Uploaded November 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On October 17, 2015, the Lehigh Gorge is abuzz with tourists and cyclists enjoying the mild fall weather amidst the onset of yellow and orange hues. No stranger to this location is the Lehigh Scenic Gorge train, powered by SD50 #426, running the routine excursions from Jim Thorpe to Old Penn Haven.
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The train departs the old Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) station in historic downtown, traveling north along the Lehigh River which carved a winding path through the mountains. The CNJ and Lehigh Valley Railroads both had double-track main lines through the Gorge for many decades until their demise to new ownership under Conrail, which too, is long gone. In the present day, the track along-side of the trail, which is on one of the former railroad track roadbeds, is owned and operated by the Reading & Northern railroad. The far track along the hillside is operated by Norfolk Southern, a Class I railroad with over 22,500 miles of track in the eastern United States.
Though at one time several passenger and freight trains passed through the gorge, very few rail traffic runs through this region in the present, most of which operates through the night. The Lehigh Scenic Gorge Railway, operated by the Reading & Northern Railroad, is the main attraction on these rails, with hourly excursions throughout the day, year-round. The open-air cars provide a unique experience of this remote region.
Visit lgsry.com for more information.
Thanks for watching Central Penn Rail Productions, home to railroad videos located in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania, and beyond.
Copyright October 2015
On October 17, 2015, the Lehigh Gorge is abuzz with tourists and cyclists enjoying the mild fall weather amidst the onset of yellow and orange hues. No stranger to this location is the Lehigh Scenic Gorge train, powered by SD50 #426, running the routine excursions from Jim Thorpe to Old Penn Haven.
Like and visit us on Facebook at:
facebook.com/CentralPennRailProductions
Fan funding: The icon in the upper right corner allows you to make donations to this channel. We'd be more than thrilled by your extra support!
The train departs the old Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) station in historic downtown, traveling north along the Lehigh River which carved a winding path through the mountains. The CNJ and Lehigh Valley Railroads both had double-track main lines through the Gorge for many decades until their demise to new ownership under Conrail, which too, is long gone. In the present day, the track along-side of the trail, which is on one of the former railroad track roadbeds, is owned and operated by the Reading & Northern railroad. The far track along the hillside is operated by Norfolk Southern, a Class I railroad with over 22,500 miles of track in the eastern United States.
Though at one time several passenger and freight trains passed through the gorge, very few rail traffic runs through this region in the present, most of which operates through the night. The Lehigh Scenic Gorge Railway, operated by the Reading & Northern Railroad, is the main attraction on these rails, with hourly excursions throughout the day, year-round. The open-air cars provide a unique experience of this remote region.
Visit lgsry.com for more information.
Thanks for watching Central Penn Rail Productions, home to railroad videos located in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania, and beyond.
Copyright October 2015
![Reading & Northern on the PRR Schuylkill Branch [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vvYhj72_ilk/mqdefault.jpg "Reading & Northern on the PRR Schuylkill Branch [4K]
On March 27, 2015, a train of 100 empty crude oil tank cars are bound for storage on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Schuylkill Branch between Reading and Hamburg, Pennsylvania. This was the first move of many made to store 100s of empty tank cars across the Reading & Northern system. With declining prices and demand for oil, the once busy method of shipping crude by rail between 2012-2014 has significantly dwindled. Many of these rail cars were built between 2011-2014 and have seen very few mileage, but with a lack of demand for crude by rail, thousands of these tank cars sit idle across the country, for how long? Who knows...
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The power for the train, symbol PNTE (Port Clinton - Temple) had power on both end of the trains, with RBMN SD50M 5049 and GP39RN 2530 pulling the train down from Port Clinton to the Norfolk Southern interchange and BELT (Belt Line Junction) just north of the city of Reading, and RBMN SW8M 802 on the rear for the shove north toward Hamburg, which is the present day terminus of the branch and home to the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society museum and preserved railroad equipment, some of which you see scattered along the branch in this video.
The PRR Schuylkill Branch used to be a line that paralleled the Reading Railroad from Philadelphia to Delano Junction, but is now split into segments with the abandonment of most of the line. This segment runs between Laurel Junction in Temple, PA to Hamburg, PA. This section of track has not seen revenue service in many decades, and the days of the Blue Mountain & Reading steam have come and gone two decades ago. Therefore, seeing a train on the PRR side of the Schuylkill River is incredibly rare, especially on the full extent of the branch.
Hopper cars had been stored on this line in the past, but rarely north of GLEN, which is where the switch to the Glen-Gery Brick Plant and old Pennsylvania Railroad Signal bridge sit derelict. This was the first of such rare mileage empty oil can moves made, and was perhaps the first revenue freight train to run above Shoemakersville in over two decades!
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