Bennington PA 01.21.17: Head In The Clouds

Описание: It was a sunny afternoon. No really, it was.

In anticipation of visiting Bennington Curve on the afternoon of January 21st, I stopped in Tunnelhill at the overlook above the Allegheny Tunnel's east portal for a lunch break. The sky was blue and the view was clear, except for a wall of fog that hung low across the valley in the distance - right over my destination.

As I bounced down Bird Eye Road towards Benny, the transformation of the view was dramatic. In only a mile and a half of travel, the sun was completely blotted out and visibility dropped even lower than it had been in South Fork. The fog swirled around the outcropping like smoke from a fire, and the only sign that Route 22 was somewhere out there in the void was a distant, faint roar.

At 2:24, another distant roar slowly blended with the highway noise, then drowned it out as westbound manifest 35A snaked its way up the mountainside behind C44-9Ws 9864 and 9185, SD70ACu 7312, and C40-9 8884. Just as the head end passed at my feet, SD40Es 6315 and 6319 rolled past in the other direction on track 1. A few minutes later, hot westbound UPS train 21E charged up track 2 behind C44-9Ws 9313 and 9252, the latter's Operation Lifesaver paint completely obscured by the 35A. The manifest's lead was fading rapidly as SD40Es 6327 and 6306 shoved past, followed shortly by the unassisted tail of 21E. I had a strong suspicion the lead would evaporate before Lilly.

Thirty minutes later, another westbound intermodal (as yet unidentified) hurried upgrade on track 3 behind C44-9W 9628, SD70M-2 2717, and ES44DC 7593. In the distance to the west, the headlight of an eastbound materialized out of the fog, revealing itself as a stack train led by ES44AC 8095 and C44-9W 9174 just after the westbound cleared the scene. SD40Es 6324 and 6301 provided a braking assist to the eastbound as it disappeared into the fog towards Altoona.

It might seem like the camera just kept rolling, but the wait was closer to 5 minutes before 39Q appeared on track 2. Tucked in behind SD70M-2 2668 and C44-9W 9700 was GP33ECO 4701, a low-emissions unit rebuilt from a GP50 in Altoona's Juniata Shops 2 years prior. Way back on the rear, SD40Es 6333 and 6308 pitched in to keep the freight moving uphill. The form of stack train 24W appeared on track 1 17 minutes later at 3:24, led by SD70ACu 7305 and SD70M 2643. The containers were still marching past when SD40Es 6302 and 6332 ran light west on track 2, meeting SD40Es 6329 and 6307 on the rear of 24W in the distance. It looked as if the fog was finally thinning out, as the distant trees were visible in both directions.

Never mind. By 3:35, the fog was reasserting itself as C44-9Ws 9272 and 8915 chugged underfoot on track 3 with a westbound stack train, meeting SD40Es 6321 and 6305 running light eastbound on track 1. Miscalculation of the westbound's length resulted in a quick pull back on the zoom as SD40Es 6312 and 6303 roared out of the mist and then faded away towards Gallitzin and beyond. After 7 trains and 3 light helper sets in a little more than an hour, I figured it was time to disengage the cloaking device and return to civilization.