Uploaded July 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The third video of Trains on the Norfolk Southern Reading Line takes place during the summer seasons of 2015 & 2016, shot between Reading and Allentown, Pennsylvania. Train descriptions, and the time they appear in the video are listed below.
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0:40 - (Skip Intro)
5/20/15 – Dynamic brakes can be heard as 38G heads down the low grade through Tuckerton Road. The recently repainted Blue Mountain & Reading Station is visible on the left, which hosted steam excursions of BM&R 425 and RDG 2102 in the 90’s. Another relic is the dated US&S TR-2 “tri-light” signal guarding the LAUREL control point. LAUREL & WEST LAUREL are the only remaining control points to have these Reading-era signals and are slated for replacement in 2017 along with the nearby Conrail-era Type-G tri-light signals.
0:40 - 38G – Allentown, PA – Camden, NJ
UP SD70M 3900
NS D9-44CW 9687
NS D9-44CW 9199
Later that evening 15T splits the searchlight signals at Deka Road, with the Deka Battery plant visible in the background. The Reading Line is still under Rule 251 in this video, meaning the tracks are signaled in one-direction only, such that Main 2 is eastbound and Main 1 is westbound. In 2017, with new signals and PTC equipment, the Reading Line will allow bi-directional traffic and these searchlights will be a thing of the past.
2:00 – 15T – Allentown, PA - Birmingham, AL
NS D9-44CW 9740
NS D9-44CW 9004
UP AC4400CW 6005
6/13/15 – Saturday 211 enters the single track at BLANDON, still guarded by Conrail-era GRS Type-G signals, soon to be replaced. The single track, dubbed “the low-grade” was the alternative route for trains around Reading with only a 0.6% ruling grade. The “Hill Track” out of Reading ran right under the feet of where I am shooting video; however, this track had a ruling grade of 1.1% right out of the yard, requiring trains to always have pushers. The grade, combined with the fact that many high cars do not fit through town and Reading Yard losing significance, were some of the reasons the hill track was finally ripped up in 1989.
3:30 – 211 – Croxton, NJ – Atlanta, GA
UP SD70M 4604
NS SD70ACe 1086
6/16/15 – Empty well train 24Q throttles up through Temple getting a run for the hill, after sitting in the hole at WEST LAUREL for a couple hours waiting for other train traffic. The shadows were encroaching but the evening light was sweet—the northward tracks here allow eastbounds to be shot in noselight during the summer. The freshly painted ex-CSX /exx-CR SD80MAC leader was a nice bonus too!
4:45 – 24Q – Atlanta, GA – Croxton, NJ
NS SD80MAC 7228
NS D8-40CW 8451
7/10/15 – 212 passes through the middle of Fleetwood, with the FM Brown feed mill and Fleetwood autobody building on the right. It’s a rarity to see the FM Brown siding full of cars these days with trucking doing most of the business, anyway, the sound of the train is loudly confined between the buildings.
6:45 – 212 – Atlanta, GA – Croxton, NJ
NS D9-40C 8842
NS SD70Ace 1135
NS D9-44CW 9603
6/02/16 – The Veterans Unit is on the point of 16T, climbing the hill toward Fleetwood. You cannot mistake the Leslie 5-chime horn on the leader.
8:15 – 16T – Birmingham, AL – Allentown, PA
NS SD60E 6920 (Honoring Our Veterans)
NS SD40-2 1644
NS SD70M-2 2656
6/14/16 – In an unlikely event for 2016, a road train is pulled solely by yard power. With a downturn of train traffic terminating or originating at Enola Yard, short-distance trains like 33A often steal sets of 4-axle power, or…whatever. In this case, a Mother/Slug SD40-2 set and a now retired MP15DC throttle the 56 car train up the low-grade. Oddly enough, NS 2353 found a home nearby on Reading & Northern and often is used as a yard locomotive just a couple miles west of this location.
9:45 – 33A – Baltimore, MD – Enola, PA – Allentown, PA
NS SD40-2 6205
NS RPU6 870
NS MP15DC 2353
7/26/16 – The Erie Heritage Unit leads heavy ethanol loads up the grade past the mushroom houses at Blandon. If you’ve ever been to Blandon, you’ll know the location by the distinct putrid, musty smell of the mushroom farms.
12:05 – 64E – Chicago, IL – Linden, NJ
NS SD70ACe 1068 (Erie)
NS D9-44CW 9209
Thanks for watching!!!
