Amtrak Keystone Corridor: Superliners, Pennsylvanian and Keystone Service

On September 29, 2015, we set out to Lancaster County catch a rare move of Superliners under the wires on the Amtrak Keystone Corridor, then stayed for the rest of the day to catch the Pennsylvanians and usual Keystone Service. However, the day became very unusual when track work and inspections caused delays and trains to run opposite main, keeping things interesting.
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Video Information:
0:16 - Opening Scene:
Amtrak Keystone Service 648 flies east with AMTK Sprinter 623 by Milepost 76 on the Amtrak Keystone Corridor, passing well-preserved brick buildings that have been repurposed since the era of the PRR-the building marked "Colonial Shoe Factory Outlet" is now a furniture store with an active wood shop next door.
0:45 - 643 barrels west toward Harrisburg with the cab car leading, which is typical for the majority of trains in this direction. ACS-64 612 pushes on the rear. 857 was closely following this train.
1:20 - Right behind 643, "hotel train" 857 zooms west with a short consist of 6 Superliners that were sent to Philadelphia during the Papal Events to house employees because of the hotels in the area being completely booked. ACS-64 647 pulled this rare move.
2:10 - Moving into the afternoon, things started to get interesting as we chance locations to the former Eby Chiques Road Crossing in Mt. Joy. Track speed has been raised at this location, so I was not anticipating the Pennsylvanian (Train 42) to be barreling at me at over 100 MPH, even more so, running on the opposite track! The eastbound track was out of service for much of the afternoon for reasons not known to me, other than likely wayside maintenance and inspections. A single P42DC is the usual power on this train.
2:55 - Amtrak "Pennsylvanian" 43 was also on time today, with an unusual consist of two P42DC's, 194 and 197. The second locomotive was added for extra power, because the Superliners would be added to this train for the trip west of Harrisburg to Pittsburgh.
3:55 - Well into the afternoon, the rainy weather kicks in, as I change locations to the former Newcomer Road grade crossing closer to (just east of) the Mt. Joy town center. Also, for unknown reasons, a very late Keystone Service 645 was running at restricted speed over 45 minutes late, accruing most of its delays west of Lancaster. ACS-64 617 leads with some noisy wipers activated in the drizzle. Because of the single tracking, this would cause delays to several other trains, east and west.
5:15 - The rain intensifies as 652 finally heads east on the opposite track with an hour delay, presumably waiting at ROY or RHEEMS for the 645 to clear. Right after the train passed, the rain began to pour, so I packed up and got into the car, within minutes both a catenary inspection train and an on time 654 head east on the EB track without any warning for me to set up my gear.
6:25 - I was tired and ready to head home when I remembered this view across the field along Newcomer Road. You may have noticed by now in the video that trains have been blowing their horns when they passed me WB at Eby Chiques and EB by Newcomer's. That's because a private farmer's lane still crosses the tracks between the location of the two former road crossings, which still is posted for crews to give horn. I was too far away to get numbers off of the engines, but I like the farm scene here, which is common, but representative of Lancaster County. With the schedules of the trains all mixed up at this point, I had to wait in the rain with the camera on stand-by until 647 finally emerged.
6:55 - 649 was not far behind the 647, with the EB 656 waiting for both of these trains before continuing east.
7:15 - The sun is setting earlier as the days move into October, and the thick shades of gray are of no aid to the lighting situation for the very late 656. If you look closely to the middle of the frame, you'll see an opening between the ever green trees, which is the private farm crossing. Aside from Amtrak utility crossings, this is the last motor vehicle crossing any where on the Keystone Corridor.
Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed this video!

[@NJTAmtrakGuy]

Wow, an ACS-64 hauling Superliners? That's definitely something you don't see often. Great rare catch!

[@FordEscape12345678]

@JojoBearTrainLoverakaSmootyyy Smoot’z It's the Keystone Corridor line. It was an equipment move.

[@micahgotracksplays340]

Yes very rare indeed

[@railfannerjs6308]

Reminds me of movies where an AEM-7 (if copyright approved for use in a movie instead of a fictional engine), was pulling superliners with passengers in them. Forgot the title to it though, late at night 12 AM when I saw that

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

The Superliners were a special move to/from Philadelphia during the Papal Events to house employees due to all of the hotels in the area being booked. Superliners under the wires are a very uncommon sight, because they are used on long distance trains.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+Matthew Gorres The Auto Train and the Capitol Limited have Superliners, but I believe that is it for the east coast.

