Because the trolley museum generated much of the non-signal content in this set I just decided to use it for the headline. Anyway, since we didn't have all day to spend at the museum I am sure there is a lot of stuff I missed, however that means this set also includes NS action on the PRR Main Line west of Huntingdon including locations such as Allison Road, Fostoria and Altoona's Rose Yard. You can find the full set of photos here (or here).
We begin with Newark City Subway PRR car #6 sitting on the storage track adjacent to the main museum building. I believe that this was the heritage painted car on the NCS and did not need to be re-painted by the museum. Somewhere I have a film photograph of this car operating on the NSC days before the line closed in 2001.
Car #311 is a former Johnstown car in a wonderful orange livery similar to that used in Baltimore. The thing on the front that looks like a bicycle rack is actually a pedestrian safety device that scoops up wayward jay walkers before they can be mangled by the running gear.
Hiding between buildings is a 1936 art deco Philadelphia Bridge Line car. Fortunately this beautiful class of rapid transit car is well represented in preservation.
Car #172 is an immigrant from the tram system in Porto, Portugal.
This relatively modern fellow is a Siemens–Duewag U2 from the San Diego Trolley. As more of the older Light Rail systems approach their 40-year anniversaries there will be more and more of a need to preserve their equipment. The U2 design, dating from 1965, is likely still able to be maintained with basic tools, but increasingly computer controlled vehicles may actually be less preservable than their analogue counterparts. Anyway, here car #1019 sits at the Orbisonia Station where museum visitors purchase their passes. The San Diego transportation agency away a number of U2's to museums in exchange for PCCs and PCC components in order to create a historic streetcar operation in downtown San Diego.
Heading out on the museum's "main line" we find a stretch of dual gauge track that is shared with the adjacent East Broad Top Railroad. The EBT is a preserved narrow gauge coal hauling railroad that operated until 2013 before going on hiatus when the family that owned it grew tired of subsidizing the losses. The Rockhill Museum uses the former EBT Shade Gap branch and support for the 3 foot gauge track is needed as the museum was built around the EBT's turning wye. Also note that the Rockhill Museum operates on standard gauge despite generally preserving Pennsylvania streetcars built to the 5' 2.25" Pennsylvania Trolley Gauge.
Approaching the Shade Gap station with cars #172 and #163 already waiting to return.
View of the museum's "main line".
#163 is a former York, PA streetcar and one of only 5 of it's type ever built. It was converted into a house, purchased by the museum in 1972 and then restored to operation over 17 years.
PCC #6 was pulled out for a run. You may not have noticed, but there is no turning loop at the far end of the line. As a result single ended cars like the PCC need to be retrofitted with a second trolley pole and then reversed back down the line.
Ok, switching gears here we enter the PRR Main Line portion of the day. First up is the Allison Road signal bridge seen here displaying a Clear signal indication for an approaching movement on track #2.
The movement in question is a doublestack intermodal train hauled by NS C44-9W's #9502 and #9978.
I was then lucky enough to catch Amtrak train #43, the westbound Pennsylvanian as it was not surprisingly following behind the slower NS freight. Power was being provided by Amtrak P42DC #122.
My next stop was the Milepost 208 PRR PL mast signals where I caught an eastbound doublestack train led by NS C44-9W #9139 and NS SD70M-2 #2659.
Next was a brief stop at the Amtrak Tyrone, PA station where the old PRR depot is now used by some sort of historical society.
The park around the Tyrone station features some historic cabeese.
Next up was the famous 3-track Milepost 227 signal bridge at Fostoria, PA.
First up was an eastbound oil train on the long controlled siding powered by NS standard cab SD70 #2516 and C44-9W #9128.
The second train I caught at Fostoria was a westbound doublestack intermodal led by a pair of NS C44-9W's, #9261 and #9056.
As the light faded the last stop of the day was the Altoona 8th St bridge that crossed the PRR Main Line west of CP-HOMER and just east of the Rose Yard. Working the yard that day was a pair of NS GP38-2s, #5631 and #5635.
Heading east on track #1 yet another doublestack intermodal train roared under the road bridge led by NS C44-9W #9717
This then passed the westbound train I had caught at Fostoria as it had stopped at CP-ANTIS for a helper pack to be coupled onto the year. In previous decades, westbound trains would stop west of ALTO tower for helpers waiting in special pocket tracks to pop out and attach. However the growing length of trains meant that this would force them to stop well onto the steep east slope of the Alleghenies. This moved helper operations eastward and now westbound trains will hold west of either CP-WORKS or CP-ANTIS for helper sets to hook up. Here we have a video of the same intermodal train led by NS C44-9W's #9261 and #9056 as it gets rolling again to assault the East Slope and the famous Horseshoe Curve.
Attached to the rear was a typical NS helper set consisting of two SD40E's, #6332 and #6300. These were rebuilt from SD50s and were down-rated to 3000hp from 3600hp to make the early EMD 645F engines more reliable.
At this point my friend and I lost light and decided to find dinner and head to the hotel. Next time we hit Horseshoe Curve, Gallitzin, Cresson and the PRR's West Slope.
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