Eastern Rare-Mileage Trip
"The Pacific Express"

Pittsburgh-Altoona
Aug. 8th

Photos by Dave Ingles

For Monday, our last day of the Pacific Express, we will take the Conemaugh Line, long sought on these charter trip itineraries but guaranteed this time as we are eastbound, as that is the direction NS uses almost exclusively for this 78-mile water-level route to Conpit, the mainline junction near Johnstown. We pull out of the Amtrak depot at 703 a.m, back up at 709 as a westbound RoadRailer is passing, cross the Allegheny, and arrive CP Penn at 7:22.

Amtrak's Pennsylvanian, parked on Track 3 for the night, will leave shortly for Philly and New York.

Looking west on the Allegheny to the "three rivers" confluence. The light towers of PNC Park are visible at the right.

Up the Conemaugh line on the Allegheny's west bank we go, leaving CP Penn at 7:28 and passing under the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Bessemer & Lake Erie's bridge at 7:52.

Passing thru Tarantum at 8:06.

Along here, Allegheny Ludlum has a multiple-plant complex, with its own railroad connecting them, on the east (river) side of the old PRR. We watch for their many "critter" units like this one, a GE 65- or 80-tonner, probably.

Row houses along the tracks; the track visible is Allegheny Ludlum's "interplant main line."

An out of service 135-tonner (I'm guessing, but it's a newer GE than in the previous photo).

Looking north at Kiski Jct. at 8:19, across the bridge over the Kiskiminetas River, which empties into the Allegheny (which we've just crossed) to the left. We have turned southeast away from the Allegheny. Beyond this bridge in Schenley, PA, is the Kiski Jct. tourist line we rode on a Bart Jennings arranged outing in 2010. PRR originated Pittsburgh commuter trains on two routes here at Kiski Jct. into the 1960's. There used to be a diamond crossing here, obviously, of two PRR routes.

The 27-mile-long Kiskiminetas River (you can see why they just call it the "Kiski").

At 9:23 we pass a Conemaugh River dam. At Saltsburg, the Conemaugh River -- namesake for the PRR route -- and Loyalhanna Creek combine to form the Kiskiminetas River.

We have arrived at Conpit junction on NS's ex-PRR main line at 10:02, ending our new mileage; two SD50 rebuild pushers await their next duty. We exchange crews and depart at 10:09, and are instructed to stay off the platforms on the main line until after the Gallitzin tunnels, where we begin the descent down around Horseshoe Curve and into Altoona.

Past Gallitzin, we ease downgrade eastward on the south track.

Waiting for an upbound train, we stop at MP 244 near MG (Mid-Grade) Tower, which still stands, empty, from 11:22 until 11:40.

Alto Tower, the last one staffed in this region, crosses us over to the north track to go into Altoona station so Chuck Weinstock and I can disembark, at 12:10 p.m. The Pacific Express will continue on to Philadelphia to end its 4-day odyssey, at 30th St. Station. Chuck de-trained from PRR 120 at the rear of the train, while I detrained from Caritas, assisted by passengers Al Butler of the Boston area (wearing our souvenir Pacific Express hat) and John Harmon of Lawrenceville, NJ. John is "back in the mileage game" after a 2-year hiatus waiting for a kidney transplant, which was successful last Christmas. His wife, Elaine, also was a Pacific Express passenger. Warrior Ridge rider (and fellow Waukesha resident) Pete Stonitsch filed this post-Altonna synopsis: The Pacific Express met or overtook 8 trains after Altoona, including waiting for Amtrak #43 behind a crossover at Duncannon. After refueling at Harrisburg, we averaged 70 mph for most of the remaining miles [per speedometer in the PRR 120] and arrived 30th Street on Track 10 about 1750 EDT. Rick and I cruised through the SEPTA ticket line and found ourselves on the platform at 1800, along with half our compatriots from Warrior Ridge.

I posed Chuck on the Altoona platform as the Warrior Ridge passed in departing. Chuck had rented a one-way car back to Pittsburgh, so we fought our way into the depot and turned in our tickets for two business-class seats on the Pennsylvanian, which would've meant a 5-hour wait downtown. The Amtrak agent of course didn't know about the special, or would have unlocked the doorways and elevator; we used stairways up and over the adjacent street and exited by a parking lot next to the bus-train depot. He said he'd have gone out to see the special had he known about it.

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