Calling All Western PA Foamers?

So you are coming to Da Burgh on Nov.29 ?  Staying for almost a week?  Where will you be staying ??  There are CSX, NS trains and several locals but most traffic is NS. Hope the weather is OK for you.  You can e-mail me atanzerjames@gmail.com if you want.

Have fun on your trip.  I'm sure someone will chime in.  Just one thing from me:Roanoke is not a day trip.  I would say that it is 8-10 hours away.

Norm

Message screwed up-the e-mail isanzerjames@gmail.com

West Park on the North Side of Pittsburgh.  Great cut out.  These shots were taken a few years back.

Might as well see the layout at the Carnegie Science Center too.

Hmm.  Was hoping Roanoke was only 3-4 hour one way drive.  (Remember that where I live, the MacDonalds are an hour apart.    That would be easily do-able.  What I'm really after are photos from all the tiny towns.  As I recall, it's pretty hilly east of Pittsburgh.  The tracks go by occupied buldings, something you won't find on the Northern Plains.

Kent in SD

Back again, my e-mail is  panzerjames@gmail.com. Don't know why it wasn't typing wrong before. Yes, there are towns east of Pgh where the NS mainline goes through but you won't get them right up close to the track. There are places in the city, too but some are not real nice neighborhoods. The NS mainline follows the Ohio River west to Conway and Beaver Co. and there are a lot of places along there. You have to be careful in Northside Pgh along the NS. The CSX is across the river but aren't as busy.

Three hours covers the Western Maryland Scenic at Cumberland. On Dec. 4, a night

run at 6 pm with steam goes Cumberland to Frostburg.

It also covers CSX's west and east slopes of Sand Patch, don't know how they

would react to night shots. One must stay clear of the row, active rr cops in area.

Lots of good daytime shots, though.

CSX goes right through Hydman and several small towns in that area.

Ed

I concur with Mr. Mullan, CSX on Sand Patch would be a winner particularly on the west slope, where the main goes through towns such as Confluence, Rockwood, Garrett, and Meyersdale. IMO, the RR cops are more worried about the rural backwoods out there, in town you'd probably fit right in...
The west slope of NS Pittsburgh-Altoona line has good spots west of Gallitzin down to Johnstown, still lots of those nifty x-PRR position light signals to enhance photos...

You could also follow NS's coal line down along the Monongahela River on the west side, lots of old architecture in the river towns.
If you feel adventurous, go down to Grafton,WV. and follow the x-B&O line east to Keyser WV, or Cumberland,MD.; not much traffic, but a 50 mile chase of a eastbound coal train, while looking out for westbounds, could be a profitable trip. 

2 tips: Obtain a good road atlas (i.e. Delorme), also be aware you may not always get a good cell signal in the mountains.

If you ever make it to Roanoke, devote 2-3 days, there is much to see and do, the Link museum can take a full day.

Questions? feel free to e-mail me through this site.

Highly recommend the NS Fort Wayne Line. 3-4 tracks, 60 mph trains, and the second largest railroad yard just up the road . There are several locations to view trains, but I would go to Leetsdale and Rochester, both great spots. Would also check out CSX in McKeesport and Homestead at the Waterfront where the NS Mon Line and CSX Pittsburgh Sub parallel each other. Last but not least, the Puttsburgh Independent Hi Railers will be set up at Kennywood Amusement Park for the Holiday Lights display starting on Friday. Come visit us!

Kent,

Pittsburgh isn't that far from Alliance, Oh where the Fort Wayne line meets the Cleveland line.  If you decide you want to check it out, send me an email, would like to meet up.

Kent,

It would be a real shame if you did not go to see the Horseshoe Curve!  Easy to get to,it would be about a 2 hour drive to get there.  Tack on the Gallitzen tunnel, the Portage Railroal and the Altoona Railroad Museum to boot.  That would fill your day.  A little side trip,going or coming,would take you to the Cassandra crossing,prime for spotting.

Norm

Is Horseshoe Curve (the public part) open this time of year?

Horseshoe Curve is closed on Thanksgiving Day and closes for the season Dec 21. 

There is a lot of train action in Altoona.  About 75 miles east of the burg.  There are also a lot of good train stores around the area.  You could spend a whole day just visiting them if you map out your route.  I found the best source for information is the dealer locator on the Lionel Web site.  The list by State and cities are listed alphabetical.  I have family that lives outside of Verona which is in the Penn Hills section.  I hear train at night, but never see them during the day.  Closer to the center of the city you can see them running along the rivers.  Union Rail Road is east of the city.  Take Bus 22 towards Monroeville.  You can see the roundhouse and turn table off to the left.  Not sure how to get closer.

