Another feeble attempt....
....at distracting myself from sadness with a train-chase in Altoona with Phil Faudi.
Uphill on Track One at the Route 53 overpass north of Cresson. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
I tried this last June, and it was probably a mistake.
Everything went wrong, and it was only a little over a month since my wife died, so I felt utterly depressed and out-of-it.
My Nikon D100 camera-body failed. I had to borrow the camera of my bed-and-breakfast owner.
It too failed, or so it seemed (it was unfamiliar).
It also started raining profusely, which made it impossible to shoot photographs outside, except under an underpass.
Between my wife’s recent death, my camera failing, and downpours I got utterly depressed.
Things went better this time, although the weather was marginal.
It was continually cloudy, and rained a little, though not downpours.
I had a new camera-body, an upgrade, and it went though the whole day without hairballs.
First time ever! I think this is my tenth “Tour” with Phil, and every one previous had some camera glitch.
Only last June was a complete camera-failure. Others I inadvertently solved.
Train-chases are a pleasant distraction — I’m a railfan, and have been since age-2 (I’m 68).
But sadness always awaits. When I get up at the bed-and-breakfast in the morning, no wife, I’m alone.
When I return to the bed-and-breakfast after the train-chase, again I’m alone, no wife.
And when I return home to West Bloomfield, it’s an empty house, no wife.
I have to turn on the radio to counteract the silence.
I suppose I could do this at the bed-and-breakfast — turn on the TV.
But I don’t.
I just live with the silence, and watch trains go by. The bed-and-breakfast is right next to the old Pennsy tunnel-entrance atop Allegheny summit.
Or drop what I was doing because a train was about to exit the tunnel.
We did pretty good, but only about 18 trains.
We had to do a lot of waiting.
Phil would hear a train on his scanner, but there wouldn’t be time to beat it to another location.
I can no longer drive at the speed of light. I had a stroke, and it makes me a slowpoke.
Also interesting is how the tracks through Altoona have been reconfigured since my last visit (June).
Track Three used to branch off Two and start at Altoona’s Amtrak station.
Now Track Two just runs straight through and becomes Track Three.
On Allegheny Crossing most of Track One is eastbound, but through Altoona it can accommodate either direction.
Crossovers have been installed to get westbounds on Track One over to Three for up The Hill.
Old Pennsy signal-bridges have been removed and replaced with new Norfolk Southern signal-towers. Red and green replace Pennsy yellow.
Alto Tower still stands, but it’s empty — it’s closed.
Altoona is no longer controlled by Alto Tower. It’s done by Pittsburgh.
To or from Altoona is a five-hour drive, about 251 miles.
But it’s mostly four-lane expressway. There is a small section south of Williamsport not limited-access, but it’s four-lane.
The only two-lane is a small portion in New York state, but expressway is being built next to it. It looks like it will open in a year or two.
And I use two-lane back-roads to get across New York, although not this time. Going down I used an interstate, but it’s roundabout. It took about the same time as my rural byways.
Most of my photographs were shot with strong telephoto.
Most before weren’t, but I’ve always wanted to use telephoto.
Some photos need the compression of strong telephoto; particularly faraway curves.
The lead photograph is an example. It reprises a photograph I’ve seen, but is even more extreme.
That photo is shot off a highway overpass.
Strong telephoto is always difficult.
The challenge is to hold the camera steady — and avoid blurring.
I have a shoulder-grip much like a rifle-stock, but the shutter on my new camera-body is no longer tripped by a cable-release.
I have to trip it with my finger.
The camera and telephoto were on my shoulder-grip, but everything was steadied on the bridge-girder.
I also have to wedge a finger under the shoulder-grip to get the proper angle.
Getting the telephoto on the camera-body is always a two- or three-minute process.
Which is why I shot normal before.
All my lenses are zoomers — I only have three.
I could zoom my normal out to 70 mm.
My strong telephoto is 70-300 mm.
Since installing it is so cumbersome, I just left it on.
Everything was shot telephoto; only one was normal.
The moving finger having writ moves on.
Beautiful Alto Tower is closed, and the old Pennsy signal-bridges are gone.
The last vestiges of the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad are disappearing.
Alto may find its way to the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona.
(Altoona used to be a main Pennsylvania Railroad operating venue. There were shops and equipment manufacture.)
Alto was re-roofed only a few years ago, and also repainted. (It’s wood.)
