Lebanon Valley Jct in the Reading Years

[@patricknoveski6409]

When Men were Men. Real Railroaders. So cool to watch these guys in action. Thank you for showing !

[@redbarnz]

Just fantastic! What a rarity to have this much COLOR video from the mid-50's to mid-1960's!!! Nicely mixed with stills and action and location angles... Well Done! This is a part of PA is a favorite of mine and I'm going to bookmark this video so I can come back to it again and again!!

[@fmnut]

Just remember it's film, not video. All sounds were dubbed in. Portable video for the masses didn't exist until the 1980's.

[@iusetano]

That was so fantastic. Thank you. I totally enjoyed watching.

[@scotteakins7203]

Great film footage! Who ever filmed this done a fantastic job. Enjoyed it!

[@mrjsanchez1]

I run trains through here currently on the NS, it is great to see how it was in the 1950’s and 60’s. It is crazy that there is no passenger service in this area. It is definitely needed!

[@eugeeropel5572]

Another EXCELLENT video of the Reading Lines. Please don’t let these memories fade away, along with all of the other fallen flags, it’s practically all we have. Once again Thank you for all of your hard work and efforts.

[@gqjohnny]

3:58 . The viaduct in West Reading between Franklin and Chestnut streets. The trestles were replaced with cement piers in the 60"s. The cameraman was practically in the back yard of the house I grew up in. In 1900 / 1902 the railroad took land from the property owners back yards to build the Belt Line.

[@viktordubowskii695]

Thank you for sharing, I remember the Reading railroad in its last few years of existence, before Conrail took over.

[@ikonseesmrno7300]

Did I see an RS3 mated up to a Trainmaster? Didn't know they could MU those engines that early on. Could have sworn there was a Baldwin Babyface in the mix later in the video, too. And all that steam, oh my! Watching all those tenders get filled makes me wish I didn't drink so much water before bed this evening. :vD This video was truly a treat, many thanks!

[@fmnut]

Generally, with some exceptions, by the late 50's EMD, Alco, and FM units had common MU. Baldwins with air throttle were the exception. The Reading had 4 AS16's 551-554 that had electric controls and could MU with EMD's etc. but not with other Baldwins. And yes, that was a CNJ double Babyface on the "Queen of the Valley".

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

@@fmnut Correct. In 1978 the Michigan Northern acquired some former SCL Baldwins,,,,,so they would MU with their 2 Baldwin Sharks. (that was the plan) I was there in 1978(by chance) and caught the Baldwins on their first run in NEW paint. At the time only 1 Shark was running. The other had it's prime mover removed.

[@fmnut]

@@jeffreymcfadden9403 The ex-SCL Baldwins acquired by MIGN were one of the "exceptions" I mentioned in the previous answer. Seaboard modified their fleet of RS12's with electric controls and MU in the late 1950's. If you check photos of ex-SCL RS12's you will see they have a standard MU cable socket rather than the complex hose arrangement found on Baldwin air throttle MU. This means they could MU with MIGN's RS-3's, but NOT with the Sharks. Also, MIGN did not own the Sharks, they were only leased, so it would not have made sense for MIGN to buy engines that could only MU with the leasers and not the rest of their fleet. I have a photo of a MIGN RS12 in MU with an RS3 to prove the point.

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

@@fmnut but the MN apparently didn't know this at the time. I had a conversation about these RS12 s with the worker there.

[@peterhanahoe4913]

Absolutely tremendous and another pat on the back for the sound effects department I think.

[@markfrench8892]

Absolutely marvelous video. Could only wish time could have been frozen in the 1950s.

[@gqjohnny]

Fantastic ! Much of the footage is a little before my time but I recognize all of the landmarks. I lived in West Reading right along the Belt Line, a few scenes of the West Reading viaduct at my home. And I knew the scene at 3rd st crossing in the city very well.

[@vicodumb]

My only regret is that I have but one like to give. Wonderful early Christmas present here. Thank you!

[@brandtbecker1810]

Wish I could have lived at that time - now totally sucks.

[@toddw6716]

thanks i remember these location when i was young.

[@iowarailfanner1013]

I love old films. Fact if I could time travel I would travel back to the 50 to experience the old days of railroading

[@jackp9122]

Wish I could travel back too. Was born 1951, by the time I was old enough to see trains, was all diesel.

[@travelingman484]

Thank you.

[@b3j8]

From as best I could read at 4:10 that looked to be Reading #2124 in regular svc.

[@rexracernj7696]

Apparently a fast PRR express at 16:00, wonder what that was?

[@fmnut]

Not a PRR train at all, despite the appearance with PRR equipment in the consist. The locomotives are Reading Co. This train was headed to the Boy Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge, PA in 1954.

[@timothyrearden3178]

Beauty, Rich

[@dschlegel75]

Fantastic video! Thank you sir. Amazing location, I've been railfanning around there for years. Too bad traffic is not what it used to be, especially on the Reading main heading towards Pottstown. @2:30 - is that the Pennsy Schuylkill branch on the opposite side of the river? I've been keeping an eye out for vids and photos, but they are strangely rare.

[@fmnut]

Yes, that's the Schuylkill branch.

[@fmnut]

Herron Video has George Gerhart's Schuylkill branch footage on DVD. The title is "Classic Pennsy Widescreen".

[@dschlegel75]

@@fmnut Excellent info, thank you sir!

[@silurian9420]

Interesting film. The still shots & music are great. Found the location with google maps. A long way from North West England. I'm an American RR fan, Wonderful era the 50's. Did that Tower control both the high & low level railroads here ?

[@fmnut]

Yes and no. It did control the lower level on its CTC machine, and was a train order office for trains passing below on the Reading Belt Line. On the high level, it controlled the interlocking to the west (Wyomissing Jct.) while the one to the east (Center) was controlled by Oley tower about 1.4 miles away. So it controlled the eastbound (track further from the tower) while Oley controlled the westbound (next to the tower). The signal for the eastbound track across from the tower as seen in many views in the video was an automatic distant signal for the approach to Center. The offset center arm indicates this, if the signal heads were in a vertical line it would be a home signal. Valley Jct. was an open Train Order office for the High Line and could give orders to trains on either track.

[@PaHillLL]

thank you! 1

[@rdgk1se3019]

Great video, where is that curved bridge located @5:07?

[@fmnut]

That's the old West Reading Viaduct. The span closest to the camera in that view is Penn Avenue. The viaduct was replaced with a new span over Penn Avenue, a partial fill, and a shorter all concrete ballast deck viaduct spanning Cherry, Franklin and Chestnut Sts. in 1953.

[@gqjohnny]

@@fmnut The concrete section was done in the mid 60's. The bridge sections over penn avenue and the streets were from 1953

[@gqjohnny]

see youtube video of 175th anniversary of reading railroad slide show.

[@fmnut]

@@gqjohnny thanks. I was going by the dates in the abutments, didn't know that the middle section came later.

[@americannomadnews5370]

TOOT TOOT!