From extreme heat to cold and rain today! I almost thought I was in New England for a second with the drastic weather changes. Today we were on a mission to get two heritage units the “Virginian” and “Illinois Terminal”. We were able to photograph these two units earlier in the week. We started the morning in Lilly at a new location near the downtown area. After waiting a few hours we got the Virginian leading heading eastbound (NS 26T). Thankfully we had a break in the rain storms while it passed. After that, we made our way to Vito’s for Lunch in Cresson.
After lunch, we kept a watchful eye on the status of “Illinois Terminal” on the Heritage Unit App and the local Facebook group page. While doing some rail-fanning in Cresson we learned that the “Illinois Terminal” train set stalled making its way up the mountain to the Horseshoe Curve. After a little while, we heard it was back on the move. We made our way west to Carney’s Crossing there was already a few rail-fans set up ready and waiting for the late westbound NS 67X. The heritage unit wasn’t in the lead so it is harder to photograph. I was able to grab a few photos. I’m happy I was able to get it going eastbound leading earlier in the week.
Later in the afternoon, we made our way back east on the Pittsburgh Line to downtown Altoona. We made a stop at the Boyer Candy Company to stock up on Jimmy Sticks and Mallow Cups to take back home with us. At this point, it was steady rain so the best spot for keeping dry is the covered walking bridge over the right of way. I was able to photograph a few east and west bounds. It made me a little sad our week in Altoona was almost done.
It was an awesome week I got to photograph two Norfolk Southern heritage units I haven’t gotten before and got to photograph a few I’ve already seen. It was nice to railfan with my dad for the week. I see a lot of railfans out there doing it solo it is nice to have some company. It warms my heart to see railfans young to old a mix of male and females out there watching the trains.
It’s been a great week in Altoona I can’t wait to come back here again! It’s been fun blogging about each day’s events.
