Atglen-Susquehanna Low Grade Line

From what I'm now hearing, after the January STB decision, NS plans to dismantle the bridge at Martic Forge, presumably for safety reasons.

Has anyone created a photo page along the lines of "The A&S - Then and Now"?

To add to the discussion on the Atglen and Susquehanna:

I understand why Conrail tore this line up. The line was an integral leg of a very busy Enola to Thorndale / Glen Loch (Frazier PA) freight route. At either Thorndale or Glen Loch, majority of the thru freight trains would head to one of two end points: Philadelphia or New York City areas. For simplicity, I will ignore westbound train movements. Many, if not all trains from points west heading to the east coast, traveled the A&S to Parkesburg. The line merged into the PRR main line to Thorndale. I’ve heard and read that the four track PRR main line segment from Parkesburg to Thorndale being referred to as having the passenger and freight tracks running parallel to each other.

At Thorndale, the Trenton Cut-off (The P&T) originated but ran very close to the PRR main line. At Whithford, the P&T crossed the main line (The famous bridge) and both met again a few miles east at Glen Loch. Here, trains could switch between the two lines via one of the PRR’s famous “Flying Junctions”. The segment of the P&T between Thorndale and Glen Loch was built with a gentler grade then the main line. The A&S and P&T were designed and built during the days of steam were light differenced in grades really mattered. Eastbound, the line is one big grade to Glen Loch and the reason why there was helper service based in Thorndale. The PRR, PC, and Clown Rail operated trains using both lines (P&T and main line), weight and traffic being the determining factors of which line to run onto Glen Loch were a train would be diverted; NYC trains switching to the cut-off and Philly bound trains running on the Main Line to Philly. With the helper terminal, Thorndale also had a yard. Many local cars brought here would be added to the thru trains.

With the closing of the yards in West Philadelphia and basically a huge chunk of freight operations disappearing in the city, direct movements between the city and points west also diminished. Yes, there is lucrative traffic with containers (Inter-modal) and other industries, but in comparison to the huge amounts of bulk raw materials that used to be shipped into Philly and railroaded out and the goods that used to be manufactured in the city, today’s traffic is nothing. So the question Conrail had to ask was, “Do we need all these lines into Philly?’

A number of factors signed the A&S’s death warrant. Conrail at the time was downsizing its infrastructure tremendously. Reading PA had a line and yard system in place that could handle huge amounts of traffic. As the anthracite and Reading PA’s industry diminished, the yards could be used for more receiving, dispatching and minor classification. Conrails main line was established west of Harrisburg, but east, they had to make a decision on streamlining the operation. Escaping as much running as possible on Amtrak was a very important factor along with efficiently operating the trains. As anyone who lived near the old PRR main line would attest, frights running into Philly diminished while the P&T to Trenton still had significant traffic. Routing all thru freights to Reading from Harrisburg, make the split/diversion for trains going to Philly, and run the NYC trains via Allentown, was very efficient then maintaining the capital for keeping the A&S and parts of the P&T. Basically, they supported the more direct route for trains going to the NYC area making trains going to Philly secondary.

The old Reading main into Philly see’s a lot of traffic –basically making any restoration of commuter service near impossible. One of the proposals raised during the early planning stages of the now defunct Schuylkill valley metro project (Commuter rail line from Reading to Philly), was to reinstate the A&S, upgrade the Amtrak main line from Parkesburg to Glen Loch, and improve the P&T to Norristown. The Amtrak main line from Parkesburg to Glen Loch would be feasible as the inner tracks could be laid back down or improved in spots were they still exist. The old P&T from Thorndale to Glen Loch will most likely never be rebuilt. The trestle at Whithford may still be there, but I question its integrity. Anyone who ever witness trains crossing this bridge would notice how much this bridge shook when trains crossed it and continued shaking for a few minutes after. Yes, this vibration was a display of how the bridge handled the imposed stresses, but the age of the bridge is a concern – more importantly, the in situ properties of the bridge components. Ironically, the dormancy of the bridge can be considered bad. Not being used for such a long time, the truss members could have settled and add in corrosion, the necessarily movement required during compression and or tension could be hindered resulting in added stresses in the joints causing rupture. For reinstatement, the bridge would have to undergo a very thorough analysis. As to the trestle over the Brandywine, well, who knows.

The A&S and the P&T were an excellent display of engineering and capital prowess. Today, I still get upset whenever I see the now abandoned sections of the line – kind of like seeing a non-commissioned aircraft carrier. There are many parts of the line that are worth visiting just to observe the infrastructure. To name a few, on the P&T, the two bridges in Chester County and the big fill. Just off Boot road, head South on Valley Creek Rd (There is a light at the intersection with an asphalt plant caddy corner), you will encounter two long tunnels that go underneath the main line and the P&T – there are also a few tunnels built for the creek. That big hill you are driving under was made by the PRR. Before the fill, there was a long bridge that spanned the valley. There is a lot of local folk lure associated with these tunnels –so watch out for ghosts when driving through!

I think, in retrospect, Conrail should have simply removed one track similar to the Trenton Cutoff), and maintained one for through routing. Even if the line saw minimal use (heck, the Trenton cutoff west of Norristown sees trains twice a week at best), as least the ROW would be used as an active line.

Pacobell – the railfan in me thinks you are right, the line could have been kept at one track. But as I written above; at the time Conrail had no use of the line and was forced by the govt to cut cost and start making money. Keeping a line open and maintained cost cash; it was a pure business decision. Trust me, even though I understand the business move, I get sad every time I see the abandon line. I remember the days of electric freights rolling on those rails.

To add to the retrospect thought, time will tell. The line could be an alternate route in case something happens to the current Harrisburg – Reading – Philly/NYC main line. If passenger service ever gets restored to Reading, the A&S might see the light again moving some freights of the current line allowing passenger trains to run.

Also, at least the line is intact although minus rails. It has not been converted into a bike trail (Yet) and the grade is still there. Just some major vegetation removal and lay some rails (Easier said than done as the cost would still be high)

Sarge - it is true. Conrail was downsizing the network left and right just to get by. In retrospect, it helped Conrail survive. I guess it always surprised me when Conrail destroyed the PRR-built low-grade lines. The less grade crossings, the better.

If the A&S ever gets closer to the trail status, it could always make a good rails-with-trails option. The Schuykill Valley Trail is only one track wide, and could easily finagle a track addition.

I live within sight of the NS Reading Line (former East Penn). It sees about 35 moves per day, with a peak in the 6PM-2AM range, and is seldom quiet for long. Short portions of this route, particularly east of Emmaus and west of Blandon, have reverted to single track, as has a stretch of the Lehigh line (former LV main) in new Jersey.

The Amtrak forum ran an active thread on this subject some months ago:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36667

One intriguing feature of this discussion is that an alternative allowing diversion of at least a portion of the conflicting freight traffic remains intact. Unfortunately, as with proposed services to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the necessity of involving more than one state further complicates the issue.