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75 degrees and Wheels Rolling at Safe Harbor—click the link and read to the end.

Since 2009, I paid more than a dozen visits to the former Pennsylvania Railroad trestles at Safe Harbor, Pa.

I’ve visited in the morning, midday, and evenings. I’ve gone on weekdays and weekends. I’ve climbed the steps to the rail trail at least ten times. I’ve walked the trail across the top of the bridge and scoped locations.

We’ve sat in the parking lot on the dam side of the trestles. Last summer we saw coal empties rolling through Port Deposit and raced ahead to Safe Harbor only to watch the sunset without a train pass.

The other morning I woke at 5:15am. I motivated, hoisted myself out of bed, dressed and drove to the Safe Harbor bridges arriving there at 5:45am. It was already 75 degrees and the humidity as thick as a rain forest.

I climbed the steps to the top of the bridge on the old Enola Low Grade, only to see that the signals were all red for a westward movement. Not a promising sign. Worse, the humidity immediately fogged the front elements of my Nikon.

Condensation on the front element made for a foggy photo.

I walked across the bridge; I gazed down at the Safe Harbor Dam, I read the signs at the west of the bridge that tell of its construction & etc. I walked back. I bird watched. I shared my thoughts in my notebook.

I read the rules of the rail trail, and at 6:30 am I gazed once again at the signals. Still red. So I read the rules again for amusement. Finally, I was about to give up and walk back to the car. The camera lens had finally un-fogged. And . . . wait . . . did the westward signal just clear to green?

It had.

I walked back out on to the bridge and waited. At 6:45, I heard the distant chug of a GE Evolution diesel. Wow!

I gazed down river toward Pequea. At 6:46, I spotted a northward train on the move. Gradually the sound grew louder. I framed up my photos. I made a test shot. At 6:54am the train came into view and I exposed these photos.

Finally! I’d scored a train on the move at Safe Harbor! This was probably Norfolk Southern’s 37A from Edgemoor, Delaware.

When I got back to the car just after 7am it was more than 80 degrees. I was home for tea 15 minutes later. It was all worth it!

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