I’m taking a trip to Eastern Pennsylvania this fall, and wondering what railroad items I should attempt to work into my trip plan. I’m traveling with non-railfans, so hardcore trainwatching like Horseshoe Curve is probably out of the question, unless you think it’s really a must-see. My main railroad interest is photography, if it helps direct your recommendations.
Steamtown has been considered, but I’m not all that into a historic train ride as it’s just like the commute I do every day…except in a different train! Do they still have shop tours in the fall, and is the schedule different than the summer? I’m specifically interested in B&M 3713, which is undergoing restoration. I emailed Steamtown via their website a week ago but so far haven’t heard back.
Steamtown is more than just a train ride - but you’ll have to check with them on shop tours and the like. A trolley museum is next door, and if you have to entertain the non-railfans, there is a mall right across the tracks.
Strasburg RR and the PA museum (and Toy Trains, IIRC) are in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Just an hour or so south of Strasburg is the B&O museum in Baltimore.
I believe there is a tower preserved in Harrisburg.
Slightly further afield are Starucca and Tunkahannock viaducts. Not much else there tourist-wise, but both are awe-inspiring.
I visited Steamtown few years ago (early 2000s, I think) and the static displays didn’t do much for me. Interesting stuff to see, but I didn’t have a personal connection with anything so it didn’t mean much to me. I tried contacting them about 3713 and the shop tour, but they never got back to me…hopefully they will soon, or someone else here will know.
Our trip plans will most likely include the Pennsylvania Dutch country, so Strasburg was one of the places I’d like to look into more. Is it really touristy (lots of photographers, crowded) or is it more open and laid-back? I don’t really enjoy crowds, especially when trying to take photos.
Traffic on Starucca looks pretty light, but maybe there is some on Tunkahannock…would I be right to assume that?
When I lived in the Northeast, more than a decade ago, traffic over Tunkhannock (aka Nicholson) Viaduct was pitifully light. I have a friend who moved from the Northwest to the outskirts of Scranton about a year ago, and he tells me the traffic there is still very minimal. He says there’s a daily southbound out of Binghamton in the afternoon that’s pretty reliable, but beyond that he says it’s pretty hit and miss.
Last time I checked more closely on the operations there with some local sources, it sounded like the kind of place where you really get only one or two chances for a daytime shot of a train on the bridge. Just showing up there and waiting for something could result in a very long wait, unless you actually saw something getting re-crewed and ready to depart from Binghamton or Scranton/Taylor.
AFAIK, traffic over both bridges is sparse at best.
My visit to the Strasburg RR was exactly that - a visit to the SRR. I did wander across the street to the PA Museum. As for the rest of the Lancaster area, I have no clue, but I suspect is it rather touristy. Again - a diversion for the non-rails. You can visit SRR and the museums, and they can shop…
Yeah…what do you want to see? See trains move? Passenger? Freight? Ride? History? Steamtown is quiet different than when you saw it last. Altoona is great, too. The Curve is most interesting for train watching, 99% freight of course, but the Railroaders Museum in Altoona has a unique perspective in that it reflects the human aspect, how railroaders worked and lived, and not about nuts and bolts. Strasburg would be good too…the Strasburg Railroad plus the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum plus the National Toy Train museum–and if no one is a railfan, you’re deep in Pennsylvania Dutch Country with something for everybody else. Jim Thorpe is a great town filled with stuff: the untouched Asa Packer (LV Pres.) mansion, gravity railroad museum, lots for the whole family. OR Honesdale/Hawley area for the D&H gravity railroad, the D&H Canal, and lots of other neat stuff…follow the canal bed all the way to Kingston, NY if you wish! Ride trains? Amtrak from Harrisburg east or go to Philadelphia and ride trains, light rail and trolleys-above or underground! Narrow guage? East Broad Top. Several coal mines and museums, several caves,…there is a lot for everybody, anybody, Just decide what you want to see, look it up, and see it and do it.
Currently, I’d say about 7+ trains a day come though here at minimum. I live about 4 miles north of the bridge, and I can watch the trains go by on the same line.
Difficult parameters. If you hit the Curve right, you can see a lot of trains in a short time and head into Altoona to the Museum. The East Broad Top is not all that far away. Strasburgh and the PRR Museum are going to take a while. The good news is that there are lots of other attractions in the area and your companions could drop you off and pick you up later. Steamtown is good and the optional ride is very short. I see a suggestion for Kingston, NY and, if you get that far, don’t miss the Walkway Over (Across?-I can never remember) the Hudson on the old NH bridge. A spectacular vantage point and good for everyone. Plus you can see the old NYC water level route at Poughkeepsie with Metro-North and Amtrak action and a fair amount of traffic on the CSX River Line…from several hundred feet above.
Eastern PA is a big area. Altoona is central PA. Scranton is northeastern PA. Strasburg is southcentral/eastern. All of the above are hours away from each other. Is there a particular place in PA you are going to?
It looks as if the wife and I will also head for Eastern Pa later in the month. A couple of years ago this trip was planned and then cancelled.
This will probably be a shorter duration, with family stuff in the evenings. We will be in the Allentown area and I am also looking for a little action. Hard core train stuff is probably out of the question, but a mixture of trains, scenery and shopping will work.
What about Jim Thorpe? It is up on the old LV mainline and if memory serves me correctly that is quite scenic up there.
