“Here we go.........”

For the past few weeks I have been viewing cab-ride train videos.
Cab-ride train videos are when the video-camera is set up in the cab of the railroad-locomotive, and an entire run gets recorded, start-to-finish.
E.g. Washington D.C. to Philadelphia, or Philadelphia to New York City.
“Put the hammer down,” I always say, as the train leaves Washington Union Station.
After a few minutes: “our speed is now 110 mph;” and then “our speed is now 120 mph.”
My cab-ride train videos of Amtrak’s electrified Northeast Corridor, at that time (1985) Washington D.C. to New York City, are my favorite videos.
I also have cab-rides of other routes; e.g. Train 47, Amtrak’s “Pennsylvanian” across Pennsylvania.
The “Pennsylvanian” was financed by the state of Pennsylvania, and is off. Although in 1985, when this video was recorded, the “Pennsylvanian” was still running.
It’s not as good as my Northeast Corridor cab-rides. The train doesn’t get up to 100+ mph, and it’s powered by a noisy diesel locomotive.
The weather was also rather gloomy.
Across Pennsylvania is four tapes: -1) Philadelphia to Harrisburg, -2) Harrisburg to Huntington, -3) Huntington to Johnstown, and -4) Johnstown to Pittsburgh. (The “Pennsylvanian” ended at Pittsburgh.)
This takes three crews: -1) Philly to Harrisburg, -2) Harrisburg to Altoona (half-way on tape #3), and -3) Altoona to Pittsburgh.
Apparently at that time Philly-to-Harrisburg and Altoona-to-Pittsburgh could get by with just the engineman, but Harrisburg-to-Altoona required a “fireman” (a second guy in the cab).
Philly-to-Harrisburg (ex-Pennsy) is Amtrak, and also electrified, but Harrisburg-to-Pittsburgh was at that time Conrail.
The segment from Harrisburg to near Huntington was also not electronically dispatched from a distant site — only one train at a time can occupy a segment of track — perhaps requiring that fireman to help read signals.
Slowly the train leaves Philly’s huge 30th-Street station, and threads the contorted mess of trackage and interlockings to the north, finally ending up on Pennsy’s grand old “Main Line” west.
Stops are made at Ardmore, Paoli, Downingtown and Lancaster. The first highway-crossing at-grade is near Lancaster in the Pennsylvania-Dutch county.
We are in Amtrak’s EMD FP40 #276, “a good accelerator — digs right in.” Our train is only three coaches.
On tape #2 we set out on Pennsy’s vast Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River — the largest masonry stone-arch bridge in the world.
Near Huntington, a trackside defect-detector fails to report, and we are down to 30 mph into Huntington. The video-camera almost runs out of tape, but makes it, after recording cars passing at 50 mph on parallel Highway 22. (That’s not how it is on the Northeast Corridor. We flash by cars doing 80 on parallel Interstates.)
On tape #3 we keep getting slowed by a freight-train ahead. We also get stopped by an opposing freight-train so it can switch off the track we intend to use.
We also pass a few freight-trains, but not “stackers;” since the tunnels haven’t been raised yet (it’s only 1985).
At Altoony, half-way into that tape, I always perk up. From here west is the Allegheny Mountains crossing and the mighty Curve.
The crews change, and the train leaves the station.
“Here we go,” I always say.
“What interlocking is this?” the announcer asks.
“Alto,” I yell. One of the few Pennsy towers left, and control for most of Altoona.
Helpers often get added to trains here for up-the-hill, or taken off those that descend.
Shortly is “Slope,” next interlocking, and the beginning of the grade — 1.75%: 1.75 feet up for every 100 feet forward. No tower; all it is is crossover-switches.
We sweep around a bend, and then cross “Brickyard Crossing.” A coal-train is descending wreathed in brakeshoe-smoke. “They got those brakes on at least 11&1/2 miles — if ya had a hot-box, ya’d never know it.”
And then up we go; climbing and climbing.
“What speed are we doing?”
“35 mph; all these curves to the Horseshoe are 35 mph, so we do the whole segment at 35. Horseshoe to the top is 30 mph.”
“Signal 240.7,” the announcer says, the same point the 240.7 trackside talking defect-detector is at that I always get on my scanner: “Milepost two-four-oh-point-seven, track three; no defects” (one is coming up the hill).
We are on track three, and sweep around a curve, but what’s this? A freight-train is climbing inside on Track Two — I hope we get by it before the mighty Curve.
We swing past the twin SD40-2 pushers on the tail of the freight, and onto the long straight that approaches the mighty Curve.
We start around the north calk: “Here it is,” I shout; “the greatest railfan spot I have ever been to.”
“Signal 241.7,” the announcer says, the signal-tower on the north side of the mighty Curve.
And around we swing, but the freight-train is still inside on track two, blocking our view of the viewing-area.
“Milepost 242,” the engineer says, pointing to our right; “Horseshoe Curve.”
As we pass it, we also pass the lead engines of the freight-train, and the whole gorgeous amphitheater swings into view as we climb the south calk.
“I was afraid we were gonna miss that, with that freight-train,” the announcer says to the engineer.“
He apologizes on the tape for the freight-train, and says that a segment of an earlier tape will get added that has the mighty Curve unblocked.
So I called him up long ago.
“Didn’t mind a bit,” I said. “That’s how it is at Horseshoe Curve; trains willy-nilly!”

