My calendar for November 2018

Juniata Shops. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

—The November 2018 entry of MY calendar is Norfolk Southern’s Juniata Shops (part of Pennsy’s Altoona Works).
My brother poo-poos this picture, which I think is fabulous. It’s not one of his perfectly-lit, in-yer-face photos of a hard-charging Norfolk Southern freight locomotive.
It’s a view Wikipedia uses in its Juniata Shops entry. Juniata Shops, an addition to Pennsylvania Railroad’s Altoona Works, was built 1920-’25. It’s a gigantic facility in Juniata, PA, just north of Altoona.
Pennsy happened to put together the makings of a fabulous photograph. Sixth St. in Juniata goes right next to the shop turntable. An old iron-rod fence keeps pedestrians away from the turntable. It’s not chainlink so I can shoot between the rods.
I went through the Shops after Norfolk Southern took over in 1999. All I remember is a giant V16 locomotive motor suspended from an overhead crane.
The Shops erected steam-locomotives, and also serviced ‘em. With dieselization the Shops converted to service and build diesels. The Shops even built diesels as a subcontractor. Parts were supplied, then assembled and painted. Some of Conrail’s EMD road-units were built by Juniata Shops.
The Shops continued into Penn-Central, then Conrail. In my humble opinion a primary reason Norfolk Southern wanted the ex-Pennsy lines of Conrail was to get Juniata Shops.
Long lines of locomotives wait outside for reconditioning, including recent castoffs from other railroads. Many are Union Pacific. Yer liable to see an operating Union Pacific castoff in a train. It hasn’t been repainted yet.
Were it not for Juniata Shops, Norfolk Southern wouldn’t be rebuilding castoffs.
Pennsylvania Railroad K-4s Pacific 1361 (4-6-2), at one time operable, but now apart to be restored for display, was built in 1918 at Juniata Shops.
1361 was the K-4 PRR displayed at Horseshoe Curve. It was later removed for restoration and operation. It quickly broke something — a drive-axle I think, or ruined a bearing.
Long ago seeing 1361 at the Mighty Curve, my mother liked that it was built in “Juanita.”