Jim Thorpe is ok, but it is geared as a tourist trap. I’ve been there twice on the Tunkahonnok-Jim Thorpe steam excursions the RBM&N does. They have a good pizza place and a good restaurant/bar with a covered deck. There is also a model railroad there where you can watch all sorts of non-prototypicalness go on, and a nice penny candy store. The coalmining museum is a neat look at, and the town itself looks like a slice of Europe. But still, the town hires people to drive old restored cars around. XD
Well, other than that, no. If you do end up in Scranton, the Anthracite Museum and Coal Mine Tour is a cool look, and if you swing around to Ashly PA, you can see the Huber Breaker.
I believe anyplace you’ve never been is worth the trip…and Jim Thorpe is no exception. Yeah, touristy. But some neat stuff for everybody. The Asa Packer mansion (LV President) is untouched from the day he died. There is a museum with a fantastic model of the gravity railroad which brought the coal down the hill to the canal boats and rail cars. The old CNJ station is a museum. The town is old, Eurpeanish, unique in its ownright, and less than an hour’s drive from Allentown. Nearby is the Weatherly Miner’s village and Ashaland mine isn’t that far away either. And there are still a few trains up and down the gorge over on the LV side of the river. A gorgeious drive by all means!
Horseshoe curve is a great place to take non-railfans. No, they probably won’t want to spend all day there and the photography sucks, but it’s kind of set up for the non-hardcore railfan.
The Lancaster area is a good bet if your party will include non-railfan friends. They can either drop you off to visit or photograph things of interest to railfans or you could drop them off at a sightseeing attraction in the Lancaster area while you get some photos, or visit the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Strasburg.
Photographically speaking a good location is Christiana, PA, and the vantage point is the NRHS Lancaster chapter’s freight house. The freight house has a deck on the track side from which you can photograph the “Keystones” rounding a reverse curve through the town. The “Keystones” are Amtrak’s Harrisburg-Philly or New York trains which are hauled by AEM 7’s, and they run about every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The Christiana freight house is on the east side of the tracks so it is a morning shot; the “Keystones” are a push-pull operation, and you don’t know from one train to the next, or for any given train from one day to the next, whether it will be pushed or pulled. Of interest is the control cab car is a former original Metroliner car which might be worth while photographing itself…
Rudy RockvilleMD, is a local and I am sure his info is correct and current! I would also hope that Paul North could weigh in on the Easter Pa area. I really like the area of Eastern Pa. Most generally, their is plenty to see and lots of reasonable place to stay, depending on what your preferences and needs are(?)
Thanks everyone! I’m a little overloaded with information so I won’t get around to answering everyone individually or exploring every option.
I’m mostly interested in the photographic opportunities of Lancaster County (and need to narrow all this great information down) so I think I will stick to that area for now.
What I’m mostly looking for is moving trains in a picturesque location - ruling out Horseshoe Curve and Christiana. I’ll probably look at Strasburg and the East Broad Top.
How are the along-the-line photos of these two? I’m not big into train chasing (too stressful to be fun, IMHO) but I’d love to walk around and shoot some photos at a few locations. The more laid-back, the better. Alternatively, are there any high-density freight or passenger lines running through the area that I could set up along a little country road to photograph?
The plans are pretty well solidified for next week. We will be staying at the Hotel Bethlehem, which appears to be fairly close to the NS mainline. From the satellite shots, it appears this line crosses the river en route from Allentown Yard to the intermodal facility (old Bethlehem Steel facility???).
This will work well as I can walk over in the morning while the wife is drinking coffee.
So, I want a day trip of sorts and recalled the columns in TRP (The Railroad Press) by Mike Bednar. I have really enjoyed reading his columns about railroading in the Lehigh Valley area. Looking at old columns tonight and also at Google Maps, I am thinking of the Lehigh Gorge State Park, just north of Jim Thorpe.
What are opinions of that area. It looks interesting from the maps and satellite views.
What railroad runs on the line thru there? I have lost my Pennsylvania DOT map…packed away somewhere. Does anyone know of an online guide to that area?
Any other suggestions. I dont want to turn this trip into a “lets go chase trains” trip for obvious reasons, but a couple hours would be good, particularly with scenery involved.
I have “Lehigh VAlley in Color” by Robert Yanosey and the Lehighton and Packerton areas look interesting also.
You can do a lot of day trips from Bethlehem…for trains or for family. Scranton with Steamtown and the Trolley Museum for you, the Steamtown Mall, the Antracite Museum, etc. is one. Jim Thorpe is good for you and the family…not much train action, yes a tourist trap, but beautiful and historical. Head down to Strasburg and Lancaster as was suggested. Or zip down to Philadelphia area to see and ride all sorts of train. Same with NJ…ride from Hackettstown, Mt. Arlington, Dover or Denville; or from High Bridge or Raritan; or just watch trains around Bound Brook…drive RT 22, not 78, across NJ to get to Pattenburg Tunnel (west portal), too. Reading has a lot to see, but much less than yesteryear. Riding trains into Newark and New York Penn Sta will give you views of lots of trains, more passeger than freight. Similar train riding on Philadelphia’s SEPTA services. My vote in order of appeal for most in the broad family satisfaction (including the railffan): 1) Jim Thorpe, 2) Scranton, 3) Strasburg and Lancaster Co. The rest I listed above is all railfan stuff.