The Many Trains of Altoona, Pennsylvania; Railfanning in Downtown Altoona and The Horseshoe Curve!

Описание: Hello everyone, and welcome to one of the most famous railroad towns in all of the world; Altoona, Pennsylvania! Located in the heart of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Altoona was historically the heart of the great railroad that served the Commonwealth, the one known long ago as "The Standard Railroad of the World." Here in Altoona, the Pennsylvania Railroad had its main engine repair shops (the Juniata Shops), a large hump yard (Rose Yard), and the famous four-track mainline through the Allegheny Mountains via the Pittsburgh Line. To this day, many of these prominent railroad institutions exist; the Juniata Shops has faithfully served each successor railroad of the PRR, Rose Yard sees daily switching and service (albeit no longer as a hump yard), and the PRR mainline, though now three tracks instead of four, still sees nearly sixty trains a day as the prime corridor for intermodal trains between the East Coast and the Midwest, as well as coal trains from the Pennsylvania mines.

Altoona has always been a place near and dear to me since my childhood.
As a kid, I would often visit Altoona when driving from Michigan to see family on the east coast (particularly, around Washington D.C.), and Altoona was perfectly situated along the way between Michigan and the Nation's Capital. I remember the days when the Big Blue Engines of Conrail still ruled the Pittsburgh Line and the Horseshoe Curve, and though Conrail is long gone, the railroad legacy of Altoona is not forgotten by any means and neither is the activity. For my first time back in this charming city in 12 years, it was a day to remember.

This day of railfanning was by far the best in terms of catches and action along the NS Pittsburgh Line. I once again met up with Cincy Railfan Productions in downtown Altoona to start the day at the downtown rail platform. In just the first two and a half hours, we saw a total of eight trains including a pair of intermodal trains, the local train, Amtrak Pennsylvanian, a pair of manifest trains, the daily trash train, and the eastbound coal drag. Shortly after 10:30, we finally made our way to the "World-Famous" Horseshoe Curve to see the trains climb the grade.

Though action on the Horseshoe Curve was a bit slow for a couple hours of the day, Norfolk Southern did manage to send a solid eight more trains in the early afternoon. The action at the Curve comprised of all intermodal and unit train traffic, especially coal drags. Cincy Railfan Productions saw three intermodal trains (all westbound) three coal drags (two west, one east), and two other unit trains. The best part of this afternoon of railfanning was the friendly and affable train crews who gave us railfans a good deal of great hornshows. Props to the train crews on keeping the railfans and other visitors of the Horseshoe Curve happy on this hot summer day, especially the train crews on the coal drags. Aside from the hornshows, my other favorite aspect of railfanning at the Horseshoe Curve was the number of Conrail coal cars still in use on the coal drags. Great to see Conrail Heritage still in daily service at the Curve.

Around closing time at the Horseshoe Curve (close to 5 p.m.), we ventured back to downtown Altoona for continued railfanning activity and to catch the Monongahela Heritage Unit leading intermodal train 22M eastbound from Chicago to Greater Philadelphia. This was the second time in three days we would have the opportunity to catch NS 8025 leading a train on the same trip, and my first time seeing the same heritage unit in the same week. The Monongahela on 22M was the third train of the evening, following the local train and another eastbound manifest. After NS 8025 passed through, the westbound Amtrak Pennsylvanian and a westbound intermodal train came through. The final train of the day was mega-manifest train 36A, the manifest train most known for not just its long length, but its for the John Deere tractors. 36A almost always John Deere tractors en route for export and this day's 36A featured more tractors than I have ever seen on one single train. While tractors on trains on the Pittsburgh Line is somewhat common, most trains feature three or four flatcars of tractors, and this train featured over a dozen of these flatcars. The other impressive aspect of this train was the sheer size and number of engines; six 4,400 HP engines for a single train.

For my first full day in Altoona in over a dozen years, this was a great day. 25 trains, a heritage unit leading a train, great hornshows, and a good number of coal trains. Railfanning does not get much better than this day of railfanning in the great location that is Altoona, Pennsylvania. I hope to return to this town once more next year and hopefully next year is as good of a time as this day was.

Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoy the video!

-N&W475.