Atglen-Susquehanna Low Grade Line

Why did Conrail rip up this line? I understand they wanted to reroute freight traffic to Harrisburg from Philly via Reading, but did they not see the value in such a well-built line?

Other questions:

- When did Conrail de-electrify it?
- Did a double-tracking last its entire existence?
- When did Conrail lift the rails?

With traffic congestion getting worse, does Norfolk Southwen have any plans to relay the line?

Pacobell73 wrote:Why did Conrail rip up this line? I understand they wanted to reroute freight traffic to Harrisburg from Philly via Reading, but did they not see the value in such a well-built line?

A rail line's value is dependent upon the points that it connects together and the traffic the line will support. This lovely piece of track connected an Amtrak owned line with a switching terminal (Enola) that had been effectively closed at that point in time. There really was not enough traffic to warrant investing in maintenance for it. The scarce capital was better spent upgrading the Reading route.

Pacobell73 wrote:Other questions:

- When did Conrail de-electrify it?
- Did a double-tracking last its entire existence?
- When did Conrail lift the rails?

Conrail ceased electric operations in about 1981, I believe. Wire was taken down on these lines not long after -- except for the upper lines that were used for transmission between substations. I worked in Enola in 1987 and we still got all of our power (in buildings and for yard lighting) from the catenary system, but the wire for locomotive power was all gone.

I'm not sure of of the other questions -- except that I think the rail was removed in the early '90s.

Pacobell73 wrote:With traffic congestion getting worse, does Norfolk Southwen have any plans to relay the line?

I would be shocked if they did. The property's been abandoned. I believe the ROW title may have reverted to original owners. Even if it hasn't, I can't believe the congestion you mention would be bad enough to get NS to make such a huge investment. Don't hold your breath on this one.

I don't think title's reverted to individual owners--the local municipalities have had a plan kicking around for a while for a rail-trail on it. At one stage of the MetroRail proposal, NS was asking for the rebuilding of the A&S in exchange for letting SEPTA build on the ROW of the Reading main for MetroRail, but I don't think that was very seriously considered.

Current status:

Last year, Lancaster County purchased this line from NS. A Rail Trial will be built on the ROW.



Jeff

Can't believe a near-perfect line was destroyed in favour of the Philly/Reading/Harrisburg route. Really short-sighted of Conrail. While I agree that Conrail abandoned a great many duplicate and unimportant routes, this one should have been preserved.

Pacobell73 wrote:Can't believe a near-perfect line was destroyed in favour of the Philly/Reading/Harrisburg route. Really short-sighted of Conrail. While I agree that Conrail abandoned a great many duplicate and unimportant routes, this one should have been preserved.

Easy to say that, from your perspective, and at this time looking back. Capital for on-going maintenance -- with little or no return on investment -- is a foolish waste. These kinds of decisions are never made lightly. It was the responsible thing to do.

After all, it wasn't (as some might have hoped) Consolidated Rail Preservation Foundation.

LCJ wrote:Capital for on-going maintenance -- with little or no return on investment -- is a foolish waste. It was the responsible thing to do. After all, it wasn't (as some might have hoped) Consolidated Rail Preservation Foundation.

No, no. I'm not talking about preserving the line. I'm talking about keeping it active. I know the freight situation was different in 1990 then it is know. NS uses the ex-Reading line from Philly to Reading. Many curves and grades. Conrail should have had the forsight to realize that this line lacked grades and curves, and still got to Harrsiburg. Granted, Enola Yard was also on the outs, but still.

I see you live in Utah. It is tough here in Pennsy right now. Conrail removed too many lines and now there is a skeletal system for long-haul trains. Routing everything from Philly-Reading-Harrisburg is causing heavy congestion. The Atglen-Susquehanna line would have been a safe, fast alternative.

Pacobell73 wrote:I see you live in Utah. It is tough here in Pennsy right now.

Yeah, well, even though I may live in Utah now, I know that area well enough to say (regardless of what we or NS may wish had happened in the past) that it's gonna make one heckuva nice trail from end to end. Now that's a fact!

Pacobell73 wrote:It is tough here in Pennsy right now. Conrail removed too many lines and now there is a skeletal system for long-haul trains. Routing everything from Philly-Reading-Harrisburg is causing heavy congestion. The Atglen-Susquehanna line would have been a safe, fast alternative.

Ya gotta get to Atglen first though. Is Amtrak going to let you do that? That would make three railroads running between ZOO and Atglen. Amtrak, NS and Septa. Alot of traffic.
The Pennsy handled it, but Amtrak is not the Pennsy.

AlexC wrote: Ya gotta get to Atglen first though. Is Amtrak going to let you do that? That would make three railroads running between ZOO and Atglen. Amtrak, NS and Septa. Alot of traffic. The Pennsy handled it, but Amtrak is not the Pennsy.

True, I often forget that. Then again, the Main Line barely sees Amtrak trains compared to the Amtrak's NEC. Those center tracks could easily be better utilized. But realistically, yes, Amtrak is not freight-friendly (ironic, considering Amtrak is at the mercy of the nation's many freight railroads outside of the NEC and Main Line).

I am not so sure that the increase in traffic would be that much of a problem. The amtrak line to Harrisburg is underutilized even in the daytime. On weekends there are long stretches of time when nothing seems to be moving, at least on cold days when you are trying out a new camera.. Seriously, how much traffic moves on that line from midnight to 5 AM ? NS does not seem to have a problem moving freight on the NEC onto the Port Road at night. Frankly I am amazed the NS has not examined this route closely. It would save a ton of miles and fuel and avoid the real congestion of getting through the Reading area. Also NS freight coming out of Morrisville could pick up the line well west of Philly and avoid a good deal of Septa congestion. You know, I wonder if those people running NS have ever even looked at the line to see what a direct route it would make. I think that many of their upper echelon personnel, not being from the area, do not really know a great deal about the underutilized and now abandoned infrastructure still intact.

But if NS did decide to use the A&S...

Could they still use the P&T, or is that right-of-way severed? If not, could the NS have its own track, between the two Amtrak mains, all the way from Atglen to Thorn to the P&T to the Trenton Cutoff?

Wonder how easy it would be to put in more connections between the RDG main and the Trenton Cutoff.

timz wrote:Could they still use the P&T, or is that right-of-way severed?

No, the ROW is perfectly intact from end-to-end, including the mammoth Whitford Flyover. The Downingotwn trestle is not in the best of shape, but if NS really wanted to, rehabbing it would do the trick. Yes, Amtrak's Main Line is underutilized. SEPTA gets the most usage out of it between 30th Street and Downingtown. Amtrak is almost an afterthought.

Are the wires on the catenary poles still in use? I know the catenary itself has been removed. Same goes for the Port Road (catenary poles still up, catenary gone, but wires higher up intact).

I'm thinking Norfolk Southern doesn't like bridges.