Altoona PA 06.08.14: When It Trains, It Pours
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- If one train is good, and two is better, then five must be a riot.
Just 12 minutes after the eastbound coal drag and manifest went down the mountain side by side, we heard the sound of another train descending the grade. At 12:52, C44-9Ws 9237, 9686, 9478, and 9129 led a long consist of UPS, FedEx, and other high-priority intermodal traffic into the Curve on track 2. The tail end of the intermodal was just passing the Curve park when C40-8W 8369 and C40-8 8725 entered the picture, leading a manifest on track 1. The pair slowed their train as they chased the intermodal around the Curve, and finally came to a stop with SD40E helpers 6326 and 6323 sitting in front of the park.
The trains weren't the only thing heading downhill - while the 6326 and 6323 waited with their train, the sky began to take on a foreboding color. Twenty minutes after the manifest rolled to a stop, our attention was drawn back to the tracks as we heard another train coming, and this time - finally - it was a westbound. The manifest continued to wait as SD70M 2633, C44-9W 9688, C40-9 8874, and C44-9W 9313 charged upgrade with an intermodal at 1:19.
A few minutes later we heard another eastbound approaching, but something sounded different this time, more squealy than usual. We soon found out why as SD70M 2612 and SD60 6606 came out from behind the trees, riding their brakes to bring their train to a stop on the grade safely behind the manifest that still waited in the distance on the same track. As the duo brought their train slowly down to a stop, another sound joined the chorus. Pop...pop...pop pop...the clouds were beginning to release their payload, and more and more droplets were breaching the canopy of leaves above us. Still, we remained dry - for the time being.
At 1:42, the rear of the first train finally started to move again. After a brief wait to give him a head start, the 2612 and 6606 slowly got their own train underway as well. The pair had just passed the edge of the park when they were met by another westbound, this time a manifest led by C44-9Ws 9298 and 9889 and SD40E 6333. The westbound was both shorter and faster though, and the eastbound was soon left alone again to continue its careful descent. While I always had a small rain cover for the camera on hand, I had not brought up any protection for myself, and Chip and Jordan were similarly vulnerable. We held out long enough to watch SD40Es 6319, 6300, 6316, and 6305 flexing their dynamic-braking muscles into the distance while holding back the train, after which we came to an easy unanimous decision to pack up and hightail it back down to shelter in our cars.
#trains #railfanning #railroad #train #pennsylvania #travel
Great video capturing the congestion on track one. Even more dramatic in the rain. Excellent video Dave.
Nice to see EMD Standard Cabs. Thanks.
It's getting harder and harder to see them on Horseshoe. The SD40Es were taken out of the helper pool and reassigned to local duties, and many of the SD40-2s that remain have had their cabs rebuilt among other things. The Geeps still retain the original nose in most cases, but about the only time you'll see them on this line are on the local late at night or very early in the morning. I'm hardly ever awake early enough to see them on the livestreaming web cam at the Curve. 😁
Excellent footage... good composition, good location and good quality audio.
It also looks like the museum members have to start cutting the trees on the inside of the curve for good viewing. They cut the trees down in 2004.... looks like it is time again. !!!!
ctfireapparatus Thanks! The story I've heard is that NS is reluctant to let anyone cut the trees because they are 'worried about erosion'. Apparently folks have volunteered time and resources to do the job and have been turned away. I would love to shoot from the park at least once with my surround mic (the original footage in this clip was recorded with 5.1 surround sound; UA-cam downsamples it to stereo), but the view is so grown in I'm not sure it would be worth it. Perhaps it's better in the fall leaf season when the foliage has thinned out a bit. Hmm...
***** that's too bad... have they forgotten that it is a railfan paradise and a Pennsylvania TOURIST destination. They should do what they can to accommodate TOURIST viewers and RAILFAN viewers !!!!
Many thanks for a great reminder of a day in 2005 during my second railfan trip to the USA (from UK). Horseshoe Curve was almost as busy as here - but the weather was warm and sunny. This is a wonderful place, which I read about as a kid and in the end just had to visit. Maybe I'll be back!
The first train was beautiful!
Awesome video!
Thanks!
Gotta Love That Curve!! :)
nice video, i gotta get out there next year a few times.
Awesome video- thank you for sharing!
we have a Horseshoe curve on the layout at Elmhurst Model railroad club
Superb videos!
someday i will go there, SOMEDAY!
looks like a great spot. and best of all its free
i want to go here for a week
I love it!
So, what was the problem with the back-ups for the eastbounds?