The “Northeast Corridor” was recently extended (electrified) to Boston.

“Pennsy” is the Pennsylvania Railroad, no longer in existence. It merged with New York Central Railroad in 1968 as Penn-Central, and that went bankrupt in about two years. “Pennsy” was once the largest railroad in the world. Penn-Central was succeeded by Conrail.

The “fireman” was the second guy in the cab. Steam locomotives used to have a “fireman” to tend (and/or feed) the locomotive’s fire, usually fueled by coal. The “fireman” also frequently made sure there was enough water in the boiler, and called out signals, to second the engineer. If the boiler-water got too low, the firebox crown-sheet would be exposed and melt; in which case the boiler blew up.
When diesel-locomotives replaced steam, the fireman was no longer needed, although unions tried to keep the fireman’s job.

An “interlocking” is where crossover switches, or switches, connect adjacent tracks. “Interlockings” are now called “Control-Points;” and used to be switched by lineside towers. They can now be switched electronically from a central location.

“EMD” is Electromotive Division of General Motors, GM’s manufacturer of railroad diesel-locomotives. Most railroads used EMD when they dieselized; although many now use General-Electric railroad diesel-locomotives.

RE: “a trackside defect-detector fails to report.....” Railroads have lineside train defect-detectors to detect overheated wheel-journals (“hot boxes”), dragging equipment, etc. After a train passes, the detector automatically broadcasts on the railroad radio-frequency if the passing train had defects: e.g. “Milepost two-four-oh-point-seven, track three; no defects.” The train’s engineman must acknowledge. (If the defect-detector doesn’t work, the train may have to stop so the crew can inspect.)

A “stacker” is a train hauling truck-trailer containers that are double-stacked (one atop the other) in well-cars. Such trains require a high clearance. At first the railroad-tunnels on the old Pennsy main-line were not high enough to clear double-stacks, but now they are.

Horseshoe Curve (the “mighty Curve”), west of Altoona, Pennsylvania, is by far the BEST railfan spot I have ever been to. Horseshoe Curve is a national historic site. It was a trick used by the Pennsylvania Railroad to get over the Allegheny mountains without steep grades. Horseshoe Curve was opened in 1854, and is still in use. (I am a railfan.)

“Conrail” was broken up recently, with most ex-New York Central lines going to CSX Transportation, and most ex-Pennsy lines going to Norfolk Southern. Horseshoe Curve, which at the time of the tape was Conrail, is now Norfolk Southern Railroad.

“Helpers” are additional railroad locomotives added to a train to get it up (or down — they add braking-power) a grade. Usually two “helpers” are added in front, and/or two in the back. “Helpers” are stationed at Altoona to get trains over the Allegheny Mountains.

“Brickyard Crossing” is a road-crossing in Altoona next to an abandoned brickyard. The streetname is something else.

RE: E.g. “Signal 240.7.........” The railroads have signals for the coming segment of track (the “block”). Since Pennsy had a four-track mainline (for a while), the signals were on bridges that completely bridged the tracks. Those signals were numbered according to their mileage from Philadelphia; e.g. “Signal 240.7” was 240.7 miles from the old Broad Street station in Philadelphia, long-gone.