed to get into position about 45 seconds before 2170 passed, but he was stuck in an isle seat and couldn't wave back :-( The Next Gen set was #13 with sequential power cars #2139 and #2140 that had just entered revenue service in October of 2025.
While driving out to see a friend in West Central PA, I stopped for dinner in Frederick, MD where I caught a MARC Brunswick Line (Frederick Branch) trainset at the Wisner Street grade crossing deadheading back to the storage yard just south of Interstate 70. The consist included single level cab car #7761, single level coaches #7718, #7728 and #7730 and MARC MP36PH-3C #28.
The town of Ridgeway is located on the old Buffalo and Pittsburgh line of the B&O and the former PRR Low Grade Main Line. Today both lines are under the umbrella of the Buffalo and Pittsburgh unit of G&W Industries. Both of the station buildings have been repurposed for use by local businesses. The B&O station was built in 1905 and the PRR station in 1907, which aligns when the region was at its most prosperous due to the extraction of both coal and oil.
Although the PRR station was still technically owned by the railroad, local groups had restored both the inside and outside and it was in use by a local artist.
That's all for this set. Next time I'll be back out on the PRR Main Line near Malvern, PA.
Recently I have discovered that travel to and from Stamford has above average value for railfan purposes. Not only is it the gateway to Metro North's Connecticut branch lines and related museums, but tickets functionally cost the same as one to/from New York City. As as Acela stop one can get close to an hour of additional ride time for no extra cost. Of course the big issue is blandness of Metro North and its infrastructure, but Stamford is at least good for a couple visits before it turns stale. So sit back and enjoy a parade of M8's along with a couple Amtrak trains.
I mostly slept on the way up, but I did manage to catch ACS-86 #668 in the push position on one of the push-pull Regionals.
My Regional Train 160 was able to traverse the newly opened eastbound HAROLD duckunder track. Built as part of the East Side Access project, the HAROLD duckunders eliminate conflicting movements between Amtrak trains to New Englande and LIRR Main Line trains. The eastbound duckunder was opened first to support the temporary closure of East River Tunnel Line 2 for rehabilitation.
The weather that day was absolutely fantastic and even side window photos from the train, like SS28 GREEN here in Cos Cob, looked great.
I'm not sure if my Regional Train 160 was late, but at Stamford it had to wait on track #4 while an all stops local to Grand Central crawled out of the yard. As T160 was able to depart it passed the inbound GCT express from New Haven which provides local riders with a timed transfer at New Haven.
While the Stamford Station is a great location for photos I got a tip off about another spot a bit south of down behind a DoubleTree hotel. The nearby glass covered office towers provided a natural fill lighting at this time of morning. Here is a montage of Metro North / CDoT M8 MU trains. West of Stamford the NHL sees 4 trains per hour, 2 express and 2 local.
Because of the timed transfers the westbound local and express trains tend to race each other out of the station, although meets between east and westbound trains are not uncommon.
In August 2025 Amtrak's Next Generation Acela equipment entered service after years of delays due to both the pandemic and disputes with Alstom. Although I caught one of the new trains on its first day of service, it was not until late October that I finally had the opportunity to ride one and actually confirm or disconfirm the many criticisms that had been circulating online. Also included in this set are photos of equipment in the Penn Coach Yard prior to departure as well as stuff encountered on the lead-in and lead-out of the trip.
On the way out to 30th St station I was lucky enough to catch a southbound NNJT Atlantic City Rail Line train heading through the Haddonfield Trench with GP40PH-2B #4216.
My PATCO ride for that day was provided by rebuilt car #1083.
For years Amtrak's Penn Coach Yards at 30th St station Philadelphia have been largely devoid of coaches or other passenger equipment. The Acela Next Gen saga changed this as delivered-but-not-accepted trainsets slowly filled the yard after being constructed by Alstom Hornell, NY. On this day in 2025, four sets were hanging out in the yard, Set 9, Set 10, Set 24 and an unidentified set whose numbers were not visible. Note that the sets were not delivered in order of their dispatch numbers and set 9 still has yet to enter service. Also in the yard was the first of the new Siemens Cascade Service trains making use of Charger locomotives and Venture coaches as well as three HHP-0 "Cabbage" conversions. .
