80-90 MPH Trains on the Amtrak Harrisburg Line

10 Amtrak Keystone Service trains and the 2 daily Pennsylvanians grind their way east and west at 80-90 MPH through the beautiful Amish countryside of Lancaster County on April 1, 2010. Three locations are covered in this outting, Irishtown Rd. Grade Crossing, Bird-in-Hand, and Paradise. This was supposed to be an outting until sunset, but my camera battery died before the last 3 trains, so sorry I do not have videos of those. :-/
609 - 11:04 (5-10 minutes late)
AEM-7 936 (Push)
648 - 11:42 (on time)
AEM-7 935 (Push)
643 - 12:03 (on time)
AEM-7 929 (Push)
650 - 12:46 (on time)
AEM-7 917 (Push)
We then change locations to Paradise in hope that the Pennsylvanians would meet in this area like they normally do, however, both trains had slight delays and met somewhere just west of Bird-in-Hand.
43 - 13:51 (10-15 minutes late)
Amtrak P42DC 72
42 - 13:58 (5-10 minutes late)
Amtrak P42DC 97
645 - 14:41 (on time)
AEM-7 941 (Pull)
652 - 16:03 (on time)
AEM-7 936 (Pull)
Nice doppler on 647 guy though it was ashame for the motor bike.
647 - 16:53 (on time)
AEM-7 928 (Push)
I tried to pan but it turned out eh, the zooming got messed up. Oh well, it was a nice fly-by.
654 - 17:08
AEM-7 929 (Pull)
A hot air balloon!
649 - 17:53 (on time)
AEM-7 625 (Push)
Two horse and buggies meet right after the train passes, showing a true clash of technology, the simple lifestyle of the Amish, the PRR position lights from the 1920's, and the modern high speed rail trains.
656 - 18:19 (on time)
AEM-7 941 (Push)
Trains are listed as "on time" based upon arrival/departure to the Lancaster Station within 5 minutes of their scheduled times.

[@michaelpatanella]

I always love the train moving backwards. Looks so trippy

[@Millenniumforce]

I love this!! I live in Florida and know this crossing!!! It ain't to far from Good And Plenty and Millers Restaurants..

[@boardthis]

Excellent use of a day. I've never seen American trains cruising the tracks with such fury!

[@cehayes74]

This is my favorite 🚂 train to ride between Philly & New Jersey, Love the Keystone !!!

[@Jace9777]

That train sounds just like The Pacific Surfliner

[@wasted6666]

Great shots love the the sound of the horns & the rails at that speed atleast with amtrak you know youll see trains we sit half the day waiting for freights sometimes.Every time I do 90 in reverse its been a bad idea.Thanx Brendan NJ

[@2GUNBOY]

Wow, that was a nice shot from 4:32 to 4:48!!! The sound, angle, and sunlight were perfect -- far better than mine! 5 stars and a favorite.

[@nyshortline]

The HHP-8's have actually been running a lot better since their recent mid-life overhaul.

[@arthureleclair29]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Great Job.......My Amtrak Luvs were limited to the North east Corridor....Thanks ...I didn't know of the service in Pennsy.....I don't care what happens on the Pacific coast ,...I'm an Easterner......

[@mineshaftxx2221]

Great Catches! Those were awesome K5LA Horns aswell!!!

[@vexv2k66_-3]

RIP that crossing road

[@DjFreemode]

love the shot of the hot air balloon.

[@iRECKONER]

So awesome to see those GE Diesels chugging that fast WOW!!!! then a hot air balloon and horse buggys!!! Great Vid!!

[@SCOutdoorsProductions]

Awesome vid! That line is really nice near mount joy and its always cool to see an NS local out of dillerville yard every once and awhile.

[@pahogger]

Awesome Keystone vid Eric. Glad to see ya made it out on that beautiful day. Cool vid!

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

@AmtrakFanNEC927 Irishtown is MP 59.3, Bird-in-Hand is MP 61.1, Paradise is MP 57.1. Track speed on straight stretch is up to 110 MPH, but these trains are slower because of the 80 or 90 MPH rated curves they go through. I think the curve at MP 59 is good for 90 MPH and the curve at Bird-in-Hand is rated 80 MPH. These trains are definitely not doing over 100, the Pennsylvanians should be the fastest in this video because they are on a straight path.

