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Pennsylvanian in Three Quarter Sun

During midday, Amtrak 42 and 43—the eastward and westward Pennsylvanians—pass Lancaster within a few minutes of each other. Unlike the electric Keystone services these trains are diesel-hauled.

Shelley Lane abuts the railroad and makes for classic location to rollby trains.

I made these views with a 24-70mm lens set to its 24mm wide angle wtih a 1/2000th of second shutter speed as train 43 worked west in early afternoon with a classic P42 Genesis diesel leading.

I think, it would have been neat to stand here 60 years earlier to catch a Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 passing at speed with tuscan red passenger cars in tow.

One of these day’s I hope to time a rolling meet here. So far, I’ve come very close.

Tracking the Light Posts explores railroad photography.

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Pennsylvanian on Ektachrome at Mexico

At 3:43pm on April 13, 2025, I exposed this single Ektachrome 100 color slide of Amtrak’s westward Pennsylvanian passing Underpass Lane in Mexico, Pa.

The camera was fitted with a Nikkor f2.0 35mm lens, which has long been one of my favorite lenses. I don’t use it often, but it rarely lets me down.

I scanned the slide using an LS-5000 Nikon slide scanner powered by VueScan software. Below are two versions of the same scan. The top is the scaled, but un-modified version, the second is following post processing adjustments improve appearance.

One of the challenges with the Word Press platform that presents Tracking the Light is that the photo files get compressed. This tends to minimize the subtle changes I make to files during processing. Unfortunately, I don’t have any control over this effect on the Word Press presentation.

Scan prior to post processing adjustments.
Adjusted image improved using Adobe Lightroom to alter shadows, highlights, contrast, saturation and sharpness.

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Crosslit at Rockville Bridge

We paused at the famous Rockville Bridge just long enough to roll by Amtrak 42 The Pennsylvanian on its daily run east from Pittsburgh.

I made this crosslit view from the Marysville side of the Susquehanna as the train crossed the magnificent row of arches over the water.

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Westward Pennsylvanian at Christiana

Amtrak’s daily westward Pennsylvanian, Train 43, was running slightly behind the advertised. This was a bonus train, as I was more interested in catching its eastward counterpart, Train 42, which featured P42 108 specially dressed for Amtrak’s 50th Anniversary.

I was relieved when Train 43 came into view, and I exposed a series of photos as it passed the old PRR station at Christiana, Pa. Old 43’s tail lights were barely past me, when I headed for the car to drive against 42, which was already out of Lancaster and racing in my direction.

Stay tuned!

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Pennsylvanian with Tuscarora Mountain

Late autumn foliage and clear bright sun offered near-perfect photographic conditions.

It was a few days after my birthday in October. We arrived at Underpass Road near Mexico, Pa., as a NS freight was rolling through.

Using the ASMtransit.docs ap on my phone (https://asm.transitdocs.com), I calculated that Amtrak number 43 wasn’t far away. And we only waited about 10 minutes before the Pittsburgh-bound train came into view.

I made this photo using my Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mmm lens.

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Failed Diesel and an Electric to the Rescue!

Saturday afternoon, Kris and I were having lunch at the Speckled Hen in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, when my old friend Dan Howard forwarded me a text with a photo of Amtrak 42 (eastward Pennsylvanian) crossing the Rockville Bridge with a Norfolk Southern GE in the lead exposed about an hour earlier.

We didn’t know the details, but it appeared that Amtrak’s GENESIS P42 (that normal leads the train) had failed. I realized that it was unlikely that the NS locomotive would continue east because it probably didn’t have compatible signaling equipment, but that Amtrak was likely to assign an ACS-64 electric to haul the train to Philadelphia.

We were a little late learning this, and when I checked the tracker (asm.transitdocs.com) train 42 was already east of Harrisburg. Yet, we still had time to finish lunch and check a few locations. My favorite spots at Gap were back-lit.

When I checked the tracker a second time, I saw that 42 wasn’t making great eastward progress, so we backtracked west to Leaman Place in Paradise, Pa. Not only did we make it there in time to catch train 42 with an ACS-64 leading the failed diesel, but Amtrak Keystone train 670 was about three minutes behind it!

Photos exposed using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.

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Amtrak Train 43—Pennsylvanian at Lewistown.

In mid-March, Kris and I arrived at Lewistown Junction, Pennsyvlania a few minutes before the scheduled arrival of Amtrak’s westward Pennsylvanian (train 43). We had stopped at a nearby Sheetz for burritos to go.

Working with the Amtrak/VIA Real Time App, I learned that train 43 was running about 9 minutes behind the advertised. That allow for more time for lunch.

I made this series of photos with my Nikon Z6 fitted with 70-200mm Z-series zoom and a Panasonic Lumix LX7 as the train approached its Lewistown station stop. Amtrak P42 number 99 was in the lead. At the back were a pair of private cars.

Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens.
Lumix LX7 photo.
Lumix LX7 photo.
Lumix LX7 photo.

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Diesels Under Wire on the Main Line.

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Not just any old ‘mainline,’ but the famous Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Main Line— so called because it was built as the ‘Main Line of Public Works’ in the mid-Nineteenth Century.

I made this view of Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian taking the curve at Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

Where most of the trains on this line draw power from the high-voltage AC catenary, Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian changes from an electric to a diesel locomotive at 30th Street to avoid the need to change at Harrisburg.

This is Amtrak’s only service on the former PRR west of Harrisburg. The lone long distance train on what was once a premier passenger route, and unusual on the electrified portion of the line.

I exposed this sequence at Berwyn using my FujiFilm XT1 and 18-135mm zoom lens.

To make the most of the curve and autumn color, I positioned myself on the outside of the curve at Berwyn. The chug of Amtrak’s P42 diesel alerted me to the approach of this westward train.

 

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