2006 February Railvation – Day 4
2/20/06
Home | Days 1-2 | Day 3 | Day 4
The last day of this wonderful experience dawned cold over the Alleghenies. According to the Weather Channel, the day should have been about 10 degrees warmer. The wicked wind chill that was present on Day 3 and to a greater extent on Day 2, wasn't nearly as bad on Day 4.
A day of mixed emotions – glad to be headed home, very very sad to leave.
Although we had been by it several times in the course of our journeys to other railfan locations, we hadn't actually been to Horseshoe Curve yet. That was the objective for our last dose of Pennsylvanian Railfanning before we headed home.
We reached the Curve at 0852. The first action was at 0853 – a helper set comprised of 3340 and 3338 heading East.
After taking the mandatory group photos at the Curve, we got down to some serious railfanning.
Westbound coal drag going up the hill at 0926, with 9977 and 9972, both in Gray Primer, rolling up track three.
Next was a westbound helper move at 0935, 3342 and 3335 rolling up track three.
0950 saw a westbound under the signal bridges at the East end of the curve – 9746 and 8964 heading up a general freight.
Next up was the Westbound PPL loaded coal train – under the signal bridge on the east end of the curve at 1005. 3432, 3423 and 3350 heading up the grade on track 3.
While the PPL was rolling West, at 1008, an Eastbound general freight under the command of NS 9331 and UP 4534 rolled East on track 1. Helping with the braking on the end were the two helpers, 3374 and 3367.
Interesting to note this train had a SLC double door box (the very same SLC double door that we saw earlier on day 2, car 40574) and an ex Guilford Rail System tank car, now owned by Procor.
At just about 1015, we headed down the curve steps.
Down at the bottom, we said our good byes to Charles Kadyk who was headed back to his new home, and to Phil Faudi, our official tour guide.
At this time we'd like to give our sincere thanks to Phil Faudi, who gave up his Saturday, Sunday and Monday to give us the grand tour of the Altoona area. His excellent knowledge of both the photospots and schedule of operations were an asset to all of us, and we couldn't have done it without him. Phil's tireless efforts as a employee of the Horseshoe Curve Historical Site and his volunteer work for the appearance restoration efforts that have opened up the Horseshoe Curve to photos from all angles made the curve portion of our trip much more enjoyable.
THANKS PHIL!
We'd also like to extend our thanks to Rita Faudi for the loan of her husband, Phil, for the weekend. A self proclaimed Horseshoe Curve Widow, Rita often stays home while Phil has all the fun.
THANKS RITA!
Another contributor to the appearance restoration efforts at the Curve is Mike Kranyak, owner of the Tunnel Inn located at the tunnels in Gallitzin. Mike provides an excellent railfanning vantage point combined with a bed and breakfast at the Tunnel Inn. The décor and names of the rooms at the Tunnel Inn are all Pennsylvania Railroad themed, and all have visual access to the tracks, the second story has a track viewing platform. An experience not to be missed – the Tunnel Inn is truly a railfanners paradise, with complimentary Track Snacks.
Thank you Mike for being such a great host!
For those of you who haven't visited the Altoona area yet, or would like to see an account of our visit, tune in to your local cable access television station, for the Great Falls Model Railroad Club's TRAIN TIME. Check your local listings for time and channel. TRAIN TIME tells a 30-minute story about a train near you. Produced entirely from volunteer videographers, from Maine and across the country.
Join us on our next trip!
For Paul Lodge, Brad Conant, Charles Kadyk and myself, we'll see you trackside! -Joey Kelley