Amtrak's eerie transmission lines at Princeton Junction, New Jersey - May 10th, 2024
While this was actually intended as an "Avelia Liberty night", the test train didn't end up running any faster than 125 MPH on any of the 7 passes I saw. There was also a solar storm that "peaked" (by some measure) at approximately 11:00PM (at 03:00 UTC on May 11th) so I took the opportunity to look at the sky. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds to see any auroras but I took some night pictures looking through the uninterrupted 7 mile view of the railroad from Princeton-Hightstown Road on the bridge, just east (north) of the station. This is definitely worth another attempt in 2026 both in the day and at night.
There is a very high wall over the catenary wires. The home signals at MIDWAY interlocking over 5 miles away are clearly visible but only if you go yet another few inches above the top of the wall. The photos were taken between 10:42PM and 11:08PM on May 10th and some were not in focus.
Tags: New Jersey, Princeton Junction, Northeast Corridor, Amtrak, transmission lines, power lines, train, catenary wire
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Looking northeast
From the center of the bridge, still looking northeast. Theoretically, the furthest tower could be near milepost 40 (6.8 miles away) at the start of the curve. There is actually one tower directly over the tracks in the middle and it should be the one centered over the signals.
Eastbound home signals at MIDWAY. From left to right, the tracks are 4-3-2-1. In the second image, Amtrak 2130 just knocked down Track 2 so it shows Stop. The test train was also configured to go east so Track 3 shows Clear.
Looking southwest back towards Princeton Junction