Railfanning in Philadelphia

Hello all,
I will be making a trip to the Philadelphia area from New Jersey and I am looking for some places in the area to do some freight train photography. I usually swing by Greenwich Yard to photograph the CSX and CP power, but I am looking for some new locations. Any ideas? How about freight train schedules in the area for CSX, NS, and CP? I heard about a good spot by in a park by the zoo and another park or trail along a river. Could someone provide directions and any other info on these places? Thanks in adavnce for any info.

You might do well to post this in the SEPTA forum also, as it gets more traffic. The only place I regularly railfan at is the old Port Kennedy train station in Valley Forge. It'll be about 30-45 min ride. If you're interested, take I-76 west to Rt 422 west. Take the route 23 west exit and follow down the road along Valley Forge Park. The road will turn fairly sharply to the left but you want to go slight right. There's a fork there, one leads to the old Betzwood bridge, one to a private house, and one to the old train station (I think the middle one, but none of them go far). You'll see trains coming to and from Abrams Yard there and get a pretty good view. Plus, the park is right there as well.

A couple of good spots for trainwatching would include the Montgomery Avenue overpass in Fairmount Park off of I-76, although not the best for photography. Both NS Harrisburg Main Line and CSX Trenton Line trains pass under this location. There are several public areas along the NS main which basically parallels I-76 between Fairmount Park and Conshohocken. River Road between West Conshohocken and Bridgeport also offers some good spots and you may even be lucky enough to catch some Upper Merion & Plymouth or East Penn local action in Swedeland or Bridgeport. On the CSX side, a lot of action can be viewed in the Woodbourne (Oxford Valley) area in Bucks County. This is easily accessible from I-95. You'll also have the bonus of Septa action, including the wire train which has been working regularly along the West Trenton line and is currently being powered by an ALCO from the West Chester RR. One more spot within the city itself is along Delaware Avenue / Columbus Blvd in South Philadelphia. While rail action is sporadic, the tracks run up the median of the road and there are a couple intermodal facilities near the river, also easily accessed from I-95. As with any railfanning in this era of heightened security, expect to be questioned at any time by local or railroad police, even from public areas and by all means, be aware and respectful of RR property and do not trespass.

Thank you for the info. I will definitely check out the area next week. Has anyone heard about a Locust Park or Locust Street area in Philadelphia which is suppossed to have a rail line running through it? I remember reading something online a while back about the locals complaining about freight trains running through the park, although I was not really looking into railfanning in the area at that time.
I have seen the CP engine sitting off of Columbus Blvd or Delawre Ave numerous times. Does anyone know when this engine works and where does it go to? Does it just switch cars in the yard or do they go up the street and drill customers. If the CP crew does not handle the customers up Delaware Avenue, who does and when is the best time to find a train working in the area? Thanks again.

General wrote::I have seen the CP engine sitting off of Columbus Blvd or Delawre Ave numerous times. Does anyone know when this engine works and where does it go to? Does it just switch cars in the yard or do they go up the street and drill customers. If the CP crew does not handle the customers up Delaware Avenue, who does and when is the best time to find a train working in the area? Thanks again.

I caught CP GP40-2 #4654 working on Delaware Ave last March 24. I don't know what CP's habits are.

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Bob

General wrote:Thank you for the info. I will definitely check out the area next week. Has anyone heard about a Locust Park or Locust Street area in Philadelphia which is suppossed to have a rail line running through it? I remember reading something online a while back about the locals complaining about freight trains running through the park, although I was not really looking into railfanning in the area at that time.
I have seen the CP engine sitting off of Columbus Blvd or Delawre Ave numerous times. Does anyone know when this engine works and where does it go to? Does it just switch cars in the yard or do they go up the street and drill customers. If the CP crew does not handle the customers up Delaware Avenue, who does and when is the best time to find a train working in the area? Thanks again.

The park you are referring to is a lateral park and recreational trail along the eastern bank of the Schuylkill River. CSX rails run through the middle of the park which goes from behind the Art Museum to about Locust Street. CP is the primary operator along Delaware Avenue although I've seen a CSX loco along there once or twice. The last time I was there, one or two of the piers were still being serviced, along with a couple of buildings along the west side of Delaware Avenue.

Glennk; Can you tell me more about the alco powered wire train. Where on the Trenton Line is it working ? Weekdays only ? Does it use the layover yard at West Trenton ? Thanks

The Septa wire train has been working along the West Trenton line using an Alco RS18u leased from the West Chester railroad. I've heard them come through Rydal around 2:45 on the return trip to Wayne Junction on several days. To the best of my knowledge, the train works weekdays ony (unless there's a downed wire emergency) and it lays up next to the Wayne Electric Shop each night. I believe they're using the Alco since the normal power for the wire train has been tied up on the gel trains and power washer. Pictures of the wire train working at Neshaminy can be found here: http://www.trainweb.org/phillynrhs/RPOTD051117.html courtesy of John Almeida.

glennk419 wrote: To the best of my knowledge, the train works weekdays ony (unless there's a downed wire emergency) and it lays up next to the Wayne Electric Shop each night.

Can this wire train be photographed at the Wayne Electric Shop or is the area off limits? If it is accessible, how would I get there from NJ? What is the regular power for these wire trains? Do they normally use the blue SEPTA switchers? I do not know much about SEPTA operations. Also, where does the West Chester Railroad operate to/from? How often do they operate? Thanks.

The wire train is usually stored on a siding below track level between the Septa main and the Electric Shop building. It is usually powered by either one of the switchers or RL-1's. The area around the shops is strictly off limits, about the only legal way to view it is from a train, which obviously is not optimum for photography. The WCRR Alco is used by Septa since it has cab signals.

The West Chester RR is a tourist line that operates on the outer reaches of the West Chester branch between Glen Mills and West Chester, using ex-RDG MU coaches and a variety of power. Unfortunately it does not connect with the R3 which runs only as far as Elwyn on this branch, a car is really the only way to reach it. Here's a link to their website if you'd like to check them out further: http://www.westchesterrr.net/index.htm

I got lucky and found CP GP38-2 7309 working Delaware Ave on Nov 30.

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Bob

Great pix as always, Bob. Thanks!

Nice to see an old D&H (Lehigh Valley) unit soldiering on.