Horseshoe Curve PA 10.09.10: Family Style

With my already-much-delayed railfan vacation in the Pennsylvania Alleghenies now delayed yet again (to mid-November), I spent the week plotting another day trip blitz along the lines of the one I pulled off in June 2008. As if that wasn't enough of a giant flaming pile of crazy, I had another thought - what if I convinced the rest of the F.F.V. clan to go with me? The missus and I had been eagerly anticipating the day we could introduce my train-addicted 3-year-old to Horseshoe Curve, there was great weather predicted with a dash of fall color to go with it, and they all could just sleep in the car while I handled the transport duties, right? Surprisingly I didn't need to sell the idea at all, and so at 3 AM Saturday we awoke, scooped up the kids into the van, and headed for the highway in darkness.

Just as in 2008, my timing was spot-on as we pulled into the parking lot at Horseshoe Curve just after opening and hitched a ride on the first funicular trip. Any worries about being skunked by a lack of traffic faded just after we got situated at one of the park's picnic tables. Droning dynamics and squealing flanges directed everyone's attention to the distant mountainside, straining for a glimpse of whatever was coming. The engineer indulged the crowd with liberal horn salutes as C40-9Ws 9498, 9653, and 9885 rolled mixed containers east at 10:50 AM.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Norfolk
• Southern
• freight
• train
• railroad
• intermodal
• doublestack
• container
• C40-9W
• Horseshoe
• Curve
• mountain
• fall
• color
• Altoona
• Pennsylvania
• HD
• hi
• def
• high
• definition

[generationll]

Would have liked to see a long coal train come thru there.

[FastFlyingVirginian]

@generationll Keep watching then. ;)

[iusetano]

The young FFV's enjoyed the experience I take it. One of my favourite places to railfan. Did you make it to Cassandra? I only wish they'd cut back the brush at the Curve. Excellent video.

[FastFlyingVirginian]

@iusetano Yes, our daughter was last up here with us in 2004, at Horseshoe's 150th anniversary celebration; it is all my 3-year-old can talk about today. I had thought about Cassandra, but we wound up finishing up at Cresson. I figured I am returning in November, so I wasn't in a hurry to hit too many locations.

[xxxDeath9572xxx]

The yahoo group was mentioning the fall colors are really starting to show up in the lower elevations... I'm really noticing it here.

[FastFlyingVirginian]

@xxxDeath9572xxx On that note, I couldn't find any place online that had up-to-date foliage maps. The Weather Channel site's map was always a week-plus behind this year.

[xxxDeath9572xxx]

Bad luck, plus the foliage isn't that great yet so it benefits.. Try for like 2 weeks from now if you want peak

[writesong]

I've been on that Horseshoe Curve several times when riding the AMTRAK between Chicago and Philadelphia.

It's fun looking from the window of your passenger car and seeing the front half of your train as it goes around the curve.

[FastFlyingVirginian]

@paterduum Thanks, it was a great way to start the day off. :)

[FastFlyingVirginian]

@xxxDeath9572xxx Yes, this was supposed to be the weekend I stayed at the Inn, but I missed confirming my reservation and lost the room, so now I'm looking to go the weekend before Thanksgiving.