Chasing Trains on the Canadian Pacific Sunbury Subdivision

The Canadian Pacific Sunbury Line hosts nothing but standard cab EMD power in a variety of paint schemes, such as D&H Lighting Stripe, ICE, and of course, action red! (In fact, you can usually find SOO and old B&M locomotives here too). SD40-2's and GP38-2's dominate the scenes, which are complimented by a variety of locations, including wonderful railroad structures and scenery, to the suburban bustle near Scranton, PA, and mountain railroading along the Reading and Northern! So sit back, and join in almost 200 miles of coverage, along the Canadian Pacific's Sunbury Subdivision! May 17, 2012: Knowing ahead of time that an OCS was running south from Binghamton, NY to Sunbury, PA and back, and that the weather was going to be pure sun, there was no holding back over 400 miles of railfanning along the Sunbury Subdivision (and a little along the Reading and Northern) on this beautiful day. The OCS was on duty at Binghamton Yard at 0700 and left shortly thereafter. We catch them a few miles south of the yard, at MP 618 at the Shaw Road grade crossing. Unfortunately, to our dismay, the crossing had a recent upgrade which included a new constant E-Bell. We found out that many of the crossings along the route are undergoing similar upgrade, including the crossing at the second location in Corbettsville, NY. The power for the OCS is CP SD40-2 5937 and CP GP38-2 7310, with the Macintyre, which is a coach from the Vermont Rail System. Because this TEC train was traveling on former D&H lines, it was slated to have a D&H GP38-2 leading, however, this never came to be. 30 miles into the chase, at CPF 648, the north end of the siding at Hop Bottom, the OCS-2-552 meets a northbound manifest/auto/intermodal train 259, which runs from (Oak Island, NJ via CP 557) - Allentown, PA - Binghamton, NY including both NS and RBMN trackage rights. The power for this train is CP SD40-2 5690 and ICE SD40-2 6456. Knowing that the siding, which the OCS took, is a 10-25 MPH siding, we knew there would be time to stick around for the 259 ripping out of the main. This was a good decision—the crew gave a nice show! Further down the line we hop from location to location for the OCS, finally ending up in Mocanaqua, about 90 track miles from the origin of the chase! On our way back, we heard 552 getting a warrant to head south from Taylor yard. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to catch it in better sun at Yatesville, but Hudson was a new shot for me anyway. Power for this train is an odd combo: ICE SD40-2 6450 and D&H GP38-2 7303. The D11 was also out there with a D&H leader, but we never came across them before it was time to head back to New York to start another long chase of train 258. We arrived right when the power was ready to head from the shop to the train, already prepared by a yard crew (you can see two GP9u's un the background). The train was about to get underway, quite early, around 3 PM in fact, which would have given us plenty of daylight to possibly chase the train as far south as the Lehigh Gorge. Unfortunately, they failed their brake test numerous times, and didn't depart until around 4:30, which allowed the light to stale at a few planned locations, but nevertheless, it was still good overall, without a cloud in the sky. Of course, power for the 258 was a direct rebound of the 259 power, however, this time the ICE 6456 leading, with a nice, big snoot nose on the front! While waiting for the train to get underway, the OCS, now 2-553, was approaching the location. Once 258 got underway, on the siding, we knew the OCS would be running up the main soon, and that 258 would stop at Binghamton Container. Ironically enough, our final shot of the OCS was where we started the trip! 258 finally got a warrant south, allowing us enough time to beat it to the water-side shot by the state line, where the lighting and conditions are rarely decent for a shot. Next, we see the train heading over the Martins Creek (Kingsley) Viaduct. Skipping right to York Ave. in Avoca, the train rounds the curve, still on CP rails, right next to the Luzerne and Susquehanna, and the R&N is about a block north, but will cross over the CP main in about a mile at Pittston Avenue. This was the final shot along the CP Sunbury Subdivision, because the 258 will now slowly enter the siding at Dupont, CPF 679, at 10 MPH onto the Reading and Northern. Oak Street in Pittston on the RBMN, literally a block away in perfect viewing distance from the crossing along CP, is the next shot, which is the start of the uphill grade to get the train over Solomon Gap at Mountain Top, PA. The train is usually throttling hard here, but this is the first time I have not seen a train in Notch 8 at this crossing. However, at RBMN Siedel signals, the train was notched hard. Finally, the last shot is along the R&N at Crestwood. We chased the train as far as White Haven, but it was too dark here thanks to the delay, but was a good 100 miles away from the chase origin!