FastFlyingVirginian's video: Railfanning Pennsylvania October 2021: The Clouds Lift

0:00 - Cresson - Amtrak 42, Pennsylvanian/RJ Corman The sun teased us relentlessly in Cresson, PA on the morning of October 12th while we awaited the passage of Amtrak's eastbound Pennsylvanian and RJ Corman's departure from the 5 West siding. P42 92 and train stole the scene briefly, while the RJ Corman crew went about the business of attaching their pair of smartly-dressed SD40-2s to NS' AC44C6Ms and their long consist of company grain hoppers. Finally, 15 minutes later the quartet raised their voices, released the brakes, and coaxed the heavy train into motion. 5:29 - Cassandra - 10K After saying goodbye to my fellow railfans who were leaving the Station Inn that morning, I relocated to the park in Cassandra. A maintenance-of-way crew was hard at work in the rock cut to the west - the lower portion of the slide fence along track 1 had been removed, and the crew was busy removing tree limbs and other debris while a hi-rail power shovel shuttled back and forth, scooping up rockfall and depositing it further east. The work came to a stop momentarily as the headlight of an eastbound appeared in the distance. The crew had plenty of time to get out of the way, though - from when the headlight first appeared to when it passed under the footbridge where I was standing was over 9 minutes. Not that the train could have gone much faster with no MoW present - AC44C6M 4257 and C44-9W 9855 were on the point of an absolutely monstrous consist, aided in their titanic battle with gravity by SD70ACe 1087 as a mid-train DPU and SD70ACus 7254 and 7249 as the manned helper set on the rear. The unedited footage totaled over 22 minutes, not including the cars that passed as I leisurely moved the camera from the footbridge to the park. 21:56 - NS 22W Eastbound intermodal 22W was no less a monster than 10K, although its pace was likely more due to the latter's slow grind to the summit. All the better to enjoy the throaty chug of C44-9W 9978, ES44DC 7565, and C44-9W 9658. 29:34 - NS 63V Seconds after the tail end of 22W disappeared around the curve, AC44C6Ms 4464 and 4426 passed on track 3 with loaded trash train 63V (aka 'Oscar' or 'Sixty Three Vomit'), hauling another trainload of finely-crafted artisanal refuse from NYC/NJ to Ohio. 32:07 - NS 11V It was hard to miss the gleaming black unit trailing ES44DC 7612 and C44-9W 9660 on the point of 11V. Freshly rebuilt SD40-3 6401 had just been released from Juniata Shops in Altoona, and was now headed west on its maiden voyage. 34:31 - NS 25Z Intermodal titan 25Z was 19 minutes off 11V's pace as the former sailed past the park behind AC44C6Ms 4309 and 4390, C44-9W 9898, and ES44DC 7507, with SD70ACus 7232 and 7237 bringing up the rear. 37:47 - NS 21J One more for the road, as hotshot 21J followed 12 minutes after 25Z. ES44DCs 7543 and 7710 and AC44C6M 4443 provided ample power for the short consist of UPS and FedEx business. 38:47 - Cresson - 21E My review of the westbound intermodal parade continued after returning to Cresson, across the tracks from the Station Inn. I missed 21G while in transit, though - have to break eggs to make an omelet something something. AC44C6M 4137 and C44-9Ws 9637 and 9942 led 21E through town under a welcome bit of sunlight. 41:09 - NS 25V A 2-hour lull allowed the clouds to retreat even further before 25V made its appearance. AC44C6M 4135 and C44-9W 9722 led the way, with SD70ACus 7229 and 7243 providing an assist. 44:15 - NS N54 I've been well aware of the Pittsburgh Line's signal reconfiguration that allows bidirectional running on all tracks, but it was still an unusual sight to me as I watched SD70ACus 7237, 7232, and 7240 run light eastbound on track 3. 45:17 - NS 21M It's a safe bet that all 6 units weren't online, but the lashup leading hotshot 21M at least looked the part. C44-9W 9816 was joined on point by ES44DC 7551, C44-9W 9951, ES44ACs 8074 and 8026, and ES44DC 7563. 47:52 - Amtrak 43, Pennsylvanian Amwiggle, East Coast Style - the westbound Pennsylvanian crossed over from track 1 to 3 at MO before cruising slowly past my vantage point to wrap up the day's filming. No private cars this time, sadly, but P42 120 and train still cut a fine figure as they rode off into the sunset.