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I've been to Altoona seven times since 1995 so I know a lot about the area. I will give you a guide to the area. First, the Altoona area is packed with cool things, like two amusement parks, one by the tracks, some museums, a mall(not that I'm interested in malls but some people do like them, although this one has a great arcade), and other cool stuff. In fact, one of the amusement parks has a miniature golf course that is dedicated to railroads, it even has a hole for the Gallitzin Tunnels! The area is great for the family. Here is a list to all of the places to railfan, from Altoona westward to Johnstown, as of April to August 2003: Altoona: There are several places to railfan around here. My favorite is the area across from the Amtrak station. You can get magazine-quality (I've made a few sucessful contributions to magazines in this area) shots here. The town is eay to get around, and has several great hotels, plus there is the Railroaders Memorial Museum , which has several great exhibits featuring railroading. The greatest part about railfanning here is that you catch a lot more helper action than Horse Shoe Curve. Juniata Shops: The shops are just east of the Amtrak station, and are pretty much inacessible to the public. There is an area behind one of the many Sheetz gas stations/fast food restaurants that are everywhere you look on western PA. I have nabbed several good shots here, and this is where most of the good stuff in Juniata is. Horse Shoe Curve: Yes, the rumors are true. Weeds are building up in the area, wrecking many "almost good" photo ops in the area. It almost looks like Penn Central days, maybe black paint isn't the only thing NS shares with PC[:(]. Other wise the area hosts some great shots. Gallitzin: Technically we shouldn't be calling this area the Gallitzin tunnels because the town's real name is Tunnelhill, and the real Gallitzin tunnel is the one you will see that has no track heading through it. The double track tunnel is the Allegheny Tunnel, and when you hear a train, but don't see it, it means the train was heading through the New Portage Tunnel, which is out of sight. The one disadvantage is that almost all of the trains you'll see will be westbound, so you have to have good hearing and be quick to catch them. I was talking to a kid who said that he saw two trains head out of the Allegheny Tunnel at the same time! The eastbounds are rare, almost exclusively Amtrak, while the rest of the eastbounds head through the New Portage Tunnel. Cresson: The helpers sit here. You can also find some of the rare SD80MACs here. The train volume is great. Cassandra Overlook: Hard to reach but the rewards are endless. I got a great shot here of a Conrail SD40-2 leading the Amtrak Three Rivers, and was my first sucessful magazine contribution. Johnstown: Another great town. The NS trains are easy to photograph and there are also CSX trains here. You can head up the incline and get a great view of the trains. Plus, this town is also family friendly, with an Immigration Museum and a Museum covering the infamous Johnstown Flood. South Fork: On a branch line there are coal trains with SD80MACs on them, plus since this is the place the dam that caused the Johnstown Flood was located, there is a museum here. I would covered more but this is as far as Ive gone west of Altoona. The last time I came here I came the day before the August 14th 2003 blackout and met a kid who came from Long Island who left on the day of the blackout! Earlier in the morning of the 14th I had photographed a Long Island DE30AC and a Pennsylvania Power and Light coal train, was it a sign of things to come? I had a fun time last time I went here, and I always can't wait till we head for the nearest Amtrak station and head for Altoona[:)].
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