Staff Report/photos as noted
Photographing trains – any train – in daylight on the scenic, former Erie Railroad Delaware Division between Binghamton and Port Jervis, N.Y., is a challenge. For openers, there are only four trains a week (plus an occasional local), and the road trains consistently run under the cover of darkness. The eastbound SU100 departs Binghamton between 6:00 –6:30 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday evenings, and during the longer days of the year it may enable a few photos as far east as Starrucca Viaduct in Lanesboro, Pa. Westbound SU99 is generally out of Ridgefield Park, N.J., around 4:00 p.m. Monday and Thursday, but it is usually in darkness well before it hits Port Jervis westbound.
Only a few days a year, a disruption such as a delayed crew turn, a derailment on CSX up in New York State, or this spring, emergency repairs to the bridge at Mill Rift (where the Delaware Division crosses between Pennsylvania and New York State) offers a rare chance for rail photographers to get trackside for an epic daylight chase. Word had spread like wildfire through the railfan grapevine that on Wednesday, May 24, service would resume over the Mill Rift Bridge, and that an SU100 was called in Binghamton at 7:00 a.m. for a daylight run down to New Jersey with SD70M-2s 4064 and 4066 and a short consist of ten cars. Even more amazing is that the weather was forecast to be sunny for the two days of daylight operations.
ABOVE: SU99 passes St. Lucy’s Church in this aerial view at Cochecton, N.Y. The church has long provided photographers with an excellent back-drop during both morning and afternoon light. New York State Route 97, the chase road from Mill Rift to Hancock, is at left. —Ken Karlewicz
The train was first intercepted in Hancock, New York, by Railpace contributor Mike Amoroso, and the chase was joined by several more photographers as the train worked east. The crew made track speed (25–30 mph) until nearing Mill Rift, where they called for permission through the work zone. The primary reason for the daylight run was that the engineers working on the Mill Rift Bridge repair project wanted to examine the performance of the bridge structure under the weight of a train. To this end, the “100” was eased across the bridge at 10 mph. Then it was on into Port Jervis to await Metro-North inbound passenger Train 45 before continuing east to Hudson Junction, east of Campbell Hall, N.Y., and onward to New Jersey…
ABOVE: It takes nerves of steel to shinny down to the cliff edge overlooking the Delaware to snag this broadside view of SU99 heading west over the Delaware River between Sparrowbush, N.Y., and Mill Rift, Pa. After about a month of all rail traffic suspended over this bridge for emergency repairs on the Pennsylvania side, traffic began to flow again in late May. Despite the growth of trees, it is still possible to find an opening to include four units on the span. —Chris Healy
ABOVE: NJ Transit GP40PH-2 4111 has been leased to shortline Middletown & New Jersey, and is seen with M&NJ’s caboose across from Metro-Morth’s Campbell Hall station. Eastbound NYS&W SU100 blasts by on the former Erie Railroad Graham Line, May 24, 2023. —Mike Amoroso
ABOVE: Eastbound NYS&W SU100 rounds the curve entering Narrowsburg, New York in this aerial view Wednesday, May 24, 2023. It was the first through road train over the former Erie Railroad Delaware Division since Binghamton-Ridgefield Park runs were suspended in April due to emergency bridge repairs at Mill Rift. —Ken Karlewicz