Yesterday, I decided to head to Bethlehem in the late morning to catch a few of the trains that regularly run at this time. As I got ready to pull into the parking lot, I heard that local freight H76 was ready to leave Allentown with a CEFX Bluebird SD40-2 in the lead. Since it was a Saturday, the train had cars for the PB&NE at Bethlehem, so I had plenty of time to set up as the train negotiated the switches at the west end of the River Yard. In the background of this photo, you can see another local freight sitting without a crew and with a pair of SD40-2s as power.
http://ssw9662.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1067575
After a few more minutes on the bridge, I decided to move to the ground level and set up for a different shot. After about an hour, 36G got permission to head out of Allentown Yard. Here it is passing an SD40-2R still in blue on the stopped local freight.
http://ssw9662.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1067576
A few minutes later, the sun popped out and I heard the 213 call a signal a couple miles to the east. I had hoped to get a C39-8 in the consist of this one, but apparently that was removed from the consist.
http://ssw9662.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1067578
The next morning I found myself trackside again for a few hours. After getting mediocre dark/backlit shots of the first two trains (64J and 34A), I finally caught a late 10N heading east into the early morning light.
http://ssw9662.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1068445
The final two trains of the day for me were 21M and 11J. I photographed them both passing the 6th St. Crossing in Emmaus.
http://ssw9662.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1068447
http://ssw9662.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1068448
On the way home, I stopped by Bethlehem to get photos of the CP power that is normally stored here. This set of power consisted of a trio of CP SD40-2s with a GCFX unit in the middle.
http://ssw9662.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1068449
I enjoyed the photos. Industrial scenes like the ones with the steel mill in the background are my favorite, both on the prototype and modeled. Is the steel mill still in operation or has it become a victim like so many others? Looks abandoned from what I can see.
Thanks! The steel mill was closed in the mid-90s, today much of the complex is being torn down to make room for a casino.