Philly Railfan Pictures of the Week

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Railfan Pictures of the Week - Throwback Thursday - 10/15/2020

Conrail Harrisburg Line West Conshohocken PA June 1996

One of Conrail's iron ore trains out of Philadelphia (either ZSR to US Steel inClairton PA or ZWW to Wierton Steel in Wierton PA) heads west powered by SD50 CR 6763, C40-8W CR 6156 and SD40-2 NS 1372. The train is running on Track 2 rather than the normal Track 1 for westbounds so they can diverge up few miles up the road at the Bridgeport Scale Track switch and pass over the scale. The consist is comprised of open hoppers, most designed to carry up to 100 tons of coal when full. The more dense taconite barely fills half the car before hitting the weight limit, so overloading is a definite possibility. The ex-PRR G38 and G39 ore jennies, designed to run fully loaded, were the standard for these trains for decades, but the years of hauling the heavy loads had taken their toll and were being phased out. So before they start the slow climb west toward Pittsburgh, they check each car's weight to identify any that may need to be set out at Abrams Yard.

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