Hi Friends,

I will try to post some details and photos later, but wanted to send a few quick thoughts on this past weekend's Railfest featuring the PRR EP-22's.

It was first Railfest and my first visit to Altoona in a decade. I had my son with me, so I had the chance to see things through his eyes.

Long and short, after three exhausting days, this family had a wonderful weekend. Kudos to all who played a part.

Rob

The Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum (ARMM) hosted their annual Railfest this past weekend. It was the first Railfest I attended and was my first visit to Altoona in over a decade. With my 4 year old railfan son in tow, I had the opportunity to view the event from my perspective and his.

The ARMM has been flamed on many Internet sites over the K-4, funding issues and other concerns. I do not want this trip report to trigger yet another flame war. This is not a hit-piece and I ask that any feedback be kept in the same spirit.

My planning began months ago when I ordered tickets to ride one of the E-8 powered excursions around Horseshoe Curve.

We arrived on Friday and went straight to Horseshoe Curve. Our tickets to ride the excursion train the next day came with free passes to the Curve and the downtown museum site – a very nice touch that encourage everyone to enjoy all aspects of the weekend. We saw many of the same faces downtown, at the Curve and on the train.

The visitors center and gift shop at the Curve are very nice, as is the funicular railway up to track level. These three touches, plus clean restrooms, clearly address the needs of the general tourist and are major improvements. A small food wagon was on hand.

The Curve crew was clearly not ready for the big advanced crowd on Friday. The funicular was running on the half-hour and there was only one person who had to handle both admissions and gift shop sales. Both of these issues were corrected on Saturday and Sunday with additional help and non-stop funicular service. Even so, there were no complaints that I heard. The weather was beautiful and the children in the park were enjoying playing with the trains roared by. The Conrail historical society had a great display and sale table set up at the Curve the whole weekend.

Friday evening we enjoyed hamburgers and hotdogs at the museum which had turned its grounds into a barbeque and outdoor concert venue for the night. With plenty of cold beer and good food at reasonable prices, this was a hit.

Now what I am about to say may not sit well, and it may not actually jibe with things I have said before, but…

The museum had a stage set up on the center part of the Pennsy’s giant depressed-center flat car known as the “Queen Mary.” This Altoona-built beheamoth is clearly a significant piece of the collection, yet it held drums and amps. A steam locomotive tender was set up with cooking grills inside the coal bunker. The observation car Mountain View had its air-conditioner running and was used as a “green room” for staff (and I assume the performers).

As my son and I sat on a rail having dinner and soaking it in, I came to the conclusion that this was a really a neat set-up for the night. None of the equipment had been needlessly modified and taken as a whole it gave a really cool “railroad” flavor. It is something I would not mind seeing in other museums, if handled tastefully and without damage to the equipment.

Other nice touches abounded, including the museum keeping the outside grounds open into the evening. We opted to head over to the station to watch the mainline and get to bed before the museum’s fireworks got underway, but I am sure those that stayed enjoyed some cold ones with a nice aerial show.

Great report. Something that encourages me to take my family to a future event.

Continuing my Railfest2007 report, Day Two Saturday July 7th, 2007

My son and I had tickets to ride the 10:20AM excursion to Gallitzin and back via Horseshoe Curve. We had an extra ticket, and were lucky enough to have a friend come join us (he shall remain nameless, as he works in the rr preservation field and he may not want his name here). Parking was VERY easy and plentiful. We spent 20 minutes on the footbridge connecting the museum parking lot with the Amtrak station hoping to see the special train arrive. It was coming from Harrisburg with Bennett Levin’s two restored PRR E-8’s, four private cars, an Amfleet coach and some SEPTA commuter coaches.

After waiting awhile we decided to go down to track level to see the special come in, but were surprised to find out all riders for the 10:20 were being corralled into a long line in the seemingly unairconditioned Amtrak station. We waited a long time and a lot of kids were getting antsy, including my own. Of the entire weekend, I would say that this was the only part that wasn’t pleasant.

We wound up finding a three-seater on a SEPTA coach when we finally got to board. I really dislike the 3-2 commuter seating, but probably more so than most on the train as I commute every day (I finally joined a private commuter club to get away from 3-2 seating. For the relatively short ride, these cars were fine.

The train got underway late, but the trip was everything you’d expect a ride up the mountain to be. We had a car attendant but he didn’t provide any commentary or interpret the trip. Luckily, we didn’t need interpretation but others around us did.

When we got back to Altoona, we realized our train had been shot up by paintballers somewhere on the mountain. A fire truck was used to “power wash” the pink spots away. I have many thoughts on this, but suffice it to say it was a crass act.

We returned to the Curve for another enjoyable few hours. We bought some things at the Conrail historical society’s tent and enjoyed a game of catch. A dance group, the “Horseshoe Cloggers” performed. We stayed for some of the show. It was a nice touch, though it may have been received better down at the bottom of the hill than up top with the multitude of camera toting railfans shooting video and sound.

We shot the special at Tunnel Hill/Gallitzin, where a refreshment tent, PRR cabin car museum and playground kept the kids busy while parents focused on the trains. It wasn’t a direct part of Railfest but it was just as nice and welcoming. We closed out the day doing a little railfanning and chowing down at Vito’s in Cresson.

The E-8’s ran a very interesting schedule. The special was really an overnight Harrisburg to Pittsburgh and return run, with a layover at Altoona each day for the short trips up the mountain. Those that rode the train the whole way got to spend the afternoons at the museum and the Curve. If my son was a little older, we would have gone for this, but we would have missed the fun of the Friday night cookout.


