Noticed that all throughout the PA countryside in and around Lancaster there are tons of branch lines, many abandoned...many were electrified? Were these passenger routes that were no longer needed?? Specifically between Lancaster and Columbia PA. Is the line along the river through Columbia PA busy? Its odd that Pennsy had an electrified network...removed it and now the USA is concerned with using petroleum?
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Mike:
The PRR had a freight line that branched off the Philadelphia to Harrisburg line at Cork Tower in Lancaster. This line ran west over to Columbia, PA where it joined the Port Road. To my knowledge, this was never a passenger route unless, perhaps, it was used to detour trains on occasion. Below Columbia, the Atglen Low Grade line branched off the Port Road and headed east, where it rejoined the Philadelphia to Harrisburg line at Parkesburg. This was a freight only line intended to bypass the grades of the mainline to Harrisburg. And, of course, the Port Road continues south to join the New York/Washington mainline at Perryville, MD. There was also a freight branch that left the Port Road north/west of Columbia and ran to Middletown, PA where it rejoined the Philadelphia/Harrisburg line. If memory serves me, this was referred to as the Royalton Branch. All of these lines were electrified.
NS still operates the old Port Road from Enola down to Perryville that passes through Columbia. I'm not sure how many trains a day are operated over this line, however. Someone who still lives up in that area would have to answer that. The Atglen Low Grade was abandoned sometime in the 1980's.
The PRR did not remove the catenary from these lines; Conrail did that in the early 1980's. Amtrak, which had taken over the Philadelphia to Harrisburg and New York to Washington mainlines, controlled the electricity that Conrail used on it's electrified lines. At some point, Amtrak jacked the cost high enough that Conrail threw in the towel on electrification and retired the old PRR electric freight motors.
Curt
It was CONRAIL that abandoned the PRR electrical network.
AMTRAK still has catenary from NY to Washington and Philadelphia to Harrisburg.
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