[@johnnycab23513]

By keeping your mind on your surroundings once you have set up and taken your shots, you capture great stuff like the buggys crossing. Good job.

[@SuperStarRendon]

great video.. whoa! its been a while since we haven't been there. . Great Job. .

[@AliceInChains243]

I've always been interested in the Keystone Corridor. I've rode it twice now to get to Harrisburg and Altoona, but never stopped to railfan. I'm a HUGE AEM-7 TOASTER fan, so this vid gets 5 stars without so much as blinking an eye from me. (Oh wait, I can't give people STAR RATINGS anymore, so a thumbs up will have to do :P) Interesting that they switch up the push/pull. I always figured they all pulled from Philly/New York and pushed back from Harrisburg.

[@BobbyHarveyVideoProductions]

Great video! Lots of trains and action.

[@jasonsantiago2454]

Great Video Ever Dude 😎😎😎😎

[@vr6gls]

Cool vid. I like seeing the Amish horse and buggies at the end. LOL!

[@Ih8kone]

There are still grade crossings between Harrisburg & Pittsburgh

[@NathanielRobinson]

Nice video. Why is the engine at the back and the train going in reverse in a few of those clips? I’ve never seen the northeastern regional, which I’ve taken many times, ever do that.

[@swinglamp]

Love the buggies! Also, I didn't know there were passenger trains running that fast outside the Northeast Corridor.

[@Ih8kone]

Amtrak's Lincoln Service, Wolverine, Blue Water, Pere Marquette, Empire Service, Sunset Limited, Keystone Service, Southwest Chief, Northeast Regional, Amtrak Cascades, and Pacific Surfliner are all high speed rail services.

[@amtrakandcsxrailfanning351]

Nice video

[@Trainlover1995]

Is it me, or do the electrics and Metroliner cab cars have best horns because they have no exhaust to distory them? I mean, those Metroliner cab cars sound an awful lot like they did when they were on the San Diegan.

[@UFO151]

Excellent video man. I like the ending with the Amish buggies crossing the tracks after the train passes. Lancaster is a great place. You get a "Like" from me!

[@Jemalacane0]

This would be so much better than highway travel (especially at this speed).

[@rebooted.jupiter_]

0:59 the amtrak trainz cab car k5la (trainz 2012)

[@TheDylanJoyce]

Nice Catches, Those are some Pretty fast Trains!

[@PennRailVideos]

Awesome video Eric!!!

[@nyshortline]

The stretch across Irishtown Rd. as you mentioned has a 90 MPH curve to the east and an 80 MPH curve about 1/2 mile to the west. I would estimate the trains at Irishtown Rd. are doign about 90-95 MPH, but not 100. The track through Paradise is good for 100 MPH.

[@anasiacameronelijahedcpndc4324]

Soon 611 will travel 100mph in Irish town from 90-100mph and slows down when it see the curves at 90mph and it will be pulling gg1 4859 and gg1 #4859 will doublehead with 611 and a driver will drive 4859 at 90mph and 611 will travel 100mph and they will slow down in willmington, DL until it's restoration and 611 travels 100mph in Maryland, and slows down at bowie and it travel high speed again from 60-80mph to roanoke, va and finally it gets into the Roanoke train museum and it will Sat next to 1218 and 2156

[@THEFINALHAZARD]

Well, to correct af ew things. The GG1s woudl not run under a different voltage, the Keystone Corridor and NEC are still 11.25KV 25Hz as they've been since the PRR days. 611 will be up here this October for a event in Strasburg Rail Museum; however they will NOT run the N&W 611 at 100mph. I have no idea what Amtrak will quote the limitation to, but under NS it was 40MPH due to Insurance reasons. N&W 611 also will not be going up to Wilmington for restoration, all of it's resto work has been done by the North Carolina Transportation Museum and it's upkeep is done by the Virginia Museum of Transportation... Wilmington DE's shops are equipped for modern electrics, not vintage steam. Furthermore, I do have the Employee Timetable, which denotes the track speeds. There are two speed sets, Passenger and Freight. Like it or not, Amtrak is going to consider the 611 move a 'freight' move for speed classification, which if they don't restrict it furter than the timetable denotes, the maximum speed for a "freight" consist along that section of the keystone corridor, is 50MPH.

[@oldsamsungphone_ch]

0:59 Sounds like, Omg it really does.. I get it now... Wait whats at my back?- SURFLINER?!?

[@Ih8kone]

Nope, that's a cab car.