Maybe NS should have kept ALTO in service?😃
Mikey300 No idea. My suspicion was that the intermodal that went down 2 had to cross over in front, but we never overheard anything on the scanner that would have explained the holdup.
You mean Conrail!
hey fastflyingvirginain how do u get to that spot in the beginning of the video of altoona horseshoe curve
Nice actions and catches, even in that rainy weather! How did you get to that spot over there?
On the tunnel portal facing away from the park, there's a path up the left side and over the top, and then on up the hill. Once you're at the top, the ledge I'm on is off to the right. It's a good climb in places, but as you can see the view is rewarding. :)
***** Cool! I actually like that view better than the normal Horseshoe Curve view. Plus it can be a little easier to catch 3 way meets without getting any of the trains fully blocked out. Do you still have to pay to get to that spot?
CottonBeltSD40T Nope, it's all highly unofficial, and not a spot I would recommend to the general public really. But be careful on the climb (up and down), don't act like a bonehead and get close to the tracks, and it's all good.
***** Got it. I'll think about that next time I go to Horseshoe Curve.
Excellent footage. Can I ask what Camcorder you used and how do you get to that particular spot?
+TheFloydReport The camera is a Canon HF-G10 with a Canon SM-V1 5.1-channel microphone. You can get to the spot up the outside of the curve without having to venture near the tracks. NS does not play games when it comes to patrolling the area, so being on your best behavior and staying as far back as possible is paramount.
***** Understood. Thank you.
Great footage.
Have you been to the curve after they cleared all the trees? Do you still have yet to visit?
I was up Memorial Day weekend, and it is an awesome sight. Even looking back at my oldest video from there (August 1994), it is clearer than it was back then; basically a clear shot as far as you can see to either end of the horseshoe. It is now possible to aim east over the reservoir and see both ends of the same train in a single shot. This latest trip was the first time I have ever filmed from the Curve park with my current camera and its surround sound microphone, so I'm eager to see and hear the results. I just need to work through my backlog of other material first...
Yup. Definitely calls for a fourth track. Think NS can squeeze one in there?
WhiteCamry Absolutely they could - it was 4 tracks here until Conrail took out the third one in 1981. Rumors of its return have been floating around ever since.
Those were some long trains.
Take clothes pins for your nose if you go there as most trains today haul garbage.
Any info on your rain cover for the camera?
Back when this was shot, I was simply using a cover that came with the camera bag and was meant to cover the bag, but I never actually used it for that. Nowadays I use a bigger cover for the camera that is actually meant for a DSLR, but it fits my HF-G10 well enough. It has two cutouts on the side for your hands to reach the controls, and another cutout on the front for the lens barrel, all 3 are adjustable via pinch-lock drawstrings. The rear of the cover is transparent, and I've found it has enough room that I can open the LCD viewfinder and see well enough to operate. My biggest problem more often than not is keeping droplets off the lens filter.
How do you get to that spot
You have to climb up the hill from road level on the outside of the curve. There is more than one way up, but if I go I take a route that avoids any walking along the tracks (which is a surefire way to get called in for trespassing).
FFV
INFO....
I watched the video a few times 2 weeks ago and enjoyed it, but when I wanted to watch it again last week the video no longer works on YT on my end! Tried to play it in IE, Firefox, Chrome browsers and won't play at all. Also doesn't play at all on all my Desktop, Laptop, Phone and Notebook Browsers on my end! It's been like that for a week now!
Bob
snowgoosebob If it makes you feel any better, I just tried it from my page and see the same thing - it doesn't even try to start buffering. I tried a couple of newer clips and they play fine, but some clips uploaded around the same time as this one don't play well either; when I try to switch to HD they freeze. Unfortunately, about all we can do is raise the issue in the forums and hope UA-cam can unscrew whatever's going on.
***** Cool...Now the video is working after a week of not working! Time to now replay it in 1080p HD for the first time on my living room 50" flat screen TV! This will really get my wife mad now! She gets pissed when I play train video's on that living room TV! Now I'M going to have fun! Teeeee heeeee heeee & LOL
snowgoosebob Glad to hear it's working again; I tried it this morning on my tablet and it played okay. We have a 46-inch LED TV in the living room that I often test my clips on to get a different perspective on how the color works on something other than my computer monitors. I don't have a home theater setup on it though, so if I really want to wake the neighbors I play the clips back on my computer, where I have a set of THX 5.1 surround speakers plugged in. Those westbounds sound really nice piped through a 10-inch subwoofer. :)
Love piggy back
11:23 wait do i see a prr gp7 at the left side
GP9 7048. It has been on display at the Curve since 1985.
I will smoke a Bowl and Watch from home
At 4:20, I'm assuming.