I was only going to bring maybe 5 small flash as I'm flying in.  Looks like Sandpatch would need bigger lights.   That's why I'm thinking the smaller towns might be my best bet.  I'm hoping they get less "foamer pressure" than some of the hot spots.  I think I could do something at night at Horseshoe too, just to say I did.  The steam engine in Cumberland is something I need to check into--I love steam shots!  Those flat black engines can really soak up a lot of flash though.

My biggest worry is "culture shock."  Where I live, everything is pretty loosey-goosey.  There are no RR cops.  People often walk along the tracks with shotguns hunting pheasants, and they are tacitly tolerated in the Dakotas.  Adjacent landowners don't care if I'm out there photo'ing trains, unless I'm near cattle/buildings/machinery.  As long as you're using good sense, you won't have much trouble, let alone serious trouble.  I have a hunch things are different back East as people seem to be more "territorial."  My instincts are that by sticking to small towns I'll fare better because I mix well in those precincts.  Thanks for the tips, I'm checking out maps.  Mostly I just want to see new things.  It's good to push yourself to keep from getting stale. 

Greg--

Just might take you up on that.  I have five days and would like to go in five different directions.  I'm not sure when I'll get this chance again.

Kent in SD

Just checked.  Looks like Pittsburgh<-->Roanoke is indeed about 6 hours one way.  Dang!   So close and yet so far.  I forgot you can't drive 85 mph all day long around there.

Kent in SD

Relax, the cops aren't around that much. Stay off the ROW and tracks, be calm and polite and show ID if they ask. Tuesday is usually a slow train day.

Yeah, I can do that.  I generally treat people like they're my next door neighbor, and that almost always goes a long way.  I wasn't planning on provoking anyone by getting too close either.

Kent in SD 

May be Meyersdale, PA, and Cumberland MD, on the Great Allegheny Passage as Ed Mullen has already suggested.  Snow over the mountains at Somerset is quite possible.  You should be able to access the Capitol Limited Amtrak train along this CSX route.

Like I said in my email, if you have the time and a good map, there are a whole lot of good photo spots along the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central, Allegheny Valley Railroad/Southwestern Pennsylvania Railroad, and Wheeling and Lake Erie. About maybe an hour south of the city, there's a whole lot of mainline and industrial action around Kennywood Park, with the Union, and NS crawling all over the place. But it's really hard to get a shot unless you're in the area of the steel plant, and I'd imagine the cops down there aren't too friendly. Sewickley and Conway are your best bets, as well as downtown at the Amtrak station. You can also try and railfan the T, but the passengers are very suspicious of strange guys taking photos of the trolleys. I'd stay clear of the T actually, since many people will be jumpy after Paris. 

Come down toward Wheeling one night, hit the Oglebay lights and stop at Pat's Trains. Depending on where you're staying in Pittsburgh, it's an hour or an hour and a half. We're mighty short on rail action, but we do have a lot of pretty stuff this time of year. 

Really isn't that much to see, it's sad more or less, as the engine rots away in the neighborhood. 

Weather report is suggesting it will be really warm next week, but cloudy skies and maybe wet.  I can leave my heavy coat at home.  That will make room for a couple more flash!  I tend to like to shoot "downwards" on cloudy days, to reduce or eliminate sky in the photos.   Cloudy skies tend to make for very even light so I have more leeway on what direction I can shoot from.  If it's wet, the colors will saturate more and I have the chance for reflections in puddles.  Downside is mud.

Kent in SD

Was on a commercial roof, Johnstown, PA, today. Not a bad day, but there was wind, and on occasion a few flakes, then sunshine.   PA weather can change, and  quickly, extremely mild November, so far.  There were some nightly news notes about the Thanksgiving Snow Storm, 1950.  Most of Western PA saw 24" to 30" of snow.    

Have fun, it is Pennsylvania.  Note that the Big Savage Tunnel, Great Allegheny Passage, closes Dec 4th, an annual event, harsh weather degrades the two tunnel portal.

On the late day note, Turnpike return to Western PA was intense, there are some restrictions near the Allegheny River exit, causing some traffic back-ups.  In general early morning travel seems to work best. IMO. 

