Pittsburgh's light rail system is descended from PCC-based streetcar lines running south of the city that had the good fortune to have both their own rights of way and the use of a dedicated tunnel through Mount Washington. These advantages earned the system a light rail style conversion in the 1980's complete with a downtown subway and dedicated bridge across the Monongahela River. While the rebranded Mount Washington Transit Tunnel continued to underpin the network, the Allegheny Port Authority and its predecessors had recognized the Mount Washington Tunnel as a single point of failure and therefore maintained an alternate surface route up and over the hill. Christened the 52 Allentown in 1984, this alternate route, terminating at South Hill Jct, would see declining levels of service until it was discontinued entirely in 2010. However tunnel diversions kept the old 52 Allentown in service as a ghost line, light rail trains running doors closed through the eponymous neighborhood on an as-needed basis. For out of town railfans catching a ride over the 52 was particularly difficult as the diversions were not often scheduled in advance, however in 2025 the tunnel was to undergo a long term renovation with Route 47 and 42 trains diverted over the 52 for the better part of a year. This allowed me to schedule a trip to Pittsburgh to get photos and videos of this rare occurrence.
My arrival in Pittsburgh was too late in the day to properly ride the 52 Allentown, but I was able to catch the arrival of westbound Amtrak Pennsylvanian Train 43 with P42DC leading the usual consist.
It was at this point I had my first ever encounter with a Rule 280a "Clear to Next Interlocking" signal indication displayed eastbound on Track #1 at the former CP-EAST PITT. Displayed as a flashing white marker light next to a standard Medium Clear, the signal us used in cab signal territory without wayside intermediate signals for train movements that are not cab signal equipped. In this case said movement would be Train 43 shoving back to CP-HOME where the turning wye is located.
By displaying Rule 280a instead of a Restricting, the shove move would be able to operate at speeds up to 45mph, saving considerable time across the 8 mile round trip.
The following morning I caught a light rail train at Steel Plaza and was in place to get photos as it crossed over at Panhandle Interlocking and onto the short single track that would lead to the street running up and over Mt. Washington via Allentown.
The whole trip takes about 8-10 minutes, about 5 minutes longer than the trip through the tunnel. The ride was downright exciting as my LRV's operator was really flooring it up the twisty grade. A temporary infill station was also added along the route in the Allentown neighborhood.
My outbound SD400 LRV, running on a 47S service, at South Hills Jct
South Hills Jct is built around a large double track scissors crossover. Although from the point of view of the platforms the crossing routes over the diamonds are in a geometrically straight path, from a railroad interlocking point of view those would be the diverging routes. Normally the light rail trains get a solid yellow lamp for a Restricting indication into street running track. However for the "diverging" route, they get a flashing yellow.
In its original configuration trains from the Overbrook and Beechview lines would merge into the transit tunnel with the option to use the 52 Allentown Route.. With Overbrook Line trains making use of a new flying junction since 2004 and the 52 being discontinued in 2010, the scissors crossover sees rather limited use in its role as a crossover. Here SD400 LRV #4221 crosses northbound over from the Beechview Line to the 52 Allentown line.
Pride month pay have been over, but SD400 pride unit #4239 was still roaming across the light rail system in early July, along with 4202.
Here we see SD400s #4227 and #4201 along with CAF LRV #4317 running out of the junction and up the incline towards Allentown.
CAF LRV #4315 descending southward from the Allentown route. The CAF LRVs were a supplemental order of vehicles to support the re-opening of the Overbrook line, which was closed between 1993 and 2004.
Like the northbound trains, southbounds would roll towards the junction and get a Restricted Diverge flashing yellow signal on the dwarf.
View along the axis of the scissors crossover route from the Beechview/Overbrook lines to the Allentown Line with CAF LRV #4317 and SD400 #4253.. While this routing is physically straight, as far as the interlocking is concerned this a diverging route.
In this video we see an inbound 42S South Hills Village (via Beechview) train with SD400 LRV's #4231 and #4235 passing an outbound 42S with CAF LRV's #4310 and #4313 with #4310 sporting the new "Pittsburgh Regional Transit" paint scheme.
In my previous visit to South Hills Junction in 2023, both PCC loops were still present for short turns both from the north and south. Since that time the southward loop for PCC's coming off the 52 Allentown has been removed along with its boarding platform. PCC's were used through 1993 as the old Overbrook line had wooden trestles that could not support the weight of LRVs.
On the other hand, the old Route 47/52 platform had been re-paved. Before the Overbrook Line rebuild this platform had served the PCC's using the 47 route as well as all 52 Allentown cars which terminated at South Hills Jct.
Another view of LRV's crossing over to the Route 52 with SD400 #4250 and CAF LRV #4308.
The tunnel closing also affected local bus traffic which also had to detour up and over Mt Washington. Here bus #6236 passes inbound SD400 #4227.
All of the construction miscellany made getting a view into the tunnel a bit difficult, but I was able to manage a photo.
Back to the South Hills Jct platforms where I caught SD400 #4224 passing #4201 and #4206 arriving southbound.
The return trip was not quite as exciting, I'm guessing the operators know they have a bit more leeway for speed on the steep ascent since the grade will quickly bring the car to a stop without use of brakes.
Heading north across the Panhandle Bridge I encountered CAF LRV #4314 painted in the new "Pittsburgh Rapid Transit" branding.
Final photo of this set if SD400 #4224 after dropping me off at the Honorable United States Steel Plaza.
All in all Pittsburgh Light Rail is a great little system that still presents a lot of heritage due to the early date of its light rail conversion. If the MWTT ever shuts down again I urge you all to schedule a visit.