[@Ih8kone]

Amtrak should bring back the crossings for these reasons: 1. Overpasses have weight restrictions and Underpasses have height restrictions, whereas grade crossings have NO restrictions. 2. Grade crossing elimination on the line causes road users to make unnecessary detours because the streets get "interrupted" by the crossings. Thus, road users are forced to travel out-of-their-way, hither and yon just to reach their final destination. 3. Overpasses and Underpasses can collapse easily, but crossings can't.

[@Cpr1234]

Where did they run from Philadelphia to?

[@Ih8kone]

shelby3024 / Cpr123 There are no Superliners that serve Philadelphia.

[@engineersdash]

Central Penn Rail Productions the capital limited runs under catenary wires at Union station. The auto train is not under catenary territory.

[@stevenmichael2845]

To be honest, I didn't even know they can fit Superliners under the catenary. Nice Catch!

[@woodalexander]

They can to Philly and DC from the west. Not sure about between Philly and DC. They're a no-go in NYC or CT. I think they could go to Boston, but who wants to run a Chicago-Boston train that doesn't have an NYC section, and I'm not sure they have a platform for them in Boston anyway.

[@AmtrakProductions]

@@woodalexander ey, don't sidestep Boston. It's actually a really cool city.

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

They can't go into New York City because they would foul tunnel clearances in and out of Penn Station.

[@KaciCooperations]

Did you know why is fit in catenary? Because it was a same as Massachusetts train that has double deckers

[@nasanierulastname2997]

LOL I didn't know Superliners actually FIT under the catenary!

[@limaemflightsimulator6843]

Aaaa that is visible in thumbnail of this video

[@pdrumz534]

I thought they were too high for the tunnels and Electric wired

[@RealSergiob466]

@@genisaguilarpolo5310 I agree because there is no emissions and easily goes inside building platforms such as tunnels

[@samwildeman]

​@@pdrumz534 the tunnel in New York are too low for superliners

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

@@pdrumz534most of the catenary is within clearance, it’s the tunnels (and in New York’s case, the tunnels and the electric catenary) that are the issue

[@nathancorcoran5347]

This is really cool to see a Amtrak ACS-64 pulling this Superliner train. It looks amazing right there. I remember the first time riding on a train pulled by a ACS-64, was back in October 4th 2022 (last year) being pulled by Amtrak ACS-64 # 631.

[@MrBnsftrain]

1:49 WOW! It's not every day sou see an ACS64 pull superliners!

[@jilianloria5719]

OMG!!!!!!An ACS-64 pulling a superliner!!!!!!!!I loooooovvvveee that you caught something you don't see every day :D

[@trainutjob]

Sweet video Eric. The ACS leading the Superliners was pretty cool!

[@CrossbuckProductions]

Wtf did I just watch, ACS-64 leading superliners!?? WHAT YEAR IS THIS. I THOUGHT I WAS IN 2017

[@lilcattythewildnorwester7786]

2015

[@ScottRothsroth0616]

Crossbuck Productions Read the video description.

[@CrossbuckProductions]

Scott Roth I think by now, 3 years later, I would’ve gotten the memo.

[@stevesulligan1080]

I hope if this winter is as bad as they say it ll be you ll do more snow train videos I enjoy watching your narrated channel

[@BobChessick]

I've only ever seen the Superliners with an electric lead once before. I was coming into DC and an AEM-7 was pulling the Superliners out of Union presumably for cleaning and turning for the evening Capitol Limited, so they definitely fit under wires. I was surprised because usually a yard switcher does the yanking of trains back to the yard. That same day I saw an NJ Transit ALP-44 sitting in the yard at Union as well.

[@prrrailfan2726]

i live In MT joy and I hear them all day long.

[@glendenig6419]

Great vid! I think it's cool seeing the sharp Amtrak trains under the wires in the rural/ suburban settings. And yes... very cool rare Superliners pulled by electrics.

[@RainierRails]

Excellent video! I really enjoyed the long-distance shots.

[@utubewatcher806]

Fantastic production!

[@Mike77E9]

Great Video Eric! I wish we could see more of these superliners out here in the east!

[@johnrichards4348]

that is a great video. thanks for sharing it.

[@FrasierMedia]

Fantastic job!

