gmf journal

This past weekend an Amtrak Autumn Express excursion train travelled to the Lehigh Valley from New York City and it was a truly historic event because it was the first time in several decades that a passenger train had actually passed through Easton, Bethlehem and Allentown, the three major cities of the Lehigh Valley. The train then continued west to Harrisburg and Lancaster. After a stop at Lancaster the train headed south to Philadelphia and then north back to New York.

The first Autumn Express train left New York at 8:30 am on Saturday morning, Oct 29th, and crossed the Delaware river at approximately 10:20 am., entering Easton as it headed west the Bethlehem and then Allentown. I made my way to the site of the old Easton Passenger station to watch the Autumn Express roll by. I fairly large crowd of train enthusiasts, including the the mayor of Easton, had gathered to welcome train. A similar crowd formed to Allentown, including the mayor of that city as well, to greet train.

Here is video a shot of the Autumn Express arriving at the site of the former Easton Passenger Station on the morning of Saturday, Oct 29th,

I enjoyed seeing the train so much on Saturday that on Sunday morning  I decided to go to a spot right below the railroad bridge that the Autumn Express would cross the Delaware so I could capture that on video.

Later that morning I shot a brief video explaining why it was such a thrill to see the Autumn Express in Easton and why many in the Lehigh Vally would love the see passenger train service return to this area.