In 2018, as the former PRR Main Line between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh was in the midst of a major re-signaling project, I was blocked in my efforts to get westbound facing photos from the rear of eastbound Amtrak Pennsylvanian Train 42 by a private car. In 2023, 5 years after the re-signaling project was completed, I was in the position to try again even if the route was now devoid of interesting signaling. Although cloudy weather and wildfire haze impacted the photos, I accomplished my mission of documenting the now diminished PRR Main Line between Pittsburgh and Tyrone, where the rain made additional coverage impractical. You can view the full gallery here.
Amtrak lets passengers board pretty early for the 8am departure of Train 42 from Pittsburgh Penn Station stub track #3. Power for the day was P42DC #94.
Departing the station, Train 42 passed by the old Conrail era helper base at he Pittsburgh station. Trains needing helpers over the entire west slope would have them attached here. In the mid-2000's the base was closed with the crews moved to either Cresson or Johnstown and helpers cutting off at various points along the Pittsburgh Line depending on operational expediency.
After moving to the rear of the train the first point of interest was a KCS AC4400 in the number 2 position leading a westbound train of empty oil tank cars near Manor, PA.
NS C44-9W #9700 along with a C40-10W leading a westbound intermodal near Radebaugh.
Greensburg, PA is the only station on the route with active platforms serving all main line tracks. With only a single round trip to worry about, current practice is to run both Pennsylvanians on the nominally "westbound" #2 track. Stations like Latrobe that has the capacity for a second platform, has allowed it to decay as it removes the need to correctly pre-position passengers on the correct track.
Overtaking NS ES44AC #8012 at CP-PACK.
The sun briefly peeking out as Train 42 crosses the old stone bridge at Johnstown. This structure survived the great Johnstown Flood in 1889 and continues in service to this day.
Johnstown Station's island platform only serves Track 2 and 3, although Track 3 is rarely utilized by The Pennsylvanian due to it running on a different alignment between Johnstown and CP-CONPIT that adds about 15 minutes to the trip.
Clear westbound signal on track #3 at CP-C(onemaugh). This location has far less going on than it did just 20 years ago with an complete absence of local freight/coal and helper pairs. Coal trains were some of the most in need of temporary assistance and the collapse of coal power combined with increased use of distributed power has virtually eliminated much of the hustle and bustle around helper districts.
The next point of focus on my PRR Main Line tour are the stations of Devon and Wayne, 16 and 14 miles from Suburban Station respectively. Each location plays host to a classic PRR signal bridge still in a 1940's vintage configuration along with all of the other Main Line accoutrements such as victorian station buildings, a 4 track main line with 1915 overhead catenary and a mix of SEPTA and Amtrak services. You can find the full gallery of photos here ( mirror ).
The Devon station is typical of those seen on the Main Line, an ornate Victorian building made from high quality materials like brownstone. The railroad turned the towns along it into bastions of wealth that could use the new transportation artery to escape the dirty urban hellscape and live in more natural settings.
A little ways down from the station are the Milepost 16 intermediate signals mounted on an old 19th century truss road bridge. Here an inbound SEPTA R5 local passes by the signal location with Silverliners IV #325 leading and #166 on the rear.
The Main Line is still in its 1940's configuration with three single direction (ABS Rule 2510 tracks (#'s 1, 2 and 4) and one bi-directional (Rule 261) track (#3). The line is run by manned interlocking towers with the dispatcher keeping track of movements via paper train sheets. Here Amtrak Train #43, the westbound Pennsylvanian, passes under the Milepost 16 automatic signals with P42DC #117 in the lead. The track #1 signal is still displaying Stop and Proceed after the passage of the previous SEPTA train.
A barely missed a meet between the westbound Train 43 and an eastbound Keystone train fronted by Metroliner Cab Car #9635 and propelled by ACS-86 #646. Just after the keystone passes the Milepost 16 signal on track #1 finally changes from Stop and Proceed to Approach.
For many years I have been taking trips to the New York Capitol Region around Albany as I have good friends that either went to school there or have family there. Typically I would take Amtrak's Empire Service to and from as I would have access to a vehicle at the far end to carry out the various cultural and outdoor activities that we had planned. However in recent years this vehicle access went away and while a rental filled the gap in 2019 and 2020, the COVID pandemic in the spring of 2021 made rail travel somewhat less attractive and my friend and I decided to drive up instead. The silver lining was that I would be able to visit a couple of signal locations on Amtrak's Hudson Line that were in danger of replacement by the creeping re-signaling project, specifically ones I had missed on my two previous Hudson Line signal documentation trips based out of Westchester country. You can find the full set of these photos here ( mirror ).
As all of the signaling worth seeing is north of Poughkeepsie, I would take the Thurway to US 44 and cross the Hudson via the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Of course this would require a stop at the Walkway Over The Hudson and despite the rather meh weather, I managed to score a photo of an northbound train of autoracks on the former Conrail River Line hauled by a single CSX AC4400, #474.
The fact that a single unit can manage such a long train belies the relative low weight density of motor vehicles compared to other freight.
The Hudson Valley Rail Trail, running over the old Bridge Line to Maybrook Yard, has parked an ex-PRR N5 caboose at the west end of the Hudson Walkway, despite the fact that the line was a major New Haven route.
North of the Amtrak/Metro North division post at CP-75 in Poughkeepsie, traditional New Yok Central / Conrail signaling is still in service with many classic signal bridges over what used to be a 4-track right of way. The Milepost 83 automatic signal is co-located with the Conrail, Staatsburg, New York defect detector and a grade crossing. Linespeed here is 95mph, but in the pre-PTC days it was not uncommon for engineers to get a little bit more with the fastest speed I observed on the detector readout being 103mph.
I was on hand for the appearance of a northbound Empire Service train led by Amtrak P32AC-DM #706.
