Today we got on the road early and found a shady spot trackside at milepost 253.2 in Lilly. PA. We had our camp chairs set-up but, it seemed every time we tried to sit another train was coming, trust me that’s not a bad thing. It was pretty non-stop for most of the morning. Throughout the morning I kept an eye on the local Facebook group and Heritage Unit app for any upcoming heritage locomotives. My first and so far my favorite the “Virginian” was making it way eastbound through Pittsburgh [NS #20Q]. We had a little time and we needed a break from the heat so we made a trip to Sheetz in Cresson. Sheetz is a local convenience chain in Central Pennsylvania its know for “Made-to-Order” food. I’ve got to say it a great place for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while rail-fanning. They have a wide variety of foods from subs, burgers, pizzas, breakfast items, milkshakes, ice cream, and so much more. I’m not kidding the food is really good!
We didn’t want to miss “Virginian” so we got set up east of the Gallitzin tunnels where the lines join back together at milepost 246.1E. We were able to set up in a shady spot again. This time it was pretty quite for a while then we had a few westbounds and then we saw it rolling eastbound, but our view was blocked. Thankful I was able to get some clear shots of the “Virginian” passing after the westbound cleared MP 246.1E.
Later in the day we made our way to downtown Altoona and we were able to catch the Nickel Plate Road heading back westbound [NS #21T]. It wasn’t leading so it was a cool surprise.
Tomorrow morning we hope to start our day at the Horseshoe Curve. We hope to catch the eastbound Amtrak “Pennsylvanian” and with any luck another heritage unit. I’m sure my rail-fanning friend and coworker Rich Carlson will be looking for us on the Virtual Railfan web camera.
