CONRAIL

This page will continue a trip through the Allentown, PA yard and continue west on what was once the Reading Company mainline to Reading, PA.  If you are not coming from the previous Allentown page, Click Here to jump back to the Easton, PA to Allentown page.

                                                               
   B23-7 1918                   The west end                     SD40 6312                        GP40 3335                          GP35 2321 dead

                                                               
C30-7 6903 on yard duty  SD38 with a slug                 GP35 3649                     SD40 6266 on w/b                  GP38 8111

                                                              
1985 e/b from Reading    Rebuilt 6983 e/b               SD50 6853 leaving with a w/b to Harrisburg                     SD40 6414

                            Chessie System and CSX units visited often.

  6449 moving a bunch of retired cabeese

  6614 painted in ballast train gray, works a westbound

6127 at the west end of the yard.  The L-S stand for the Lehigh & Susquehanna which was the original name of the railroad along the Lehigh River that was taken over by the Jersey Central many years ago.  The CNJ continued to use the name as their L & S division.

  5051 departing westbound

    B23-7 1940 and a GP9 work a piggyback train west out of the yard.  The bridge crosses over the Lehigh Canal and the access road to the yard and the Canal Park.  

    SD40 6266 leads several NS units on a westbound.

    GP40 3333 leads two CSX units still in Family Lines and Chessie System paint.

  Looking the other way, 6440 leads an eastbound into the yard.

  Virginia Railway Express unit enroute to Washington, D.C.

  Two eastbounds crossing the Lehigh River about to enter the yard.  This remains a prime train-watching site as it is from the Canal Park.  This area is the former Reading Company East Penn line.

1918 crosses over the former Lehigh Valley mainline about 1/2 mile beyond the river bridge.

  After crossing the LV main, the tracks take a sharp left curve.  The grade crossing seen here was eliminated a few years ago due to the long delays caused by the slow moving trains.  This is about 3/4 mile from the yard and many trains were long enough to still be negotiating yard trackage.

  This train is westbound and is coming off the old Lehigh Valley main that was used to bypass the yard.  What was once an interchange track from the Reading to the LV yard was converted into a connector from the two lines.

  Turning around to view an eastbound swinging around the curve at "Burn".  The Reading had a modest yard here along with a tower to control movements at this junction point.  In addition to trains going to the LV yard, passenger trains switched off the main here to reach the joint Reading-CNJ depot in downtown Allentown.

Here is an aerial view of this location to give things a better perspective.  The original railroad names are shown.

  GP38 leads NS power west at "Burn".  You could usually find a crowd of railfans here most weekends.  Sadly, NS has posted large No Trespassing signs here putting this location off limits.

    Former C & O GP30 4215 leads a U30B and an RF&P GP40 west at "Burn".

  Westbound    Eastbound 

  6490 eastbound.  The grassy area to the right was once the Reading interchange yard.

  5634 is westbound.  The large gas holder was a landmark here for many years.

  GP38 7878 leads an eastbound hopper train.

  Just down from "Burn" is the Susquehanna St overpass.  A good view here of a meet with 6485 heading west.

  SD40 6446 leads the ore train east under the overpass.

  SD40 6516 heads west along the former Reading mainline.

  Eastbound 6515 passes the junction of the old Perkiomen branch.  The little ex-Amtrak SW-1 was operated by the Anthracite Railway.  August 31, 1986.

  GP40 3007 and 3008 lead Mail-9 west approaching Emmaus.

Several views of trains passing through the small town of Emmaus, PA.  

                                            
3319 westbound        6394 westbound        6840 eastbound        6791 eastbound        6441 passing the station   NS numbered 2567 in 1999.

  An eastbound train headed for Bethlehem Steel at Emmaus in 1990.

    Back in the early days, a Penn Central and Reading GP35 lead HB8 east between Emmaus and Macungie. 1976.

Several views of trains passing through Macungie, PA.

                                                                            
ALCA in 1989                   PIOI eastbound, 1990           ALCA again in 1990 with a special load at the end                PIOI again in 1989   

The next town is Alburtis.  Here a branch that once went to Catasaqua joins the main.  A portion of the branch remains today.  It is commonly known as the C & F, Catasaqua and Fogelsville.

PIOI in 1989.     GP 38 8119 on the siding for the Monday C & F local.

    Two GP9's head west through Alburtis in 1989.

  SD40 6248 westbound through Lower Macungie Township in 1992.

     Train SRAL eastbound at the Schlossberg St. crossing in Lower Macungie, 1989.

  SD40 6454 is westbound with ALSR at Topton, PA in 1989.

  SD40 6274 is eastbound at Lyons, PA in 1991. 

  6492 westbound at Fleetwood.

  6452 eastbound at Fleetwood with a unit ore train enroute to Bethlehem Steel.

  It's late in the day as 6292 roars east from the top of the grade at Blandon.

SD50 6722 is westbound at Blandon.  A line up from downtown Reading once connected here.

6451 westbound at Belt Line Jct. Belt Line Jct is where the original Philadelphia-Reading main continued north into the anthracite coal fields.  Another division of the Reading known as the East Penn came in from Allentown and then a new line was then built around the northeast edge of Reading which connected with the Lebanon Valley line west to Harrisburg.  Conrail used this as the through route in Reading.  The only trains going into downtown Reading were ones requiring switching there.  NS continues this pattern today.  The Reading & Northern owns the tracks north of Belt Line.

  6477 is entering the junction having come down from Allentown.

  6770 had stopped in downtown Reading and is now heading through the junction enroute to Allentown.

  8704 (ex-Reading 1504) is passing the junction enroute to downtown Reading.

  GP9 7550 is doing likewise as viewed from the other side of the track.

  SD50 6790 rolls east off the belt line and through the junction.

    GP38 8115 on a empty westbound hopper train running through Belt Line with a nice surprise on the end.

  5002 westbound.    6514 is eastbound.

     CSX power came through on occasion.  This was a rather unusual power lash-up.

  Finally, 6115 westbound.

  At the other end of the belt line around Reading is Valley Jct.  Located adjacent to the popular outlet centers, it is where the main west out of downtown Reading crosses over the belt line.  This particular train is ALCA enroute to Camden, NJ.  It went from Allentown to here in Reading, ran around downtown Reading via the belt lines and then east to Philadelphia and Camden.  The track on the left is the ramp used by most through trains from Belt Line Jct. to the Lebanon Valley line.

  6490 coming around the ramp track at Valley Jct.

  6417 is eastbound on the ramp track.  The other track is the one going south around Reading toward Birdsboro and the main to Philadelphia.

  Big GE 6000 is westbound with an empty hopper train climbing the ramp. (162k)

    6521 leads a train of empty hoppers west.  It is on the line that by passes Reading around the southwest side of town.  Trains from Philadelphia swing off at Birdsboro and at this point can either go straight to meet the through Harrisburg to Allentown main or as this train is doing swing west and up to Wyomissing Jct. to head toward Harrisburg.

  The third direction westbound trains come from is from downtown Reading over a large bridge.  6541 is westbound passing the small brick operators tower.  This is Valley Jct.

To the Lebanon Valley Line and Hagerstown.

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