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| Jack Stoner posted On a humid and steamy June day in 1986 Conrail train MTPI - Metutchen, NJ - Pittsburgh,PA crosses the iconic PRR Low Grade trestle, (local parlance) at Safe Harbor, PA. The actual Conrail nomenclature for this line was the Enola Branch. Taken out of service in favor of the Reading RR route to northern NJ and NY and Phila. this well engineered line was downgraded, then abandoned in 1989 and finally the last iron was removed in 1990 - 91. |
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| Birds-Eye View |
In 1930 construction would commence to build the northern most of three Depression Era hydroelectric dams along the Susquehanna River at Safe Harbor. Erected just above the confluence of the Conestoga River the first turbine went online in December of 1931 and by 1940 a total of seven were in operation. Two of these turbines were dedicated to generating the 25 Hz single-phase power required to feed the Pennsylvania Railroad’s newly electrified railroad. By 1938, the final phases of the electrification were complete and included the A&S, Port Road, Columbia branch and mainline west to Harrisburg. With the eastern mainline and freight network complete, power from Safe Harbor began supplying the PRR grid, with tethers of high voltage transmission lines mounted above the tracks, feeding various substations along the PRR’s electrified territory. The railroad understood the value of the Public Works project and the advantage of a renewable energy source. Today Safe Harbor operates 12 turbine generator units and continues to supply the Northeast passenger rail network today. [MichaelFroio]
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| Owen Hesslage posted Safe Harbor Hydroelectric |
Tom Bates shared
Uncharted Lancaster reposted the first and third photo above with the comment:
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| 1 1931 422.5mw "At 464 miles long, the Susquehanna is the longest river on the East Coast of the United States that empties into the Atlantic Ocean traveling from Cooperstown, New York, to Havre De Grace, Maryland. It drains more than 27,000 square miles (including roughly half of the state of Pennsylvania) and is the single largest source of fresh water flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, the broad, shallow waters make the Susquehanna the longest, non-commercially navigable river in the country. But the 1,180-foot elevation change between its headwaters in Cooperstown and the Chesapeake Bay makes it ideal for hydroelectricity." |
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Uncharted Lancaster reposted the first and third photo above with the comment:
Ninety-two years ago today, on December 7, 1931, the Safe Harbor Hydroelectric Dam began generating power for the first time after just 20 months of construction.Safe Harbor was to be the last of three Great Depression-era public electrification hydroelectric dams on the Susquehanna. The 1,180-foot elevation change between its headwaters in Cooperstown and the Chesapeake Bay makes it ideal for hydroelectricity.Planning for the construction of the Safe Harbor Dam started in November 1929, with construction beginning on April 1, 1930. It was to be a concrete gravity dam with a total length of 5,000 feet going from shore to shore. The project cost $30 million, with nearly $10 million paid as wages to local laborers. The massive construction project benefited 4,000 workers who all needed jobs amid the Great Depression. Most of the men lived in temporary shelters in the ravines surrounding Safe Harbor.Construction of a run-of-river hydroelectric facility is unique because the dam and powerhouse must be built on the river bottom. This feat is accomplished through the use of cofferdams. This requires the un-watering of the stream bed one section at a time so that the bedrock surface can be prepared for the placement of concrete. The station started generating power on December 7, 1931, only 20 months after work was started in the river.With the completion of Safe Harbor, it could output 265,000 horsepower and, when combined with Holtwood’s 180,000, constituted one of the most significant hydroelectric developments on this continent at the time. Click the link to learn more. https://wp.me/pazrDx-2Iz
A couple of years ago I remember reading an Abandoned Railroads posting about a route that had the tracks removed but the route was still intact because it carried power lines to help supply Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service. I now understand what that posting was talking about.
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| safe_image for Historic ex-PRR high trestle at Safe Harbor opens to public (Photo by Dan Cupper) "$9 million project connects two segments of Enola Low Grade Trail....Officials estimate that use of the trail will jump from 70,000 persons a year to 100,000 as a result of the Safe Harbor bridge opening, and even more when the nearby Martic Forge bridge, damaged by arson in 2018, is restored later this summer. Ultimately, the Enola Low Grade Trail is expected to connect with others to create an 80-mile corridor stretching from Philadelphia to Columbia, Pa., says Mike Domin, a planner with the Lancaster County Planning Commission." For decades, local communities fought the rail trail. But times have finally changed. The trestle is 150' high and a quarter-mile long. It is part of the Enola Low Grade Trail. Two turbines of the hydroelectric dam are dedicated to generating current for Amtrak's Keystone and Northeast corridors. The lower bridge carries NS's Port Road Branch. The end of the article has some construction history concerning this branch. It was riniwh3ecin 1906 along with the Enola Yard and electrified in 1938. The purpose was to get freight trains off Pennsy's mainline. The last train used this branch in 1988. |
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| Metrotrails posted A view of the Safe Harbor Dam, completed in 1931, across the Susquehanna River. The dam impounds the Conejohela Valley to create Lake Clarke. Seen from the Mason-Dixon Trail in Apollo Park, York County Pa |
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| protoolned |
Uncharted Lancaster posted four photos with the comment:
Christmas came when Benton Webber and I got what felt like a VIP behind-the-scenes tour of Safe Harbor Dam yesterday.A couple of things stand out. First, it's a HUGE cavernous space. So big it nearly gives you a sense of vertigo. The dam is SEVEN stories tall, and not just figuratively but with an elevator going to an actual seventh floor.Second, image two shows the upper end of a small, no-longer-operational elevator that exited two floors down from where this photo was taken. It was once the second-longest elevator in Lancaster County, beaten only by the Griest Building.Third, the dam is alive. The entire complex has a heartbeat as it generates millions of watts of electricity. When a turbine clicks on, it sends out a wave of vibration that radiates out from the generator. This must be how it feels when the Enterprise jumps to warp.Image three shows one of three 250-ton internal cranes for moving turbines during times of maintenance. Click the link to read more about Safe Harbor Dam. https://wp.me/pazrDx-5BG
Brett Wanamaker shared
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