My story about my Great western adventure, July this year, to just south of Yellowstone, was the three mornings, I woke to heavy ice on the tent, and the Teton Mts. covered with snow.  Pennsylvania is a bit more pleasant in July. 

 Mike CT

I checked Accuweather and I didn't see any "really warm" weather unless the 50s count.

 Fifties definitely count as "really warm."  We've been down into the single digits here, and there's still a half foot of snow on the ground.

I got the "final" schedule from my wife.  It's better to know it now than when we get on the plane, I guess.  Fly in this Sunday, I get a rental SUV.  (Wife insisted on me getting 4WD in case I get lost in West Virginia or something and get chased by hillbillies on muddy roads.)  Anyway, Tuesday evening, dinner with wife and then go to something called "The Conservatory" to hear someone play the flute.  Other than that I'm a free man!  Her meeting is over on Friday, so that means we can roll!  I'm thinking of catching that steamer in Cumberland, shooting it at night.  I usually bring big flash for steam engines because they can really soak up light, but I think about five or six small flash could do it.  So, I need to check out locations to catch it on the roll.  I've decided against a road trip to Roanoke this time--will get to it early next year hopefully.  Will fly out the following Sunday.  So there we have it.  This will be my first real foamer trip east of Chicago/St. Louis!  (I'm not counting Europe here.)  SO, looking forward to it and meeting Greg and anybody else up for it. 

Kent in SD

If that "Conservatory" is the Phipps Conservatory, there's a large G Gauge layout in one of the rooms which you could photograph.

Bill 

From a website talking about rapid temperature swings:

At about 7:30am MST, the temperature in Spearfish South Dakota was -4 degrees Fahrenheit. The chinook kicked in, and two minutes later the temperature was 45 degrees above zero. The 49 degree rise in two minutes set a world record that is still on the books. By 9:00am, the temperature had risen to 54 degrees. Suddenly, the chinook died down and the temperature tumbled back to -4 degrees. The 58 degree drop took only 27 minutes.

Suffice it to say I'm pretty used to (and prepared for)  rapid weather changes on the Northern Plains.

Kent in SD

The WMSR route has only about 6 grade crossings, most popular is Helmstetters Curve on Cash Valley Road. Depending on how long you need to set up, you may want to get there at least 30 minutes ahead of the train. The departure on Friday is at 6pm.
There is a small parking lot for the bike trail that should give you room to set up.
The other crossings are rather wedgy, and require going on narrow back roads.
There is ample room at the Frostburg depot, but limited parking, I would suggest at the east end of the depot platform. The train may also have a GP-30 as a helper. It takes about 90 minutes for the 16 mile climb up to Frostburg (1.75% first 14 miles; up to 3% last 2 miles).
I have multiple postings on the WMSR on here if you would like to check them out.

     Kent I was down in the McKee's Rocks bottoms this summer and the B&LE 643 is covered with blue and orange plastic tarps. Not much to see other than part of the wheels. Let me know if you want to still check it out I can take you down there. my e mail is in home page. Choo Choo Kenny

Wonder why, vandals, weather protection?

Made it to Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon and am enjoying the lovely weather.  Well, lovely compared to what I would have been getting in South Dakota lately!     I had a local hardcore foamer take me along the AVR and Wheeling Lake Erie yesterday.   Not sure where exactly but the roads never went in a straight line for more than 20 ft!  Now for a question I hope someone can answer for me.  There's a shot I really want of the NS line that's immediately east of the Amtrak station downtown.  Will be shot at night.  I'm wondering how many trains per day go by there?  That will give me an idea of how long I'll have to sit and wait.  Waited for two hours today out in the blowing rain at Gallitzan tunnels and got skunked!

Kent in SD

(Cranberry Township/

I-79 & Hwy 228)

Welcome to Western PA.   Sunshine is optional, about 120 days a year.   Weather is unusually mild for this time.   Enjoy your stay. 

 Mike CT

Tuesday is a slow RR day.  Hard to say how many trains pass through there per day. If you get bored the Heinz History Center is close by and you can see trains coming off the RR bridge past the Convention center. You can photo them through the History Center window if you want.  Good luck today. I know what you mean by being "skunked" along the line.

Forgot to tell you that there is a nice hobby shop near where you are staying. it is in the shopping center where Lowe's and Staples are, near Starbuck's. They have a nice selection of O gauge new engines and cars.  Ask for Harry, he just this past summer brought home a Plymouth 1930's sedan delivery from your neck of the woods. A little snow tomorrow for you.