In the late 1980's, Conrail began gathering wreck train equipment and moving it to Reading, PA for storage and eventual disposal/scrapping. In November 1987, a wreck train sits at Blandon, PA en route to Reading. The first four cars are former Reading Company. The crane is the CR 50107 and I'm not sure of its ancestry. The trailing boom tender was ex-Lehigh Valley.

The combine, baggage car and first boom tender seen here would eventually be purchased by the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society and be teamed up with Conrail donated 250 ton crane, CR 45214 (RDG 90901) and now reside in Hamburg, PA. Not sure how many other museums can display a complete wreck train.

Hated having the pole shadow there, but then again those pole lines are another piece of railroad history that has disappeared.

Photographer
Submitted by CRHS Admin on Wed, 07/17/2024 - 17:22