Mixed signals

“Okay, where are ya?” I asked my brother-from-Boston via cellphone. “I’m approaching Tyrone.”
I was expecting him to be in Altoona already, photographing trains.
“Yer a week off,” he said. “I’m at work.”
“That’s wonderful,” I thought. “No money. No scanner.” All-of-a-sudden my trip to Altoona became just a vacation from reality.
Fortunately the railroad is busy enough to not hafta wait too long flying blind.
Normally I use a railroad-radio scanner to know where trains are, and my scanner needs to be replaced.
My brother always brings his.
There had been a misunderstanding. Our trip to Altoona was to be this coming weekend. I had it as this past weekend.
I didn’t get many photographs: only five worth sharing.
I wanted fall-foliage shots, but trees hadn’t turned much. Fall-foliage was almost nonexistent at lower altitudes.
I thought it might be better up on the mountain, and it was, sometimes.
My schtick was to be where light was good, and that’s only about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this time of year. —5:30 if I push it.
I also wanted to try new locations, and I knew the light would be right at those.
My first photo is off Oak Street overpass toward Ehrenfeld (PA) north (railroad east) of South Fork.
In back is the sewer-plant, and the train is hauling containers of trash.
All trash; a unit-train of trash.
The train was beastly long, and rated help up The Hill. Those two 6300s up front are a helper-set.


All trash. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

Not much fall-foliage.
My second picture is around 1:45. Any later and shadows become a problem — earlier is backlit.
The picture is in Gallitzin, top of the mountain.


Westbound stacker in Gallitzin. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

Still not much fall-foliage, even atop the mountain — at least not here in Gallitzin.
The tunnel is the original Pennsy tunnel enlarged to clear doublestacks. And it used to be only one track; now it’s two (Three and Two).
Track One is on the other side of town in New Portage tunnel.
The lead locomotive is one of the SD60Es, which I think are ugly.
It’s that brow over the windshield; the 6900s and 7000s are a Norfolk Southern rebuild of an SD-60, repowered with a new 4,000 horsepower engine. (Originally 3,800 horsepower.)
Plus it also has the new so-called “Crescent Cab,” which has that brow.
The sun was out, and pretty strong. Only thin cirrus.
The third photo is strong telephoto of a westbound stacker emerging from the old Pennsy tunnel in Gallitzin.


Oh well..... (Milepost 248, top of The Hill.) (Photo by BobbaLew.)

I don’t think much of this photograph; telephoto often bombs.
The next photo is at UN (telegraph address), where a helper-loop looped back toward Altoona, so helpers up The Hill could go back down.
UN is just west of Gallitzin.


Only one red tree. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

This is my best shot, but only one tree is changed.
The westbound on Three was passing an eastbound on Two.
“Was it a wide-cab?” my brother asked.
“Yep.” I said.
It’s a calendar-picture, but fall-foliage I don’t know.
My final picture is at Bennington Curve, where Pennsy’s Red Arrow cracked up in 1947. It came down “The Slide” too fast, then flew off the track into a ravine at Bennington Curve.
The Slide was 2.36% at that time — now it’s 2.28% — not too steep, but fairly. It’s a ramp up to New Portage tunnel, part of a new Portage railroad put in by the state to make its Public Works System more attractive.
Public Works was a combination canal and railroad meant to compete with NY’s Erie Canal.
Allegheny Mountain couldn’t be canaled, so was portaged with a railroad. That railroad originally had inclined planes.
Canal boats got put on railroad flatcars that got winched up the planes.
A new portage railroad was later installed devoid of inclined planes.
New Portage tunnel is slightly higher than the original Pennsy tunnel.
Pennsy put Public Works out of business, bought it for peanuts, and abandoned everything but the tunnel and New Portage Railroad’s right-of-way.
Later both were reactivated to add to Pennsy’s capacity over the mountain.
The railroad has been again abandoned, but New Portage tunnel is still used. First it had two tracks, but now only has one: Track One eastbound.
I didn’t know whether I could get to Bennington Curve. Phil Faudi (“FOW-dee;” as in “wow”) and I went there a few years ago, but you hafta use the old Portage right-of-way to get to the road to it.
That right-of-way is now an access-road, and is sometimes locked.
Phil is the railfan from Altoona I once chased trains with.
The road to Bennington is not fully visible in Google Satellite-views, nor is it marked.
The access-road wasn’t locked this time.
Down the dirt-track to Bennington I charged. It was after 4, but I knew the sun would be directly into the curve.
I also knew Amtrak’s westbound Pennsylvanian was coming, so I waited at Benny.
The sun was still out, shining directly into the trees, which were stridently colored.


Amtrak 07T, the westbound Pennsylvanian. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

Finally Amtrak’s westbound Pennsylvanian appeared. It was nearing 5:30. The sun was still on the trees, but the train was falling into shadow.
The picture has color, but I think it’s stupid. A mere side-elevation which shows how plain Amtrak’s GENESIS© units are.
Supposedly they’re more crash-worthy, and have fuel-tanks where they won’t rupture.
But I think they look stupid.
As I understand it (I may not be right), the people that styled these things also styled the recent Cadillacs. Chisel it!

• “Reality” is the fact my wife died over four years ago, so I live alone (with our dog). It ain’t easy.