We followed Route 441 north from Washington Boro, as we have on many evenings. The signal in Columbia, Pa., near the old Pennsylvania Railroad station displayed Slow Clear. This indicated that the route had been lined at Cola Interlocking for a train coming off Norfolk Southern’s Columbia Secondary—a vestige of the original Philadelphia and Columbia Rail Road, one of the oldest continuously operated railroad lines in North America.

Although I’ve made a variety of night photographs at this location over the last year, we decided to pull in for another view of H19 local freight on its return trip from Lancaster to Enola.

I opted for a series of handheld images, including a couple of views featuring the mural on the wall adjacent to the old station. A closer look reveals that it includes several railroad-related scenes.

As H19 rolled by, we began our pursuit of the nocturnal freight. I had a location in Marietta that I was hoping to try.

More soon!