My parents and I did a trip to Harrisburg for two nights earlier this week. I've been on the Keystone before, but not since I learned that the cab cars used on the route (which I call "bumblebee" on account of the striking paint scheme compared to the front of NJT and European cab cars) were repurposed from Metroliner shells. I was born in 1998, at which point the Metroliners proper were long gone, so I was keen to ride on one of these historic cars before they end service. I knew from reading here and elsewhere that it was common for the Keystones to have two locomotives instead, but I hoped that at least one leg would have the cab car. As it happened, both legs did, with the cab car pointing towards Philadelphia (the train reverses at Philadelphia).
We left New York in the morning, emerging into the Meadowlands as so many times before. We had to run slowly most of the way from Secaucus to Newark on account of the bridge construction, which seemed to have drawn every construction vehicle in northern New Jersey. From Trenton to Philadelphia we ran on what I think of as the inbound SEPTA track (sorry, I don't know the official numbers), but didn't run into any obstructions. We turned around in Philadelphia in just eight minutes, as opposed to the scheduled ten.
Since I became aware of it, the Philadelphia - Harrisburg line has attracted me as a sort of living PRR museum. It's less "Amtrakified" than the Northeast Corridor, even though it is owned by Amtrak, and last time I was down there still had the all-yellow position light signals. I didn't see any of those this trip, so I guess they're gone. After poking through the incredibly complex series of junctions that route trains from both the upper level and lower level to various directions, we got to speed through the Main Line area. The Keystone has high acceleration thanks to the short consist and electric locomotive, and it helped save time as we ran start-stop after Paoli. Through Thorndale, which is a bit sad, as the large areas of empty land between the remaining tracks make clear what a major junction this was in the PRR era.
After Parkesburg we got the only long stretch between Paoli and Harrisburg. It was pleasant to wind through the charming little hills and railway cuts in this section, though certainly not as dramatic as the Alleghenies. From Lancaster nothing more significant happened, and thanks to the padding, we were four minutes early at Harrisburg after having been (slightly) late at Philadelphia and Lancaster. The platform and station at Harrisburg are pleasant.
Harrisburg is a nice city, if you're wiling to look past the signs of urban decay. The train station is an easy walk from both the Capitol complex and the riverfront. A series of narrow alleyways give it a historic feeling as opposed to geometrically perfect blocks. There are brick and painted-wood townhouses only a couple of blocks from Market Square, if one likes such architecture. They've managed to create a nice park along the Susquehanna without (as in Philadelphia, New York and Pittsburgh) having a massive highway running through it and limiting access. The state capitol is rather overwrought for my liking, although it is certainly impressive.
So, a couple of days later, we returned to New York, leaving in the afternoon. The cab car was at the far end of the train from where we were boarded and I appeared to be almost alone in wanting to sit there (although it filled up as we moved through Pennsylvania). This time there were heavy clouds, but visibility was still good. The train moved efficiently and we arrived at Philadelphia nine minutes early. I was struck by how bad the condition of the Parkesburg and Coatesville platforms (they're not really stations) was given that they get several trains a day.
We ended up sitting on Track 8 in Philadelphia for a full half hour, which was boring but was better than being late. Towards the end of our stay another Keystone arrived from New York opposite the platform from us. We stopped a few different times just between 30th Street and the bridge over the Schuylkill, losing time, but once we got to N Philadelphia it was quickly to Trenton. From Trenton to Newark we seemed to get a clear run (which is unusual in my experience given the heavy traffic) and we went from full stop to full stop in 29 minutes, making up four minutes of the small delay. Darkness had fallen by this time, but I'm well familiar with this part. The classic view of New York's downtown and midtown skyscrapers lit up and looking like two different cities, and then back to Penn Station.
The ride quality was very good, with the exception of a couple bad joints between Paoli and Harrisburg. I obviously enjoyed the trip as a railfan, but I think I would have been happy as an "average" rider as well. The trains kept to schedule and the conductors were friendly, as one would hope. I may well get another ride on the Keystone before these cab cars are retired. I wish there were more Keystone Corridors (but then I'm biased, because I've preferred electric trains since I was small).
We left New York in the morning, emerging into the Meadowlands as so many times before. We had to run slowly most of the way from Secaucus to Newark on account of the bridge construction, which seemed to have drawn every construction vehicle in northern New Jersey. From Trenton to Philadelphia we ran on what I think of as the inbound SEPTA track (sorry, I don't know the official numbers), but didn't run into any obstructions. We turned around in Philadelphia in just eight minutes, as opposed to the scheduled ten.
Since I became aware of it, the Philadelphia - Harrisburg line has attracted me as a sort of living PRR museum. It's less "Amtrakified" than the Northeast Corridor, even though it is owned by Amtrak, and last time I was down there still had the all-yellow position light signals. I didn't see any of those this trip, so I guess they're gone. After poking through the incredibly complex series of junctions that route trains from both the upper level and lower level to various directions, we got to speed through the Main Line area. The Keystone has high acceleration thanks to the short consist and electric locomotive, and it helped save time as we ran start-stop after Paoli. Through Thorndale, which is a bit sad, as the large areas of empty land between the remaining tracks make clear what a major junction this was in the PRR era.
After Parkesburg we got the only long stretch between Paoli and Harrisburg. It was pleasant to wind through the charming little hills and railway cuts in this section, though certainly not as dramatic as the Alleghenies. From Lancaster nothing more significant happened, and thanks to the padding, we were four minutes early at Harrisburg after having been (slightly) late at Philadelphia and Lancaster. The platform and station at Harrisburg are pleasant.
Harrisburg is a nice city, if you're wiling to look past the signs of urban decay. The train station is an easy walk from both the Capitol complex and the riverfront. A series of narrow alleyways give it a historic feeling as opposed to geometrically perfect blocks. There are brick and painted-wood townhouses only a couple of blocks from Market Square, if one likes such architecture. They've managed to create a nice park along the Susquehanna without (as in Philadelphia, New York and Pittsburgh) having a massive highway running through it and limiting access. The state capitol is rather overwrought for my liking, although it is certainly impressive.
So, a couple of days later, we returned to New York, leaving in the afternoon. The cab car was at the far end of the train from where we were boarded and I appeared to be almost alone in wanting to sit there (although it filled up as we moved through Pennsylvania). This time there were heavy clouds, but visibility was still good. The train moved efficiently and we arrived at Philadelphia nine minutes early. I was struck by how bad the condition of the Parkesburg and Coatesville platforms (they're not really stations) was given that they get several trains a day.
We ended up sitting on Track 8 in Philadelphia for a full half hour, which was boring but was better than being late. Towards the end of our stay another Keystone arrived from New York opposite the platform from us. We stopped a few different times just between 30th Street and the bridge over the Schuylkill, losing time, but once we got to N Philadelphia it was quickly to Trenton. From Trenton to Newark we seemed to get a clear run (which is unusual in my experience given the heavy traffic) and we went from full stop to full stop in 29 minutes, making up four minutes of the small delay. Darkness had fallen by this time, but I'm well familiar with this part. The classic view of New York's downtown and midtown skyscrapers lit up and looking like two different cities, and then back to Penn Station.
The ride quality was very good, with the exception of a couple bad joints between Paoli and Harrisburg. I obviously enjoyed the trip as a railfan, but I think I would have been happy as an "average" rider as well. The trains kept to schedule and the conductors were friendly, as one would hope. I may well get another ride on the Keystone before these cab cars are retired. I wish there were more Keystone Corridors (but then I'm biased, because I've preferred electric trains since I was small).
