My calendar for January 2019

“BAMP-BAMP-BA-BAMP!”(Photo by BobbaLew.)


—“04T, east on Two, 242; CLEAR!”
That was on my railroad-radio scanner.
“He’s not even to Altoona yet.” It was about 8:45 a.m.
I was in my motel room in Hollidaysburg, PA south of Altoona, glomming my egg-sausage McMuffin.
“04T” is Amtrak’s eastbound Pennsylvanian, “Two” is Track Two, “242” is the milepost signal location (from Philadelphia), and “CLEAR” is the signal aspect.
Every time a train’s engineer passes a trackside signal, he must call out the signal aspect on railroad-radio. My brother and I know where those signals are, except I was alone this time.
“He’s still gotta stop in Altoona. I might be able to beat him farther east.”
I quickly glommed the rest of my McMuffin, then threw everything in my car. Camera, tripod, etc. It was bitter cold, about five degrees.
I zoomed toward I-99, which goes up the same valley as the railroad.
He’s gotta stop in Altoona, then Tyrone. I might be able to beat him to Plummers. He would be into the sun eastbound, and the sun was out.
Tyrone is where the old Pennsylvania Railroad turned east toward Harrisburg. The railroad is now Norfolk Southern, and Amtrak runs on it. Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian is the only passenger-train left on this storied cross-state railroad. It’s state sponsored, and there used to be hundreds. The Pennsylvanian runs both eastbound and westbound.
Bombing toward Tyrone at 70 mph; “04T, east on Two, 227; CLEAR!” That’s Fostoria; I’m even with him.
“04T, east on Two, 225; CLEAR!” That’s McFarlin’s; still even.
Off I-99 at Tyrone, east on 453 toward Plummers Crossing. It looks like I might beat him.
“04T, pulling into Tyrone station for the station-stop.”
I’m about a mile east of Tyrone, and hear a single horn-blast = stopped.
His Tyrone station-stop is at most three minutes; I hear two short horn-blasts: “04T, east on Two, leaving Tyrone station.”
By now I’m out of my car, running around back into position. I hear the locomotive throttling up. Camera on; check!
There he is. I’m gonna get that sucker!
The January 2019 entry of MY calendar is Amtrak’s eastbound Pennsylvanian charging Plummers Crossing.