[@stuffedfriendsstuffedfrien5524]

Im sorry, WHAT? Superliners on the keystone?! my life has been a line.

[@TheViRoCo]

Nicely done!

[@nathantzhang]

4:02 *jeopardy music plays*

[@dennisb-trains23]

Awesome video 👍

[@NorfolkSouthernES44AC]

Awesome catches man!!

[@kooky216]

Awesome. More please.

[@americanrailvideos7037]

Awesome video!

[@bbyronsmith8115]

what an amazing catch!

[@turbochargedtransit7241]

6:58 that is Amtrak 9649 without a doubt! That tuned K5LA gives me chills

[@NortheastRailroadFanner]

its amazing

[@michaelglass4701]

Awesome video

[@RailfanMax]

Great video.

[@radanju3]

Spectacular!

[@ethancampbell6076]

Wow there is one AEM-7 in keystone corridor

[@Frowny13]

Now none

[@ethancampbell6076]

Frowny13 (Frowny Taboban) O_O okay Sorry about that

[@adamzap5507]

Nice catches

[@jamesmartin9731]

Now I know why the catenaries are so much taller than every other overhead wire

[@StefanWithTrains3222]

You mean the catenary poles yeah as an european I look at those poles and wonder who thought making them so tall would benefit anything

[@Conrailfan2323]

Those Superliners look so weird behind that ACS-64 haha. Still an awesome catch!

[@nyshortline]

EPIC move. I was working a train that passed that train around Christiana that day.

[@SuperStarRendon]

Great catch! on 857

[@UPDetector]

I don't think I've ever seen an electirc unit pull Superliner cars pretty cool if I say so myself. Nice catches

[@FloridaRailfan]

What type of tripod did you use? your videos are so great, especially with high speed trains flying by and not even shaking the camera even a tiny amount

[@mikeythesoulace]

Drink in the moment… cuz who knows when the next time an electric will pull Superliners is….

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

1:51 that looks like a reference to the Seattle version of Amtrak empire builder

[@pdrumz534]

I see what you mean Adventures of Amtrak Cascades

[@ntytp]

1:50 high speed heartland Flyer

[@Strasburg_Railfaner611]

At 4:41 it sounds like the polar express theme was about to play lol

[@doubleutubefan5]

One time for the fun of it, I used my friends MTH Electric AEM-7 to pull my Lionel Superliners in O gauge. I didn't think it would nearly be replicated

[@malachimuhammad-dy2ow]

1:22 Quite rare seeing an ACS-64 pulling Superliners.

[@michaelglass4701]

Looooooove your video

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Thank you

[@arandomcommenter8568]

I live near mt joy and I hear the trains all day

[@amtrak618fan3]

i live in salunga, they were something to see. and at the 3:39 mark if you look under the bridge youll see tanker cars, that was where i worked. eventually made friends with some of the engineers that went by.

[@clearegtower9468]

Nice!

[@Vxllain]

seeing a acs hauling with superliners is crazy

[@andreastacchietti8882]

acs 64 has a power of 6400 kW, is very powerful, has no difficulty in towing Superliners

[@Vxllain]

@@andreastacchietti8882 you do have a point

[@railenthusiastabhishek1527]

1:51 best part of this video

[@user-dv4xt2zl7r]

Superliners are coming from the capital limited in Pittsburgh I’m guessing and are being moved to the Amtrak shops in Deleware.

[@KaciCooperations]

1:39 One of the rarest catch in history

[@trainz832]

OMG at 5:42 that always happens to me I keep thinking its Shave and a haircut..lol

[@MrAlex-ej8ov]

1:20 superliner

[@Livinginohio25]

Great video!

[@TranscontinentalRailfan]

Very nice views at the beginning of 6:27

[@dannyvasquez4581]

Now thats why superliners in the Keystone and Northeast corridor

[@acelaboy123]

Amazing video! What video editing software do you use? I have a camcorder that takes 1080 60p but when I use iMovie it degrades the quality.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+acelaboy123 Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 13. 60p templates are recognized in this program.

[@acelaboy123]

Thanks!

[@newcastlerails1416]

Great video! How many Amtrak trains run on this line a day. The evening I was there I just missed a train and then waited until dark and no trains.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+LoadsofTrains Check out their schedule online, they are putting a new schedule into effect on October 5. On weekdays, there is about one train an hour in each direction. On weekends, they run only about half as many trains.

