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Re: Pittsburgh is great, with its Golden Triangle
Author: Fortunate Foamer
Date: 02-09-2011 - 16:32
As a resident of Pittsburgh, I had to reply to Holly's post.
Over the years, I have rode many lines in and out of Pittsburgh on Penn Central, Conrail, Norfolk Southern, B & O, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, Wheeling & Lake Erie and even the Allegheny Valley Railroad. Two trips stand out.
The first was a 1979 excursion sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the NRHS from the B & O Station in Downtown Pittsburgh (at the southeastern corner of the Golden Triangle) to Cumberland. Amtrak's Capitol Limited was still two years away, so I considered this trip an opportunity to collect some rare mileage on the B & O, enjoy spectacular fall scenery at its peak in the third weekend of October, view line side industries and take in the freight action on the B & O and short section of the P & LE. The locomotives were a pair of Chessie GP40-2s, with wonderful K5LA horns.
The second was the 2007 Altoona Railfest excursion from Altoona to Pittsburgh with the PRR E8s. Most of the trip was nothing special as I traveled over most of the track many times on Amtrak trains. However, as the train approached Wilmerding, it veered off the NS Pittsburgh Line and onto the Port Perry Branch. After crossing the Monongahela River, the train entered the NS Mon Line and the fun began as the train traced a an elongated crescent route to the station. This route offered a great perspective on several communities in the Monongahela Valley and the City of Pittsburgh and the best view I've ever seen of the Golden Triangle from a train.
I did one sort of triangle trip in 1986 when I lived in Albany. I rode a bus down to New York City because there were no trains running early enough and boarded Amtrak's Cape Codder to Hyannis. At Hyannis I transferred to a tourist train operated by the Cape Cod & Hyannis to Braintree. The highlight was crossing over the Cape Code canal with the sea breeze wafting through the open window coaches. At Braintree, I transferred to an BMTA Red Line train to a cheapo hotel in Cambridge. After spending the good part of the next day in Boston, I boarded the Lake Shore Limited to Albany.
Over the years, I have rode many lines in and out of Pittsburgh on Penn Central, Conrail, Norfolk Southern, B & O, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, Wheeling & Lake Erie and even the Allegheny Valley Railroad. Two trips stand out.
The first was a 1979 excursion sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the NRHS from the B & O Station in Downtown Pittsburgh (at the southeastern corner of the Golden Triangle) to Cumberland. Amtrak's Capitol Limited was still two years away, so I considered this trip an opportunity to collect some rare mileage on the B & O, enjoy spectacular fall scenery at its peak in the third weekend of October, view line side industries and take in the freight action on the B & O and short section of the P & LE. The locomotives were a pair of Chessie GP40-2s, with wonderful K5LA horns.
The second was the 2007 Altoona Railfest excursion from Altoona to Pittsburgh with the PRR E8s. Most of the trip was nothing special as I traveled over most of the track many times on Amtrak trains. However, as the train approached Wilmerding, it veered off the NS Pittsburgh Line and onto the Port Perry Branch. After crossing the Monongahela River, the train entered the NS Mon Line and the fun began as the train traced a an elongated crescent route to the station. This route offered a great perspective on several communities in the Monongahela Valley and the City of Pittsburgh and the best view I've ever seen of the Golden Triangle from a train.
I did one sort of triangle trip in 1986 when I lived in Albany. I rode a bus down to New York City because there were no trains running early enough and boarded Amtrak's Cape Codder to Hyannis. At Hyannis I transferred to a tourist train operated by the Cape Cod & Hyannis to Braintree. The highlight was crossing over the Cape Code canal with the sea breeze wafting through the open window coaches. At Braintree, I transferred to an BMTA Red Line train to a cheapo hotel in Cambridge. After spending the good part of the next day in Boston, I boarded the Lake Shore Limited to Albany.
