My calendar for May 2020

SD40E helper shelters under a highway overpass to avoid a deluge. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

—It’s pouring rain!
My brother and I are set up under the Eighth Street overpass in Altoona (PA). Eighth Street is one of at least four overpasses in Altoona. It’s one-way eastbound, and the adjacent Seventh Street overpass is one-way westbound.
A fifth overpass is up in Juniata, just north of Altoona.
The railroad splits Altoona right down the middle, and years ago Altoona was the locus of operations for the Pennsylvania Railroad.
It is no more, and in fact the railroad is no longer Pennsy.
Now it’s Norfolk Southern, and lots of vacant land remains that was once Pennsy’s yards.
Altoona is just east of Allegheny Mountain, long ago a barrier to east-west trade across PA. New York’s Erie Canal opened up trade with the midwest first, and Philadelphia capitalists worried. A PA state project responded before Pennsy, but it was so cumbersome Philadelphia capitalists sought to do better. Most of the project was a state canal, but Allegheny Mountain had to be portaged.
Ergo, the Pennsylvania Railroad, what soon became a main trading conduit to-and-from the east-coast megalopolis.
Allegheny Mountain remained a challenge. Pennsy had to add helper-locomotives to conquer the mountain.
6301, an SD40E is a helper-locomotive. The railroad still uses helpers to get trains over the mountain.
An SD40E is an EMD SD50, modified and downrated by Norfolk Southern’s Juniata Shops north of Altoona. The SD40Es replaced SD40-2s long used in helper-service.
At 3,500 horsepower the SD50 was pushing its diesel-engine so hard it became unreliable.
Helper-sets are two SD40Es coupled together.
During the downpour a helper-set led by 6301 ventured toward us. But only one locomotive was running. The other had to be started.
Starting an SD40E involves ministrations through open hood-doors. They’re done from that side walkway.
It’s pouring rain, so the helper-set moved under the Eighth Street bridge, so the crewman wouldn’t get soaked.
Here they were right next to us. I whipped my wide-angle onto my camera and snapped some pictures.
WHOOP! The dead unit started. (I think they start with compressed air.)
The helper-set then trundled away — to help yet another train up-and-down Allegheny Mountain.