[@newcastlerails1416]

Central Penn Rail Productions I tried to but I could not find it. where is a good site to look at something like that?

[@955redavenger]

I see theirs still one or two grades left on the keystone in Lancaster county, am i correct? Because i've heard the trains in this video blow their horn 4 times.

[@supermarionathan1426]

Wow It’s very rare to see an ACS-64 pull Superliner cars

[@ianhardy9375]

It just that tunnel clearences prevent the superliners from utilizing on the Northeast corridor

[@trans-continentalrailfan6328]

A reason why that train at 4:30 was going so slow?

[@meeperfive]

if you think about it superliners under wire is normal because it always happens with the capital limited at DC

[@RaisedLetter]

The Superliners actually go pretty fast in along here.

[@trainz3982]

there goes my route in Train Simulator 2017 i built i cant wait to release

[@edisonz2006]

Ngl the ACS-64 looks good when pulling Superliners.

[@KidJaeProductions]

Love the electric train tho 😍

[@robertskinner446]

i have a question CentralPenn. Do you have plans to continue the NS Harrisburg Line series?

[@AmtrakProductions]

yes

[@THEFINALHAZARD]

Awesome video, but the question needs to be raised... HOW many freaking ditch light modes do those ACS-64s have!? I've seen the usual alternating, alternating strobe pattern, now i this one the same as a alternating strobe but, with the headlight not strobing on steady! Holy heck.

[@FFred-us9tw]

They have only two settings, on or alternating flashing. The strobing you are seeing has to do with the video camera frame rate being used.

[@pdrumz534]

Acs 64: Yay I can haul superpowers :3

[@pdrumz534]

Liner

[@Trainmaster909]

Amtrak Guy 1: I got a really stupid and hilarious idea, wanna roll with it? Amtrak Guy 2: Yeah sure lol Their idea: 1:48

[@Cpr1234]

These Amtrak trains almost always have Superliners: Sunset Limited Southwest Chief California Zephyr Empire Builder Coast Starlight Auto Train Pere Marquette There are other trains that can rarely run with superliners: Amtrak's Wolverine, Carl Sandburg and Saluki have also done this.

[@codyross233]

Cpr1234 the Pacific Surfliner and San Joaquin services in California run with Bilevels but sometimes run with Superliners if they are low on cars

[@IRJustman]

Not to mention, many of the Superliners in CDTX service are refurbished units which were involved in wrecks, and of those, some are painted in either of the two CDTX schemes. And the San Joaquins also uses single-level cars which used to serve New Jersey Transit, derived from the Silverliner 1 EMUs along with either Horizon or (less frequently) Amfleet cafe cars.

[@railfan282]

Now the San Joaquins is getting Siemens Venture cars

[@jtkm]

Is the colonial shoe factory still open?

[@tylerbergman6255]

Of the superliners went to Philadelphia how did they fit under the trestle at Whitford

[@HVACSirenTowerTrainFanFan2012]

1:53 Never seen a ACS 64 only Pulling Superliners

[@K1_Trains]

If you ask me I think they should make the capital limited like the lakeshore limited and have it split at Pitsburg like the lakeshore does at Albany and have half go to DC and the other Half Philly It would add a 2nd train on the route between Pitsburg and Harrisburg bosting service and over time could promote for superliners to head towards the NEC and the Northeast And Possibly A West Coast To Northeast Train Direct

[@AmtrakPNW]

What is the closes station to where this was shot?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+SkyAdventures97 Mt. Joy

[@EAFSQ9]

Amtrak should totally use superliners under catenary. That's great!

[@FFred-us9tw]

They don't fit in most places. It's not possible.

[@AmericansAlwaysFree]

@@FFred-us9tw they need to electrify more tracks and have the freight lines do the same

[@FFred-us9tw]

@@AmericansAlwaysFree it’s not economical in many places. Especially for freight. In many areas clearances are already barely enough for Auto Racks and Double stacks. If you want to run overhead wire as well it wouldn’t be possible without drastic clearance problems. Their are spots on the corridor for example where the wire is so low their is only a foot of room between the wire and the roof of a standard coach. It’s not a universal height.

[@lavishravan]

What's the speed limit here?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

It varies between 90-125. I think 100-110 is the average.

[@benlahrman4149]

Can superliners fit on the NEC east of Harrisburg?