The HHP-0 (or HHP-C depending on who you ask) cab car conversion project seems to have become just as fraught as the HHP-8 class of locomotives they were based on. After being withdrawn after barely 15 years of an expected 40 year life expectancy, the HHP-8's had to first clear a 20 year lease-back arrangement before Amtrak was free to acquire them outright.
To remedy some of the HHP-8's ride quality issues, Amtrak embarked on a cab car conversion project that likely involved removing weighty propulsion elements like motors and transformers. Originally planned to be used on the Ethan Allen express in 2022, the project was nearly 4 years late by this point. Numbers 9750, 9751 and 9752 were in the yard that day in the new Phase VII livery.
The lead example of the new Amtrak Cascades service train was also in the yard for high speed testing on the Northeast Corridor. Despite WSDoT owning 9 SC-44 Chargers to power its existing trains, the 8 new sets come with the new ALC-42E locomotives as the SC-44's are likely in need of overhaul. #70000` (later renumbered #7001) was paired with cab car #79501.
As mentioned before 4 Next Gen Acela sets were in the yard awaiting various levels of modification or fitting out. Three NG sets had been accepted by August 2025 to allow for the start of revenue service with a pair of BOS-WAS round trips, but by October 2025 7 sets had been accepted. Penn Coach Yard was doing more than just storing the delivered NG trains as some amount of interior fitting out, like the cafe equipment, was also being performed.
When the leaves start turning colors I am suddenly reminded that I need to get out to HARRIS tower before it closes for the season. 2025 would be no different, but earlier in the week I had spent some time at the Hanover Road grade crossing on the CSX Capitol Sub to catch some afternoon MARC Camden Line runs so I am going to combine those two events into one set of photos.
Starting with HARRIS tower, NS Pittsburgh Line traffic was robust as ever. First to pass by that day was a three unit light engine move consisting of NS AC44C6M #4626, C40-10W #7558 and SD70ACe #1023, heading to the Harrisburg fuel pad from the Rutherford intermodal yard.
This was followed by a westbound intermodal train with C40-10W #7592 and AC44C6M #4665,
After that was an eastbound TOFC train with 2 C40's-10W #7536 and #7698 running elephant style.
HARRIS tower's latest attraction is a web enabled PRR position light mast that can cycle through all of the popular signal indications using an interface on the HARRIS tower website.
While out front I managed to catch several passing locomotives through the chain link including AC44C6M #4794, C44-9W #9920, AC44C6M #4621, GP38-3 #5835 and GP38-2 #5665.
In the fall of 2025 New Jersey Transit announced a "Meet The Fleet" open house at Hoboken Terminal where they could put a portion of their heritage and special scheme units on display. This is a typical low cost thing for families and kids who love their trains, however it also provided a rare opportunity to have a white card to take photos at the Hoboken Terminal platform ends, a space that often results in security getting called out. Anyway, I marked down the event on my calendar and set up for the usual Bordentown shuffle to reach the event from the Philly Area. The full set of photos also includes additional coverage of TERMINAL TOWER trackwork and signals.
While Hamilton might offer a one seat ride on the NJT Northeast Corridor Line, it also costs a fair amount to park there. Parking at the Bordentown RiverLINE station is free however and even after paying the RL fare one still comes out ahead with money going to the service vs a parking lot troll. Here we see RL LRV's #3518 heading south and #3519 going north.
At Trenton the eastbound SEPTA R7 had arrived on the North High track with Silverliner V #735 leading.
NJT service was running normally and I soon found myself at Secaucas Transfer where one can get an idea of the high density signaling that was installed in the late 1990s to support the project, by watching how quickly the signals progress.
This is probably only my 4th or 5th time using Secaucus since it opened and it still looks pretty good including classic electri-mechanical split flap displays.
NJT was running a special Meet The Fleet shuttle between Secaucus and Hoboken with a leading Comet V cab car that wasn't actually part of their fleet!
At the terminal buffers I caught this lineup of three Comet V cab cars, #6027, #6060 and #6073.
The "Meet The Fleet" event proper was situated on track #17 and featured new GP40PH-2B heritage units #4202 and #4208 in PRSL and Conrail colors respectively. Also in hand was Morristown and Erie GP15-1 #25, former Erie Lackawanna / NJT U34CH #3372, PRR heritage ALP-46 #4636 and EL heritage ALP-45 #4516. Beyond heritage NJT had also rolled out the #4506 that on a hat unit and the #4502 Veterans unit.
