Nostalgia & History > Conrail --Altoona Area 1978 --126 Instamatic

From a summer visit to Altoona area in July 1978 with my instamatic camera and the first rolls of slide film I'd ever shot. The results are unimpressive, but the era was fascinating to me.

Pic #1 One of the first all CR-powered trains I'd seen, TV train led by GP38-2 at Cresson
Pic #2 The rest of the units & train passing MO Tower
Pic #3 SD45 & U25B leading a freight around Horseshoe Curve

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Pic #4 Helpers shoving past the Altoona Amtrak station (shed)
Pic #5 Ex EL SDP45s shoving the train past ALTO
Pic #6 View of the Juniata Backshop area

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Outstanding images; given the quality of the film and camera. I had one of these; and would use it when I visited Altoona myself a little over a year later (I took the soon-to-be-discontinued National Limited from Columbus to Altoona and back; arriving back in Columbus on the last regularly scheduled Amtrak train to stop there).

These are great shots! Thanks for sharing them!

In the second to last shot the left three of four tracks seem to curve out farther than would seem necessary. Anyone know why the track is laid out in this fashion?

Shawn

osp1729 Wrote:
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> In the second to last shot the left three of four
> tracks seem to curve out farther than would seem
> necessary. Anyone know why the track is laid out
> in this fashion?
>
> Shawn


Looks to me like it's Welded Rail to be placed in service on the tracks it sit's beside. Ben

Thanks for sharing these photos.

GeoAndy Wrote:
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> Pic #4 Helpers shoving past the Altoona Amtrak
> station (shed)

I used that shed (I called it a trailer) several times to wait for the National and Broadway Limiteds. The trailer was there until 1986 when it was replaced by a combination Amtrak station/bus station and parking garage.

I dig the roundhouse.. so much history - good that you posted !

Rob Klyver
Playa Del Rey, CA
Freds Slides

osp1729 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In the second to last shot the left three of four
> tracks seem to curve out farther than would seem
> necessary. Anyone know why the track is laid out
> in this fashion?
>
> Shawn

1950s era photos in one of Morning Sun Book's titles show the area filled in with trackwork. Comparing the 1978 photo with the one from the fifties it appears that two tracks were removed in the interim, those being the outermost track on each side.