Nice video ... Wow .. not one EMD unit!
Great Video. 21st Century mountain railroading.
Back in 1967 I worked the Operator's position on the B&O at Bakerstown, PA. That was on the P&W Sub and about 10 cars from the crest of Bakerstown Hill. The most common trains at that time were coal trains going to Butler, PA and beyond on the B&O's Buffalo Division (now B&P as is Bakerstown for that matter). The coal trains would have 4 or 5 F7's or GP9's on the head end that would be chanting away with their EMD 567 diesels and groaning with each revolution of the drive wheels at the minimum continuous speed of about 12 MPH. Once the power passed and crested the grade 10 car lengths West of the Tower you could begin to hear a perceptable quickening of the clicking of the rail joints and crossover frogs as the head end began to pick up speed descending the other side of the hill - by the time the occupied caboose came by the office at 30 MPH and cut off the two unit helper the 'show' was over and the only thing left to do was cross the helper units over to #2 track so they could descend the hill back toward Pittsburgh to help another train.
The P&W from Eidenau, PA to New Castle PA was sold the the short line Buffalo & Pittsburgh in the late 1990s. The former Buffalo Division has been sold to the B&P in the 1980's. The P&W had been single tracked during the late 1970's. When CSX decided they no longer needed the P&W Sub it was split between the Allegheny Valley and the B&P. AVL got from Glenwood to Allison Park and the B&P got the rest - Allison Park to New Castle.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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