Uploaded December 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On December 15, 2014 we find ourselves on a trip to the western part of the state to catch the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad in their booming days. Recent investments in the fracking and natural gas industry have left many of the railroads in this region with a boosted economy from the increased demand to ship Frac Sand and Natural Gas by rail, so much so, that the railroads barely have enough crews and locomotives to lug the heavy trains that carry thousands of tons of sand or gas. However, tonnage was not an issue on this particular day, as we follow Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad Train SWP-1 from Smithfield, PA to Owensdale, PA, carrying mostly empty sand cars back north, eventually bound for the interchange with Norfolk Southern in Radebaugh, PA. The nice thing though, is that the train was powered by 4 locomotives: AVR and SWP GP11's in corporate Carload Express paint, and an SWP and AVR GP40-3 in a patched-over KCS gray paint. Both the Southwest Pennsylvania and Allegheny Valley Railroads (SWP and AVR) are owned by Carload Express. The train eventually wound up with 92 cars on the journey picking them up along the way, before crossing CSX at Connellsville, PA, and then up the sharp grade at Owensdale where it would duck under the Wheeling Lake Erie Railroad, which would be the second Regional Railroad visited on our trip, which will be seen in the next video. The train tied down here for the moment, where a crew would pick it up later and take it to NS; however, by that time we were along the Wheeling and Lake Erie. More train information corresponding to the video is listed below.
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Here is a previous video of the SWP interchanging CSX in Connellsville in July 2013.
youtu.be/zkkUZNH1Llg
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12/15/14 - The SWP-1 returns from Smithfield with an array of gondolas and hopper cars bound for Norfolk Southern in Radebaugh, PA. The train is pulled by AVR GP11 2004, SWP GP11 2001, SWP GP40-3 4006, and AVR GP40-3 4001 with a grand total of 92 cars north of Lemont Furnace. The weather may not have been on our side that day—a fairly warm, hazy and excessively cloudy late fall day. Of course, the train is mostly heading northbound, so the sun would not have helped much anyway, as you can see the sun almost came out at Dunbar, which caused backlighting. My favorite shots are a close tie between the train running past some nice brick buildings in Uniontown, or cresting the steep grade at Owensdale.
On December 15, 2014 we find ourselves on a trip to the western part of the state to catch the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad in their booming days. Recent investments in the fracking and natural gas industry have left many of the railroads in this region with a boosted economy from the increased demand to ship Frac Sand and Natural Gas by rail, so much so, that the railroads barely have enough crews and locomotives to lug the heavy trains that carry thousands of tons of sand or gas. However, tonnage was not an issue on this particular day, as we follow Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad Train SWP-1 from Smithfield, PA to Owensdale, PA, carrying mostly empty sand cars back north, eventually bound for the interchange with Norfolk Southern in Radebaugh, PA. The nice thing though, is that the train was powered by 4 locomotives: AVR and SWP GP11's in corporate Carload Express paint, and an SWP and AVR GP40-3 in a patched-over KCS gray paint. Both the Southwest Pennsylvania and Allegheny Valley Railroads (SWP and AVR) are owned by Carload Express. The train eventually wound up with 92 cars on the journey picking them up along the way, before crossing CSX at Connellsville, PA, and then up the sharp grade at Owensdale where it would duck under the Wheeling Lake Erie Railroad, which would be the second Regional Railroad visited on our trip, which will be seen in the next video. The train tied down here for the moment, where a crew would pick it up later and take it to NS; however, by that time we were along the Wheeling and Lake Erie. More train information corresponding to the video is listed below.
Like us on Facebook!
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!
Here is a previous video of the SWP interchanging CSX in Connellsville in July 2013.
youtu.be/zkkUZNH1Llg
(Hold CTRL and Click to open in new tab)
12/15/14 - The SWP-1 returns from Smithfield with an array of gondolas and hopper cars bound for Norfolk Southern in Radebaugh, PA. The train is pulled by AVR GP11 2004, SWP GP11 2001, SWP GP40-3 4006, and AVR GP40-3 4001 with a grand total of 92 cars north of Lemont Furnace. The weather may not have been on our side that day—a fairly warm, hazy and excessively cloudy late fall day. Of course, the train is mostly heading northbound, so the sun would not have helped much anyway, as you can see the sun almost came out at Dunbar, which caused backlighting. My favorite shots are a close tie between the train running past some nice brick buildings in Uniontown, or cresting the steep grade at Owensdale.
![High Hood on the Selinsgrove Industrial Track [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qW8Js5C1v-4/mqdefault.jpg "High Hood on the Selinsgrove Industrial Track [4K]
On June 25, 2018, an odd occurrence allowed us to chase a train on some rare and endangered mileage. K21 departs south out of Northumberland with cars for Herndon Reload; however, they have the added task of rescuing an engine and car off of the Selinsgrove IT—a job normally done at night, which apparently had a minor derailment at the mill in Kreamer on their last run. NS GP38-2 5004 will head down light to the end of the line at Kreamer. The P5 horn on the long hood is so clogged and out of tune that only the #4 chime seems to be sounding. While this isnt the most thrilling video in terms of train action, this is, as far as I know, this is the only existing video documenting this line to date on YouTube, and may be the last time anyone films a train here.
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We first catch the whole train heading south on the Buffalo Line through Sunbury passing the endangered PRR Position Lights at SF on its way to Selinsgrove Junction. After uncoupling from their train on the Susquehanna River bridge, 5004 proceeds by itself down the branch toward the end of the line, first passing depot in Selinsgrove. We then set up by the lumber plant east of Kreamer, then shot 5004 in the middle of town. The mill was busy with trucks so we were not able to get a shot there (not to mention incredibly back lit). The train then heads back east through Kreamer with a much better sounding P5 horn on the the forward hood.
The Selinsgrove Industrial Track was formerly part of the Pennsylvania Railroads Selinsgrove-Lewistown Line, severed in 1956 between Maitland and Kreamer, the eastern portion, along with the the lead to the power plant in Shamokin Dam, are the last few remaining rails in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. The power plant is no longer served by rail after the coal-fired generators were retired for new natural gas ones built adjacent to the old plant. With a feed mill in Kreamer, as well as another mill just east of there, keeping this short stretch of rails polished, it is very likely that someday soon this line will be abandoned and ripped up, leaving another county in Pennsylvania without any trace of railroad activity (there are currently three: Fulton, Clarion, and Forest). With slow speeds and an expensive river crossing to maintain over the Susquehanna River, Norfolk Southern has been pushing to move the service to the eastern shore to their facility in Herndon. Whether it be politics, logistics, or a strong storm or flood wiping out the river crossing, time will tell just how long these few miles of rails will last.
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Presented in 4K-30p from the Sony AX-100")