[@steelcityrailfan4808]

Since when did the ACS-64’s pull superliners

[@ajjj4wood1]

amtrak ACS-64 pulling superliners 1:52

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

Why doesn't the Pennsylvanian use a dual mode locomotive when half the route is electrified ? Would help improve speed and save on fuel.

[@Kentucky_Trainiac]

At 7:00, is that a Nathan M5 or a really sick Nathan Airchime K5LA?

[@MiddleTennesseeRailProductions]

Sounds like the K5CA-LS that Coaster (NCTD) cabcar #2304 has. It has a similar chord to a M5, I think. I like it.

[@turbochargedtransit7241]

It’s Amtrak 9649, and it has a heavily tuned K5LA.

[@OwenConcorde]

That's awesome!!! The Superliners were only used for the Pope, but why can't Amtrak use them on the KSC and the NEC more often?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+Owen Concorde I think it would be neat if they added a train that ran the entire length up-and-down the east coast with Superliners, but for now they are reserved for long-distance trains elsewhere. It seems like they meet all of the catenary clearances but there may be issues with them hitting sags. I'm not sure.

[@justinvoelker99]

+Central Penn Rail Productions The stations catenary is too low. Coming out of Philadelphia they hit the wire. Lucky it was off for the move and a diesel pushed them past the clearance point

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

They did that coming into Harrisburg too.

[@EMDSD14R]

+Owen Concorde they are not certified for the NEC that's why they were brought via the Keystone. Reason is one there are height issues at stations and certain points on that line and they can't fit in the NY tunnels or the Boston tunnel. They are also made for low level platforms and not high level so it wouldn't make sense to run them if you can't use all the stations that are high level. That might work at a few stations on the Keystone like Exton and Paoli but not all. I filmed them coming through Paoli eastbound and let me tell you there wasn't much clearance between the wires and cars going under that bridge but they were sick to see.

[@OwenConcorde]

+EMDSD14R Thanks and I didn't know that. I wonder if Amtrak wants special bilevels for the NEC, I mean cars built like their European counterparts in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. They might fit better than the superliners.

[@docholliday5472]

What's the top speed on the Keystone Corridor?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+Ryan Shipp 125 MPH on straight track.

[@pdrumz534]

Let me guess 50 - 70 on a curve

[@csxboy7109]

COOL ac64

[@Ih8kone]

That train at 1:13 was going backwards

[@Goofy1trainofficial]

THAT THUMBNAIL 💀💀💀💀

[@samuelitooooo]

So I guess the only place Superliners cannot fit is Penn Station (even Sunnyside Yard is open-air 😂) Edit: Was referring to New York Penn. I've since learned that Baltimore Penn also has the same clearance issues

[@justinstrickland5382]

The delayed train sounded like it had developed a severe flat spot

[@pdrumz534]

Show me the footage

[@justinstrickland5382]

@@pdrumz534 huh?

[@cats0182]

I thought Superliners were too tall to fit safely under the wires. Can Superliners safely get through the Hudson River tunnels?

[@RubyyVista]

I think the tunnels in and out of New York are to small for them but I’m not sure

[@FFred-us9tw]

They don't fit in the tunnels on either side, or in the station. Not a lot of places they fit on the actual corridor. Which is why they don't run them there.

[@hokutosei.hershey-ho.high-8203]

ACS-64~

[@seaboardairlineproductions7185]

Gotta go speeds

[@lenouveauvillageois3182]

What is the linespeed there?

[@amtrak618fan3]

Le Nouveauvillageois i think its 70

[@TheBestTrainsAreReal]

70-110 mph but most trains average around 80mph

[@fredpohl5202]

I thought there was clearamce issues with Superliners

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

There is, but only at main stations where the wires hang low. Power had to be turned off when they moved these out of Philly and also when they came into Harrisburg, because the cars came in contact with low-hanging arcs.

[@northeast_rail9606]

NO WAY!!! how can there be super liners on the NEC

[@changeoflife3658]

This is the Keystone Line not the NEC

[@GfwTrains]

That’s different🤔

[@pdrumz534]

You mean the superliners can fit the under the wires

[@GfwTrains]

@@pdrumz534 yes

[@ankitwap7]

Stunning captures and superb quality!! Subscribed you, and hoping you would do the same!! Thanks and Cheers from India!!