[@nyshortline]

Very very nice!!

[@trainboy15]

Great Video My Favorite Engine 929 Was in my favorite Part Of the video

[@bbybby91]

I can't wait to go on my Amtrak Harrisburg to Pittsburgh trip... Pennsylvania is do scenic and beautiful here. I sure do dislike them Amish but having them around has its advantages.

[@jamespurks1694]

Samantha Mentzer Why do you dislike the Amish? I did Ph.D. work in sociology and in the few encounters I have had with them they always seemed pleasant to me.

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

the damn thing was going backwards

[@DonutL4rd]

chaosdemonwolf1 its a cab car that runs dude

[@jamespurks1694]

Little bdawg I am not familiar with a cab car. Is that anything like a cross between the engine and a coach car?

[@wharris302]

JAMES PURKS cab car is in the name, it has a cab at so the driver can come natron the power car from the other end of the train, look up train talk cab cars if you want to know more about them

[@tommytruth7595]

The film is being run backwards.

[@Ih8kone]

No, it's called "Pushing".

[@Jabond07]

Bonito vídeo

[@yarmo28]

Very well done; the carriages crossing were an esp. nice touch. Is there any move to get rid of those dangerous level crossings? Also, is there a reason for the 'pull' / 'push'? Is one of the destinations a terminal?

[@Ih8kone]

They're not dangerous

[@csx2566]

Awsome Video

[@gander07]

Great video!

[@rebooted.jupiter_]

4:34 another Amtrak trainz horn

[@LocalRailfan]

Nice video Eric

[@conrailfire22]

You caught a buggy meet haha

[@jamespurks1694]

conrailfire22 Yep and it was really special. I have not seen Amish horse and buggies for I do not know how many years and it was really neat. They remind me that even in an era of 90 to 100 mph trains they remind me of the days when things moved at a slower, more relaxed pace.

[@amtrakboy37]

Nice doppler at 4:20

[@Ischaue]

Schoen gesehen, den Kontast mit den Pferdekutschen ;)

[@nyshortline]

@kjrehberg Actually since their recent mid-life overhaul the "Banana's" have been running a lot better than they ever have.

[@jaysmith1408]

That must be annoying, being the engineer riding in the Amfleet cab car the ENTIRE way across PA, part of NJ and NY.

[@RubbleByte]

Is a Bird-In-Hand worth two in a bush?

[@jaysmith1408]

...and whats with the Cab Car always being in front, shouldn't the AEM be in front half the time, either on the wesbounds or the eastbounds? isn't that the ENTIRE POINT?

[@lespaulguy32]

Where does this line run from? Very nice quality video!!

[@Ih8kone]

lespaulguy32 Pittsburgh --> Harrisburg --> Philadelphia --> New York.

[@firesky9114]

The trail run in backwards

[@diegoo4562]

fan of animatio 😱

[@Ih8kone]

fan of animatio Wrong

[@csxketh1]

Didn't the E8's run on this line?

[@Ih8kone]

csxketh1 Yes. Yes they did.

[@az09az0909az]

Interesting, does first time that USA sees trains with the carriage pilot and the locomotive in push, by now a custom in Europa;anzi until too much, but are I/you/they you/he/she stick too place not trained as the miteches and fast E444 "Turtle "been born for racing and does to have not sprout of power to be able

[@jaysmith1408]

@AmtrakFanNEC927 ?

[@jaysmith1408]

Why AEM's not HHp's?

[@Ih8kone]

Amtrak hadn't acquired those yet.

[@evantis121]

where's the fencing? it looks like aimals and ppl can get onto the tracks, you'd never have that in europe, far too dangerous

[@Ih8kone]

evantis121 Invisible fence

[@bbybby91]

Sir

[@mikemotter3685]

Too bad there aren't any more crossings there

[@Ih8kone]

Mike Motter There are still between Harrisburg & Pittsburgh.

[@hagoromo10]

アメリカの鉄道ってぼろぼろだな・・・

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

Amish...we all know their backwards...but the damn trains?

[@ryanblock9573]

ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS FOLLOW THE DAMN TRAIN CJ

[@jamespurks1694]

chaosdemonwolf1 Backwards is not always bad. I grew up on a cattle farm in VA and still remember the slow, laid back pace (except planting and harvest time!). Even though I did Ph.D. in sociology, I still miss the time when the pace of life was slower.