Rare General-Electric Dash 8-32BWH #513 pulls Amtrak passenger-train through Lilly. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Westbound stacker descends the west slope of The Hill through Lilly. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Helper-locomotives hold back the stacker (above) through Lilly. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
A slab-train descends The Hill through Portage. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Another stacker descends the east slope of The Hill toward CP Slope in Altoona. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
A van-train cruises westbound through Altoona. The tracks are now all through, and the signal-bridge that was once here is gone. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Another Norfolk Southern freight goes under the 17th St. bridge in Altoona. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
An Eastbound Norfolk Southern freight crosses over from Track One onto an express-track, after descending the east slope of The Hill. The new Norfolk Southern signals are above it. (There used to be a Pennsy signal-bridge at this location — Alto Tower is not in the picture to the right.) (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Westbound train 21M climbs the east slope of The Hill on Track Two. (Track Three [left of train], the normal westbound track, is out-of-service.) (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Helper locomotives help push the train in the lead picture up the West Slope of The Hill. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Another Norfolk Southern stacker descends the west slope of The Hill on Track Four. (There are five tracks at this location.) (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
• RE: “Sadness...” —My beloved wife of over 44 years died of cancer April 17, 2012. Like me she was 68. I miss her dearly.
• Phil Faudi (“FOW-dee;” as in “wow”) is the railfan extraordinaire from Altoona, PA, who supplied all-day train-chases for $125. —I did my first four years ago, alone, and it blew my mind. He called them “Adventure-Tours,” and that’s just what they were, railfan overload. Faudi would bring along his rail radio-scanner, tuned to 160.8, the Norfolk Southern operating channel, and he knew the whereabouts of every train, as the engineers called out the signals, and various lineside defect-detectors fired off. He knew each train by symbol, and knew all the back-roads, and how long it took to get to various photo locations — and also what made a successful photo — lighting, drama, etc. I’d let Phil do the monitoring. I have a scanner myself, but I left it behind. Phil knew every train on the scanner, where it was, and how long it took to beat it to a prime photo location. My first time was a slow day, yet we got 20 trains. Next Tour we got 30 trains in one nine-hour day. Phil gave it up; fear of liability suits, and a really nice car he’s afraid he’d mess up. Phil used to do the driving, but now the “tourist” (me) does.
• I live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester.
• “Pennsy” is the Pennsylvania Railroad, no longer in existence. It merged with New York Central Railroad in 1968 as Penn-Central, and that tanked in about eight years. “Pennsy” was once the largest railroad in the world.
• I had a stroke October 26, 1993, from which I pretty much recovered.
• “Helper locomotives” are locomotives added to a train (front and/or rear) to help it up a grade, and also hold it back downhill.
• “A slab-train” is train of open gondola-cars loaded with heavy steel slabs headed for a rolling-mill.
Uphill on Track One at the Route 53 overpass north of Cresson. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
I tried this last June, and it was probably a mistake.
Everything went wrong, and it was only a little over a month since my wife died, so I felt utterly depressed and out-of-it.
My Nikon D100 camera-body failed. I had to borrow the camera of my bed-and-breakfast owner.
It too failed, or so it seemed (it was unfamiliar).
It also started raining profusely, which made it impossible to shoot photographs outside, except under an underpass.
Between my wife’s recent death, my camera failing, and downpours I got utterly depressed.
Things went better this time, although the weather was marginal.
It was continually cloudy, and rained a little, though not downpours.
I had a new camera-body, an upgrade, and it went though the whole day without hairballs.
First time ever! I think this is my tenth “Tour” with Phil, and every one previous had some camera glitch.
Only last June was a complete camera-failure. Others I inadvertently solved.
Train-chases are a pleasant distraction — I’m a railfan, and have been since age-2 (I’m 68).
But sadness always awaits. When I get up at the bed-and-breakfast in the morning, no wife, I’m alone.
When I return to the bed-and-breakfast after the train-chase, again I’m alone, no wife.
And when I return home to West Bloomfield, it’s an empty house, no wife.
I have to turn on the radio to counteract the silence.
I suppose I could do this at the bed-and-breakfast — turn on the TV.
But I don’t.
I just live with the silence, and watch trains go by. The bed-and-breakfast is right next to the old Pennsy tunnel-entrance atop Allegheny summit.
Or drop what I was doing because a train was about to exit the tunnel.
We did pretty good, but only about 18 trains.
We had to do a lot of waiting.
Phil would hear a train on his scanner, but there wouldn’t be time to beat it to another location.
I can no longer drive at the speed of light. I had a stroke, and it makes me a slowpoke.
Also interesting is how the tracks through Altoona have been reconfigured since my last visit (June).
Track Three used to branch off Two and start at Altoona’s Amtrak station.
Now Track Two just runs straight through and becomes Track Three.
On Allegheny Crossing most of Track One is eastbound, but through Altoona it can accommodate either direction.
Crossovers have been installed to get westbounds on Track One over to Three for up The Hill.
Old Pennsy signal-bridges have been removed and replaced with new Norfolk Southern signal-towers. Red and green replace Pennsy yellow.
Alto Tower still stands, but it’s empty — it’s closed.
