25-06-21 PHOTOS: Fire Up Searchlights

I have a confession to make, I'm not a steam enthusiast in the way most railfans are steam enthusiasts. For steam people if something goes "chug chug", its an excuse to drive at unsafe speeds and elbow others out of the way to get that perfectly composed photo that looks like everyone else's perfectly composed photo. When I have been in the company of steam excursions it has been to ride the excursion to get both covered in cinders and get an open window view of the line and by extension its pieces of historic infrastructure. However when riding a RBMN #2102 excursion to Pittston in 2024 I was able to make note of the surviving CNJ searchlight signal locations on the former Conrail Lehigh Line. So since I was obviously going to have to come out again to photo these signals, why not do it in conjunction with a #2102 trip and generate some content that everybody can enjoy? So anyway here are photos from my first time being trackside for a man line steam excursion. 

Like I said, my primary mission that day was to get photos of former Central RR of NJ searchlight signals between White Haven and Mountain Top. After the CNJ abandoned operations west (north) of Lehighton in the 1960's, the Lehigh Valley RR incorporated this section of the CNJ route due to its superior alignment and industrial connections. The CNJ vintage searchlights were distinctive for having a square "basket" like structure around each maintenance platform. Here we see the Milepost 146 southbound intermediate signal displaying an Approach indication for the holdout signal at CP-WHITE HAVEN. The former CNJ signals are normally dark, but will illuminate when a route has been established by the dispatcher.

At first I was confused why the Reading and Northern was running a southbound train within an hour of the northbound 2102 excursion. It turns out the signal was for the "regularly scheduled" Pittston to Mach Chunk diesel hauled excursion train featuring Reading and Northern 40th anniversary GP38-2 #2023, which I caught at the northbound Milepost 148 signal.

As expected the previously dark northbound signal popped up with a Clear signal indication for #2102. I could hear the engine approaching in the distance when what I will call the "traveling circus" of train chasers began to show up with their tripods.  When #2105 did arrive it was applying all 5000 of its horsepower to muscle the 21 cars of the excursion train up the stiff grade. This spectacle was quite a bit more thrilling trackside and made it easy to understand what was motivating the traveling circus to chase these trains again and again.

The R&N's latest innovation in making money is open observation car #22 which offers a premium  view to those lucky enough to grab one of the 30 tickets available for each departure. Not going to lie, but #22 is definitely on my radar for a future trip, even if it covers territory I have already traveled.

 

Although I had no desire to formally "chase" #2102, I did plan to catch it during its 20-30 minute water stop at Mountain Top. Due to the quantity of chasers who had set up between Milepost 128 and Mountain Top, traffic wasn't actually that bad and I managed to reach Mountain Top well in advance of #2102. Here are a couple photos of the early photo line and later arriving cars in the traveling circus.  

Former Reading Company T-1 #2102 eventually showed up and parked next to the water tanker to fill up on reaction mass. 

Because Reading and Northern owner Andy Muller is always conscious of costs, the portion of the trip involving a stiff down grade into the Wyoming Valley sees the pair of RBMN "Fast Freight" SD50's attached to the front of the excursion where their dynamic braking capability can save the RBMN from having to change out the friction brakes on 20+ passenger cars. These diesels typically shadow the steam train from behind before using the stretch of double track between CP-CRESTWOOD and CP-SOLOMONS GAP to pass beside it and then head back to couple to the front of #2102.

Of course just as the whole lashup was departing my Camera battery failed and I missed a good still photo of #2102, but I recovered with my backup camera to get other parts of the consist. 

At this point the traveling circus jetted off to catch the excursion at Pittston or other points along the route to Tunkhannock, PA. Since I was there mostly for the signals I took some time to get photos of the RBMN "dead line" at Mountain Top which was down to 3 former NS SD-40s, a pair of aging RBMN SD50's and the old SRNJ F3 cab units which have been bouncing around for the better part of 20 years. They have certainly seen better days.

At this point I stopped by Breaker Brewing to get a pierogi pizza for lunch before heading on to Tunkhannock, PA where Andy was delivering his train of railfans to the town's annual heritage fair.  If that name sounds familiar you're thinking of the nearby DL&W Tunkhannock Creek viaduct, which my friend on the trip just had to see for themselves. 

Returning from the viaduct my plan was to get more signal photos at the former Delaware and Hudson interlocking CPF-672. Imagine my surprise when I happened to catch a Delaware Lackawanna freight delivering cars to NS at Taylor yard. The DL is best known for its all Alco fleet and this movement was powered by Alco C636 #3542, MLW M636 #3643 and MLW M363 #3000.

As the afternoon wore on the plan became to catch #2102 returning at CP-SOLOMONS GAP, however although a Clear signal was displayed, word on the street was that the train had yet to pass the Pittston Regional Transportation Center. Since I still had another intermediate searchlight signal on my to do list, I took the risk of hitting that up first and then try for #2102 somewhere else.

Imagine my surprise when I found the Milepost 149 signal displaying a Clear signal indication for a northbound movement. Of course I had forgotten about the regular Pittston to Mach Chunk excursion train which was now on its way back. 

Since we knew that the Pittston run would be stopping at CP-SOLOMONS GAP I took another gamble to race back to try and catch #2102 there as per my original plan. Of course my assumption was that #2102 would be operating close to on top instead of over an hour late.  In fact the Clear signal at CP-SOLOMONS GAP wasn't even for #2102, but for the pair of protection engines.

About 20 or 30 minutes later #2102 finally showed, again using its full power to lift the excursion set up the grade to Mountain Top. Immediately after #2102's passage the hour+ late Pittston train was allowed to pull out of the siding and complete its run. Note that while most railfans try to achieve "clean" photos without other fans in the frame, I actually like including the photo line in my shots as it more accurately captures the vibe of the day.

Here are two videos detailing the process. The first is an uncut recording of #2102 followed by the Pittson train's rapid departure. The second shows the passage of all three trains at CP-SOLOMON GAP.

That's all for this trip. I hope you enjoyed the show. While I would definitely recommend being trackside for a mainline steam excursion, I would still urge against trying to chase it with the traveling circus. It is much less stressful to pick 1 or 2 photo locations make time for lunch of drinks between the action.