Trains on the Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line Late Spring 2013

Railfan along the busy Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line between Reading and Harrisburg, PA as we say goodbye to the fair-weather spring and say hello to the hot and humid summer during May and June 2013. The train action continues with a variety of trains and motive power, from tanker trains with foreign visitors to heavy mixed freights with older EMD power to local trains cruising along to their industries. A variety of locations or angles were explored to show off different scenes of the countryside or some of the many railroad towns that these trains honk and grind their way through. You'll be sure to enjoy the action and variety along this busy mainline, and thank you all for watching!

A time-stamp navigator and train description is listed below:

May 9, 2013: 507 coal empties return west passing the feed mill in Richland.

0:00 - 507 - Carney's Point, NJ - Shire Oaks, PA
NS SD70 2518
NS C40-9W 9115
NS C40-9W 9321


May 14, 2012: The "Tuesday Roadrailer" 244 heads east past a private farm crossing with a barn and horse in the background. I incorrectly labeled this as 262 intuitively thinking it was that train, but this was a Tuesday therefore it was 244 from Ohio, not 262 from Chicago.

1:55 - 244 - Roadrailer - Sandusky, OH - Bethlehem, PA
NS C40-9W 9174
NS C40-9W 9876


May 15, 2013: A heavy westbound mixed freight train heads up the near 0.5% grade in Robesonia with a roaring EMD consist.

3:00 - 35Q - Allentown, PA - Linwood, NC
NS SD70M-2 2767
NS SD70M-2 2675
NS SD70M 2632


Later that evening H31 sets out to serve GAF/ELK and Lebanon Chemical.

4:35 - H31 - Reading, PA - Local Industries
NS GP59 4616
NS SD40-2 3338


May 16, 2013: H33 is a mid-day local that serves most businesses west of Reading, however, on this day it only had a tank car for Valspar and loaded lumber for Rigidply Rafters.

5:10 - H33 - Reading, PA - Local Industries
NS SD40-2 3423
NS SD40-2 3435


May 29, 2013: 65W oil empties return for the west, where it will be handed off to BNSF in Cicero, IL, thus explaining the common sight of BNSF power on this train, which was recently resymboled from 65D.

5:45 - 65W - Westville, NJ - Bakkan Oil Region, ND
NS ES40DC 7604
BNSF SD70ACe 9208
BNSF SD70MAC 9982


May 31, 2013 - Bright and early, 36Q mixed freight train heads east out from a rock cut with some older EMD power on the point.

7:15 - 36Q - Linwood, NC - Allentown, PA
NS SD70 2548
NS SD60 6635
NS C40-9W 9494


That afternoon 11J bangs over the switches at Hershey precisely at solar noon at 13:04 hours when the sun is at its peak.

8:45 - 11J - Doremus, NJ - Detroit, MI
NS SD70 2503
NS C40-9W 9932


June 2, 2013 - Trash from the big city heads westward toward the landfill in Ohio with a nice ex-Conrail SD60 with a wailing RS-3L on the point. This train was recently resymboled from 65J (the empties were 64J, now 67J) to comply with even symbols being loaded trains, while odds are empties, regardless of direction.

10:30 - 66J - Kearny, NJ - Mingo Jct., OH
NS SD60 6710
NS C40-9W 8892


June 3, 2013 - Automotive empties led by a pair of forward facing ex-Conrail SD60M's head west through the Ramona Road crossing under the 81 signal.

12:25 - 11J - Doremus, NJ - Detroit, MI
NS SD60M 6767
NS SD60M 6772


June 11, 2013 - The westbound "Cripple Clown" roadrailer heads by some fields in the last possible rays of light at 20:08 hours. It is uncommon for a foreign locomotive to be in the consist of a roadrailer because they normally use a back-to-back set of NS units for cabsignals on the Pittsburgh Line.

13:50 - 261 - Bethlehem, PA - Chicago, IL
NS C40-9W 9229
BNSF SD70ACe 9095


June 16, 2013 - 35Q charges westbound by the controlled point at DORF. A nice ex-Conrail leader on this one, but of course a light cloud would ruin the shot at the last possible second.

15:00 - 35Q - Allentown, PA - Linwood, NC
NS SD60 6704
NS C40-9W 8961
NS C40-9W 9703


June 17, 2013 - It is obvious which railroad these ethanol loads came from, as 64K slides downgrade at MP 81 in the nice, but humid morning sun.

17:20 - 64K - Chicago, IL - Seawaren, NJ
NS C40-9W 9766
CN SD75I 5789
CN C40-8W 2136


June 19, 2013 - Heavy mixed freight 19G starts upgrade out of the city of Reading after doing some work in the yard. There are two SD45-2's in tow for the Juniata shops in Altoona. These units are normally restrained to duties along Conrail Shared Assets in New Jersey.

19:20 - 19G - Allentown, PA - Conway, PA
NS C40-9W 9925
NS C40-9W 9672
NS SD60 6604
NS SD45-2 1702
NS SD45-2 1700


June 20, 2013 - Hotshot intermodal train 24K races east through Wernersville with a rarer older EMD consist. The Reading Station is on the right and the former Wertz whole sale supply store on the left. The Reading Station was recently refurbished on the interior.

21:42 - 24K - Rutherford, PA - Morrisville, PA
NS SD60M 6766
NS SD60 6639
NS SD40-2 3452