Rob

Continuing my Railfest2007 report, Day Three Sunday July 8th, 2007

Sunday was another hot and sunny day. My son and I set aside the morning to tour the ARMM museum in downtown. We began by touring the inside portion of the museum. The displays in the old PRR master mechanic’s building are excellent and thoroughly enjoyable. There was some evidence that the museum could use additional funding. The fine HO layout was not running, the theatre room was closed and some interactive video exhibits were not working. These were not major issues, but clearly outlined how additional funding is required.

That point was driven home as we toured the outside display of railroad equipment. The collection, from an interpretive point of view, is excellent. There’s not a piece of equipment there that doesn’t “belong” in Altoona (although I would love to see the private car “Loretto” displayed in Bethlehem at some point but I digress). Unfortunately, very little of the equipment is in good exterior condition. Again, it would seem that funding is the biggest issue. However, the turntable looks good, there is a roof over the GG-1 and obs car Mountain View, and plans are still afoot for indoor space to house the K4 when she returns.

The old museum building had a nice HO layout and some vendor tables. We dropped a few dollars there, but not nearly as much as we did at the museum gift shop which was one of the best I have been in. I picked up a copy of a new book on Penn Station NY since the author was present to sign them. It was nice to get a chance to say Hi to Museum prexy Scott Cessna at the signing table, though afterwards I realized that in thanking him I never introduced myself!

Back at the Curve, we had another nice visit. I love the improvements made, though I do wish there was some provision for 24x7 365 day a year access. Maybe in the future? The local transit company offered free shuttle bus service between the Curve and museum, which was a nice touch. We didn’t use it this year, but maybe next year, especially if we go by train.

We finished our day with a stop at the Rockhill Trolley Museum and the EBT, but that’s another story…

As we drove home, I was thinking about all the negativity I have read about ARMM on the Internet and the criticism hurled (some by my own big mouth… err, fast fingers). I understand that there are a lot of personalities, political pressure and other concerns involved, but Railfest 2007 proved that ARMM can pull off a big event. The cooperation of Juniata Terminal and NS really made it special, and that shouldn’t be overlooked as I would probably not have attended without the train ride.

This is a museum that almost shut down a few years back and has been embroiled in the ongoing K4 saga, yet they are keeping it together and making progress. They are scheduling outdoor movie nights, concerts and other events that draw people beyond the typical railbuff. They rent their facilities for parties and weddings, too. These are keys to expanding the base of support – financially, socially and politically. Railfest was a FUN event and I think they did a great job – better than some events I have been to where the equipment was in better shape. There was a relaxed feeling to it, and if ARMM can keep that while finding ways to fund restorations, then I think they will leave the dark days far, far behind.

It certainly won’t hurt when the K4 returns. I have no idea if she’ll run on the Everett RR, N&BE or NS, but I am sure whenever she is hot, she will be a main draw, but I came away from Railfest with the clear notion that even without the K4 this is a museum worth visiting and worth supporting.

Rob

-- On a side note, I had hoped that NS would have their ABBA set of F-units on display. They were visible at the shops and were on the official T-shirt of Railfest 2007. I overheard an NS employee saying the bigwigs OK the F’s to be out, but local management nixed it as there was work to do with them for the next OCS.

Robert,

You captured the essence of the weekend.

I always wondered what the Tunnel Inn looked like from the train.


What a fun weekend,

Scott Kwiatkowski
www.prrllc.com

One of my RR buddies is tied in with NS' OCS [office car special, a term held over from Conrail] crews, and, yes, they're frantically trying to get all four running perfectly for the next outings (the second A unit is the problem, and there are little gremlins in the others). You do NOT want your cool-looking vintage locos failing out on the road with a train full of clients, potential clients, and/or politicians! Those locos are NOT destined to be "hangar queens"!

Unfortunately, I couldn't make this year's festivities but it sure sounded like a success ( or at least as much of a success w/o the shops). I am glad they found some activities for the evening. Back in the railfests' heyday, it was frustrating to find something to do after everything closed at 5pm. This was in October, so it was dark, making it pretty hard to railfan.


Also sounds like there were activities for the non-railfan as well (music, fireworks). This is a model that needs to be followed. Too many railfest type events are nothing but rail geekfests. Good for the rail geeks (as I may be) but in general doing nothing to promote the hobby.

PS>>Anyone have any photos of the flatcar used as a stage? Sounds like excellent adaptive reuse. (a trait the railroads know well).

The PRR FD-2 flatcar in the Museum yard set up as a stage for the PovertyNeck Hillbillies concert on July 11, 2007

http://www.railroadcity.com/gallery/index.php?id=110

Thanks

Scott,

With Trey Anastasio releasing a new CD called "The Horseshoe Curve" and an EP called "Lucius Beebe" I think you have a target performer for the Queen Mary!

Rob

I add my congratulations to the Altoona team for what appears from all reports to have been a very successful event. I agree that having activities for those whose whole world doesn't revolve around trains is smart and encourages broader participation.
I am gathering by Mr. Cessna's silence despite several recent invitations to bring us up to speed on the 1361 project that for whatever reasons he'd rather not talk publically about the latest issue(s)????
Perhaps someday we'll see steam back on "the" curve???
Ross Rowland

Well, that didn't take long!

Get the marshmallows!!!

Better than that:

Allegedly there's still a former PRR Altoona Works fire truck about in private preservation......... I move for a demonstration of its flame-extinguishing capabilities!

Hello,

There is a little PRR steam heritage in this photo. I don't know if it was mentioned anywhere else in the Railfest event thread, this flat car has (4) of the massive 4-axle trucks that were used on the PRR long haul steam tenders. When I volunteered on the K-4 Restoration I, I remember a pair of those trucks sitting outside the car shop where the restoration was taking place. These trucks were very heavily built.

Didn't this flat car have the nick name "Queen Mary"?

Thanks.

Randy Musselman

Another one besides the one that was on display at the museum for Railfest, or is that the only one?
Rob