The early morning rush begins at SEPTA's Thorndale station just east Amtrak's former PRR yard in Thorndale, PA, the terminus for SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale line. Here we see a set of Silveriner V EMU's (built by Hyundai Rotem in South Korea), along with a set of "Comet II's" built in NY by Canadian company, Bombardier, which are based on an early Pullman Standard design. The push/pull set has a Swedish designed AEM-7 built by EMD (Car bodies built initially by Budd, but by the time SEPTA (and Marc) ordered units, the bodies were made by the Austrian firm Simmering-Graz-Pauker. That train will shortly depart for Center City Philadelphia in push mode. Things have changed considerably here at the former Pennsylvania Railroad's "Thorn" yard. At one time, this was a bustling yard that served not only as a water and coal point, but as a classification yard for local freight service to industries in western Chester County, including Lukens Steel in Coatesville. The yard also once served as a helper with a number of both Baldwin and Altoona built steam locomotives which were based here to assist freight trains on the high grades on the main line. Today, Amtrak uses the yard for nothing other than storage of its MOW cars - visible in yellow, in the background.
