The eastbound milepost 96 automatic signals are in advance of ROY interlocking in Royalton, PA. When the western end of Amtrak's Harrisburg Line was re-signaled around 2005 it went with a largely cab signal only system, however wayside signals were retained in advance of each interlocking to provide route information and as a backup in case of cab signal failure. Located across from the Harrisburg International Airport, the signals are surprisingly accessible and I probably should have visited before 2018 when a similar position light distant signal on the NS Royalton Branch was removed.
Unfortunately I only managed to catch a single passing Amtrak train in the form of a westbound Keystone with ACS-86 #964.
Of course being so close to Middletown, PA necessitated a stop by the Middletown and Hummelstown RR yard where Alco T-6 #1016 was in a position for a photograph. One of only 57 built, the Alco T-6 was a derivative of the more popular 1000hp 251B equipped S-6 switcher, with higher speeds for transfer service.
At HARRIS tower the movements on the adjacent NS Harrisburg Line were passing by at a frequent clip. First up was a westbound coal train led by Ac44C6m #4233 and follwed by C40-10W's #7705 and #7674.
Next up was a local freight move with GP38-2 #5631
This was followed by an eastbound manifest freight with AC44C6M #4166 and C44-9W #9648.
After that was another eastbound NS manifest led by AC44C6M #4342 and C40-10W #7558.
In the age of distributed power one must always be on their toes as the train passes least one might miss something special like M-K-T heritage unit #1988.
As noon approached so did eastbound Amtrak Pennsylvanian Train 42 with P42DC #94.