The third video of Trains on the Norfolk Southern Reading Line takes place during the summer seasons of 2015 & 2016, shot between Reading and Allentown, Pennsylvania. Train descriptions, and the time they appear in the video are listed below.
Like us on Facebook!
facebook.com/CentralPennRailProductions
0:40 - (Skip Intro)
5/20/15 – Dynamic brakes can be heard as 38G heads down the low grade through Tuckerton Road. The recently repainted Blue Mountain & Reading Station is visible on the left, which hosted steam excursions of BM&R 425 and RDG 2102 in the 90’s. Another relic is the dated US&S TR-2 “tri-light” signal guarding the LAUREL control point. LAUREL & WEST LAUREL are the only remaining control points to have these Reading-era signals and are slated for replacement in 2017 along with the nearby Conrail-era Type-G tri-light signals.
0:40 - 38G – Allentown, PA – Camden, NJ
UP SD70M 3900
NS D9-44CW 9687
NS D9-44CW 9199
Later that evening 15T splits the searchlight signals at Deka Road, with the Deka Battery plant visible in the background. The Reading Line is still under Rule 251 in this video, meaning the tracks are signaled in one-direction only, such that Main 2 is eastbound and Main 1 is westbound. In 2017, with new signals and PTC equipment, the Reading Line will allow bi-directional traffic and these searchlights will be a thing of the past.
2:00 – 15T – Allentown, PA - Birmingham, AL
NS D9-44CW 9740
NS D9-44CW 9004
UP AC4400CW 6005
6/13/15 – Saturday 211 enters the single track at BLANDON, still guarded by Conrail-era GRS Type-G signals, soon to be replaced. The single track, dubbed “the low-grade” was the alternative route for trains around Reading with only a 0.6% ruling grade. The “Hill Track” out of Reading ran right under the feet of where I am shooting video; however, this track had a ruling grade of 1.1% right out of the yard, requiring trains to always have pushers. The grade, combined with the fact that many high cars do not fit through town and Reading Yard losing significance, were some of the reasons the hill track was finally ripped up in 1989.
3:30 – 211 – Croxton, NJ – Atlanta, GA
UP SD70M 4604
NS SD70ACe 1086
6/16/15 – Empty well train 24Q throttles up through Temple getting a run for the hill, after sitting in the hole at WEST LAUREL for a couple hours waiting for other train traffic. The shadows were encroaching but the evening light was sweet—the northward tracks here allow eastbounds to be shot in noselight during the summer. The freshly painted ex-CSX /exx-CR SD80MAC leader was a nice bonus too!
4:45 – 24Q – Atlanta, GA – Croxton, NJ
NS SD80MAC 7228
NS D8-40CW 8451
7/10/15 – 212 passes through the middle of Fleetwood, with the FM Brown feed mill and Fleetwood autobody building on the right. It’s a rarity to see the FM Brown siding full of cars these days with trucking doing most of the business, anyway, the sound of the train is loudly confined between the buildings.
6:45 – 212 – Atlanta, GA – Croxton, NJ
NS D9-40C 8842
NS SD70Ace 1135
NS D9-44CW 9603
6/02/16 – The Veterans Unit is on the point of 16T, climbing the hill toward Fleetwood. You cannot mistake the Leslie 5-chime horn on the leader.
8:15 – 16T – Birmingham, AL – Allentown, PA
NS SD60E 6920 (Honoring Our Veterans)
NS SD40-2 1644
NS SD70M-2 2656
6/14/16 – In an unlikely event for 2016, a road train is pulled solely by yard power. With a downturn of train traffic terminating or originating at Enola Yard, short-distance trains like 33A often steal sets of 4-axle power, or…whatever. In this case, a Mother/Slug SD40-2 set and a now retired MP15DC throttle the 56 car train up the low-grade. Oddly enough, NS 2353 found a home nearby on Reading & Northern and often is used as a yard locomotive just a couple miles west of this location.
9:45 – 33A – Baltimore, MD – Enola, PA – Allentown, PA
NS SD40-2 6205
NS RPU6 870
NS MP15DC 2353
7/26/16 – The Erie Heritage Unit leads heavy ethanol loads up the grade past the mushroom houses at Blandon. If you’ve ever been to Blandon, you’ll know the location by the distinct putrid, musty smell of the mushroom farms.
12:05 – 64E – Chicago, IL – Linden, NJ
NS SD70ACe 1068 (Erie)
NS D9-44CW 9209
Thanks for watching!!!
