Fervent pursuit of snow-pictures

Johnstown Tribune-Democrat photographer John Rucosky and Yrs Trly at South Fork, PA. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

—“I need snow pictures,” I kept saying; “I’m running out of snow pictures.”
Every year Yr Fthfl Srvnt produces a Shutterfly calendar with train-photos taken by my brother and I near Altoona, PA.
Altoona is where the old Pennsylvania Railroad crossed Allegheny Mountain.
Back around 1800 Allegheny Mountain was a barrier to trade between the East Coast colonies, and the newly opened midwest.
That mountain didn’t extend into New York State, so NY was able to build its Erie Canal.
PA built a combination canal/railroad system, but had to portage Allegheny Mountain.
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an attempt by Philadelphia capitalists to streamline trade with the Midwest, since that combination canal/railroad was so cumbersome and slow.
The idea was for Philadelphia to be better able to compete with New York City.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (“Pennsy”) became extremely successful, since it was very well-managed merging feeder-railroads accessing its system at Pittsburgh.
Pennsy disappeared after it merged with arch-rival New York Central Railroad in 1968 (Penn-Central). Penn-Central went bankrupt June 21, 1970.
So “Pennsy” is no more. Its railroad still exists, but as Norfolk Southern.
NS is now one of two major railroad-systems in the eastern USA. The other is CSX.
A lot of NS traffic flows over the railroad that once was Pennsy.
So my brother and I can expect a lotta trains over Allegheny Mountain on the old PRR line near Altoony.
While in South Fork, south of Altoony, a reporter/photographer for the Johnstown Tribune Democrat newspaper, named John Rucosky, stopped to meet us.
“Railfans,” he exclaimed. “I been up and down this Route-53 corridor interviewing business-owners that cater to railfans, but I’ve yet to meet any railfans.”
There we were, my brother and I, freezing in the snow, on a hill overlooking the curve at South Fork.
“This railroad is probably the best rail-fanning location in the entire country,” my brother exclaimed.
“Many trains, and pedal-to-the-metal climbing Allegheny Mountain.”
“Looks like fun,” Rucosky said. “I might hafta try it myself.”

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THURSDAY’S PICTURES

My brother drives from near Boston to Altoona on Wednesday — I drive down there on Thursday.
If he gets there early enough, and the light is still okay, he’ll take pictures on Wednesday.
He takes pictures himself all-day Thursday while I drive down.
If I get there early enough, we’ll join up and take pictures together.
Following are Thursday’s pictures, but only the last picture is mine.
(Rucosky called it the “Route-53 corridor.” My brother and I call it the “West-Slope.” The Railroad parallels PA State Highway 53.)

Train 590 (loaded coal) blasts east on One parallel to Thomastown Road (or Thomastown Road parallels the old Pennsy main toward Tyrone, PA). (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

Train 04t (Amtrak’s eastbound Pennsylvanian) makes its Tyrone station stop. Amtrak’s Heritage P-42, #145, is on the point (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

37a, westbound on Two, railroad west of Tyrone. —The old Route 220 highway overpass is in the background. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

776, eastbound on the siding toward Gray interlocking, railroad-west of Tyrone. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

#754, (a motorless slug that can lead) returns from Hollidaysburg into Altoona on the Cove Secondary. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

37a picks up cars in Altoony’s Rose yard. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

23m, westbound on Three, arrows into the curve next to South Fork. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

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FRIDAY’S PICTURES

A helper-set, eastbound on Two past South Fork, returns to Altoony for another help. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

25z, westbound on Three, passes South Fork. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

20r, eastbound on Two, passes South Fork. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

21g passes Portage on Two. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

34a, westbound on Three, passes Portage. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

22w has the Erie Heritage-Unit in the lashup. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

20t, eastbound on Two, passes Cresson. (Photo by Jack Hughes.)

23z, westbound on Three, passes under the MO signals. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

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******, my head-honcho lady-friend at the pharmacy I use in nearby Honeoye Falls, to whom I will give this blog link for her son, who like me is a railfan, tells me my brother and I are “amazing.”
What I would tell her instead is we are “nuts.” (One dude is 77 years old; outside in freezing cold three hours.)