Altoona is no longer controlled by Alto Tower. It’s done by Pittsburgh.
To or from Altoona is a five-hour drive, about 251 miles.
But it’s mostly four-lane expressway. There is a small section south of Williamsport not limited-access, but it’s four-lane.
The only two-lane is a small portion in New York state, but expressway is being built next to it. It looks like it will open in a year or two.
And I use two-lane back-roads to get across New York, although not this time. Going down I used an interstate, but it’s roundabout. It took about the same time as my rural byways.
Most of my photographs were shot with strong telephoto.
Most before weren’t, but I’ve always wanted to use telephoto.
Some photos need the compression of strong telephoto; particularly faraway curves.
The lead photograph is an example. It reprises a photograph I’ve seen, but is even more extreme.
That photo is shot off a highway overpass.
Strong telephoto is always difficult.
The challenge is to hold the camera steady — and avoid blurring.
I have a shoulder-grip much like a rifle-stock, but the shutter on my new camera-body is no longer tripped by a cable-release.
I have to trip it with my finger.
The camera and telephoto were on my shoulder-grip, but everything was steadied on the bridge-girder.
I also have to wedge a finger under the shoulder-grip to get the proper angle.
Getting the telephoto on the camera-body is always a two- or three-minute process.
Which is why I shot normal before.
All my lenses are zoomers — I only have three.
I could zoom my normal out to 70 mm.
My strong telephoto is 70-300 mm.
Since installing it is so cumbersome, I just left it on.
Everything was shot telephoto; only one was normal.
The moving finger having writ moves on.
Beautiful Alto Tower is closed, and the old Pennsy signal-bridges are gone.
The last vestiges of the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad are disappearing.
Alto may find its way to the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona.
(Altoona used to be a main Pennsylvania Railroad operating venue. There were shops and equipment manufacture.)
Alto was re-roofed only a few years ago, and also repainted. (It’s wood.)
Rare General-Electric Dash 8-32BWH #513 pulls Amtrak passenger-train through Lilly. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Westbound stacker descends the west slope of The Hill through Lilly. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Helper-locomotives hold back the stacker (above) through Lilly. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
A slab-train descends The Hill through Portage. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Another stacker descends the east slope of The Hill toward CP Slope in Altoona. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
A van-train cruises westbound through Altoona. The tracks are now all through, and the signal-bridge that was once here is gone. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Another Norfolk Southern freight goes under the 17th St. bridge in Altoona. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
An Eastbound Norfolk Southern freight crosses over from Track One onto an express-track, after descending the east slope of The Hill. The new Norfolk Southern signals are above it. (There used to be a Pennsy signal-bridge at this location — Alto Tower is not in the picture to the right.) (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Westbound train 21M climbs the east slope of The Hill on Track Two. (Track Three [left of train], the normal westbound track, is out-of-service.) (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Helper locomotives help push the train in the lead picture up the West Slope of The Hill. (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
Another Norfolk Southern stacker descends the west slope of The Hill on Track Four. (There are five tracks at this location.) (Photo by BobbaLew with Phil Faudi.)
• RE: “Sadness...” —My beloved wife of over 44 years died of cancer April 17, 2012. Like me she was 68. I miss her dearly.
• Phil Faudi (“FOW-dee;” as in “wow”) is the railfan extraordinaire from Altoona, PA, who supplied all-day train-chases for $125. —I did my first four years ago, alone, and it blew my mind. He called them “Adventure-Tours,” and that’s just what they were, railfan overload. Faudi would bring along his rail radio-scanner, tuned to 160.8, the Norfolk Southern operating channel, and he knew the whereabouts of every train, as the engineers called out the signals, and various lineside defect-detectors fired off. He knew each train by symbol, and knew all the back-roads, and how long it took to get to various photo locations — and also what made a successful photo — lighting, drama, etc. I’d let Phil do the monitoring. I have a scanner myself, but I left it behind. Phil knew every train on the scanner, where it was, and how long it took to beat it to a prime photo location. My first time was a slow day, yet we got 20 trains. Next Tour we got 30 trains in one nine-hour day. Phil gave it up; fear of liability suits, and a really nice car he’s afraid he’d mess up. Phil used to do the driving, but now the “tourist” (me) does.
• I live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester.
• “Pennsy” is the Pennsylvania Railroad, no longer in existence. It merged with New York Central Railroad in 1968 as Penn-Central, and that tanked in about eight years. “Pennsy” was once the largest railroad in the world.
• I had a stroke October 26, 1993, from which I pretty much recovered.
• “Helper locomotives” are locomotives added to a train (front and/or rear) to help it up a grade, and also hold it back downhill.
• “A slab-train” is train of open gondola-cars loaded with heavy steel slabs headed for a rolling-mill.
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posted by BobbaLew at 6:36 PM
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