Columbia, Pennsylvania, home to COLA interlocking and tower, was a key node on the PRR's eastern "low grade" freight network between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. Effectively serving as the junction between the Port Road Branch to Baltimore and points south, and the Columbia and A&S branches to Philadelphia and points east, the entire area was electrified in 1939 with a brand new CTC interlocking plant coming online in 1938. In May of 2020 I was looking for some outdoor activities and re-visiting Columbia had been on my to do list for a while. Since my last visit in 2007, the interlocking was completely re-signaled, but a new Susquehanna Bike trail had been installed providing access to an old PRR tunnel and CP-LAKE north of town. Since I didn't feel like trying to get my bike up to speed I settled for a more leisurely walking tour.
The PRR's Columbia Station still stands, not serving as a cafe and ice creame shoppe. A railroad themed mural adorns an adjacent wall.
COLA tower also still stands, although it's 1930's vintage interlocking equipment was decommissioned in 2012, the sturdy brick building still serves a function with Norfolk Southern's signal department.
The interlocking was rationalized by Conrail in the 1980's when the Atglen and Susquehanna branch to Parkesburg was abandoned and traffic was re-routed to the former Reading system lines. Today the single track Columbia Secondary to Lancaster branches off from the two main tracks of the Port Road/Enola Branch to Perryville, MD. The 1939 catenary structure still stands to support a single 138kv 25Hz circuit between Safe Harbor and Royalton for Amtrak's Harrisburg Line electrification.
The quirky interlocking had its position lights and pneumatic point machines replaced in 2023, but was not otherwise altered.
The used 152lb Pennsylvania Special rail on the MoW siding was made in 1947 about 20 miles up the rider at the Bethlehem Steel plant in Steelton, PA.
The MoW storage yard was full of pre-fabricated insulated joints and switch frogs.
The Point Rock tunnel was necessary due to a general lack of space between the cliffs and the Susquehanna River. However in 1906 when the PRR built the low grade freight system between Trenton and Harrisburg, fill was used to bypass the rock cut tunnel. Today the tunnel serves the new bike trail that runs between Bainbridge and Atglen.
Due to Amtrak's restrictions, traffic on the Port Road is typically limited to nights and mornings, but the transfer run to/from Lancaster often runs during the day. I was lucky enough to catch the Lancaster bound movement at CP-LAKE with two SD60E's, #7029 and #6934.
Re-signaled at the same time as COLA, CP-LAKE still hosts some bits of the old PRR signaling infrastructure.
Due to the bike trail, the cliff at CP-LAKE has become a popular destination for rock climbers.
Heading back I passed some NS side-dump ballast hoppers in the Cola Yard.
COLA has been pretty much sealed up since its closure in the mid-80's, with just a single window to light the way for anyone working inside. The remains of a drying system for the compressed air plant hangs on the back wall.
I'll finish up with a final photo of Mamafox shortly before her and her kits moved out from under my shed.
That's all for COLA. Next week join me for an exciting trip to Flyover Country.
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