Horseshoe Curve Vs. The 8-Headed Monster

After the Burro crane passed by, the tracks were quiet again for a long time. It was hot that day, and we grumbled a bit about the lack of action and whether we should move to another location. However, much like the scene in 'Jurassic Park' where the glass of water shook with the dinosaur's approach, all conversation stopped when we heard an unusually loud rumble building in the distance. It was louder than anything else we had heard go by up to that point, and whatever was coming was taking forever to appear...
Finally we got a look at the source of the noise as 6 units appeared, throttles pegged and pulling for all they were worth. In the middle of the train was a large block of tank cars, including a double-dome car and an 8-axle, 40,000+ gallon mammoth. Another stalwart SD40-2 pair brought up the rear, shoving just as hard as the units on the point were pulling. Our long wait was rewarded in spades.
#trains #train #railfanning #railroad #pennsylvania

[@chuckwin100]

What an impressive display of pulling power...glad you were able to capture it on video.

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

Thanks! I'm glad we never changed locations like we had talked about doing before the train showed up. I don't think it would have been as impressive from any vantage point other than on Horseshoe.

[@mhm2472]

WOW!! Awesome!! LOVE that sound!! Glad you stuck around and recorded this amazing train!

[@btrev60]

Run 8 rules!! Thanx for an outstanding video!!!

[@Bhil3]

Wow what an awesome catch. the constant squealing from the tension of wanting to be straight, the number of cars, very cool. I would love to someday visit this place!

[@Oldskoolrailroad]

massive ! great frieghttrain ,

[@Girardifan]

I guess that people have to see Horseshoe Curve in person to really appreciate it. The sight of these long freight trains going around the curve is truely an impressive sight.

[@thunderstormzlightning]

awesome video 5/5 great job.

[@thetrainman407]

awesome!!! thats a catch!

[@btrev60]

Best sound on mother Earth!!

[@JimTLonW6]

These monster trains are truly awesome! We don't have anything like this in the UK.

[@Hail2Pitt412]

wow great video! all i can say is that its just rare to see that many engines on1 train nowadays.. but probably you will see a manifest again for example i saw 2 weeks ago a at least 13 engine manifest shifting coke cars at the coke plant in Clartion, Pa

[@easyamp123]

it looked and sounded like those two GE's were just tag alongs? great vid!

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

Thad ward That could have been the case. I didn't own a scanner at the time, but I recall other people reporting that the train had had all sorts of trouble getting out of Altoona, hence the delay. I remember there had been a fire nearby that necessitated running hoses across the tracks, but I think the other part of the problem was the power, which might explain the double set of helpers ahead.

[@38911bytefree]

This should be the definition of POWER, a couple more SDs and it will enough to push the time backwards.

[@imautuber]

What a noise, thats amazing. surely the ware rate on those rails must be really high.

[@mafarnz]

Woo hoo, power to the 40-2's!

[@thompo999]

Wow what a lot of noise! Impressive though

[@davidallen6333]

6 locos on the head end 2 on the tailend that truly is a monster 85' box cars a long train nice catch too bad CONRAIL is gone.

[@1940limited]

Amazing the amount of tonnage still on this line yet the PRR couldn't remain profitable.

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

Consider all of the other inefficiencies that were present in its last couple of decades - they made little to no investment in CTC (still relied on manned interlocking towers) and welded rail, they were saddled with a large money-losing passenger and commuter business - the Broadway Limited supposedly ran close to empty many times, and their inability to invest in new commuter cars is what spurred financial assistance from Philly in buying the Silverliners, they were stuck with countless branchlines they couldn't abandon in areas where industry was on the decline... The Pennsy will always be a favorite, but the sad fact is they were really dying a slow death from the end of World War II onwards.

[@1940limited]

You can thank government regulation, or should I say, interference, for much of what you itemized here. That, along with an industry steeped in tradition and reluctant to change, made for a disastrous combination. It's too damn bad the way it all went, but I'm glad much of the physical plant still exists under new operating personnel with branch lines taken over by regionals. Thanks for the comment.

[@AliceInChains243]

Proof that the EMD SD40-2 is the best locomotive that ever rode the rails

[@jjtrucks]

up there u c quite a few with 5 or 6 engines, but I've only ever seen 1 other train with more than that. I had to do a double take when I saw it, it had 14 engines.

[@RingoStarr39]

That has to be the longest train in Conrail and NS history.

[@immortal1266]

Esse video vai para os meus favoritos!

[@robertgift]

Nice catch! Great reward for your patience! Nice seeing an eight-axle tank car. Also Chessie kitty! Do they have flange lubricators for this curve? Nice that engineers gently sounded horns. Thanks for posting this.

[@bobbeck5947]

Never understood how the draw bar on the first rusty ass box car can handle all that pull!!!

[@jameslandrum7030]

Back in 1970's managed a General Electric parts warehouse in Los Angeles. Supplied parts to Southern Pacific U-33 locomotives. Also to mining companies and my pride White Pass and Yukon Railway. On my trip to Alaska took a ride on the White Pass Railroad. Enjoy any stories, pictures or movies about railroads. Jim Landrum

[@dutchtrainmanserie22]

Awesome video,great job. Monster freight train. More than 100 cars?

[@billgoldberg5935]

I UNDERSTAND THE ENGINE IS RATED TO THAT hp, bUT DOES IT REALLY GIVE THAT MUCH TO THE TRACTION MOTORS ?

[@CSXer]

4:15 That's one heck of a tank car!! Any idea what those carry or what the gallon size is?

[@BSnyd84]

Jeez..I didnt know they made parks to view trains...Maybe I should make a park in my back yard and sell tickets. They park behind my house.

[@microdubber]

I notice that many people seem to like the SD40. I also notice that many people seem to deride the GE locomotives. Are EMD products better, and is the SD40 one of the best locomotives of a proud lot?

[@curraheewolf]

At 04:00, what is the road and road number for the eight axle tank car? Didn't PRR have two tank cars like that? Thank you and happy railroading!!!!

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

curraheewolf That was ACFX 17787. I think you're thinking of the Pennsy 'Rail Whale' cars, which were 6 axles. I'm not sure how the capacities compared.

[@curraheewolf]

Ohhh. Thank you and Happy Railroading!

[@PRL2204]

Anyone know how many cars this train was?

[@NS6677]

Holy Crap, if things would have been in notch 8.....

[@mafarnz]

Between the time that the head end and the rear passed the camera, the engineers could have easily throttled up too.

[@generationll]

CSX has blue and yellow.

[@AUSSIETRAINDRIVER]

why are people into cars, planes, buses, trams? its a hobby! to hear 8 locomotives at full power making over 20,000 horsepower pulling a train miles long, is pretty impressive and is usually well worth a look!

[@Guser223]

a lot of different freight cars

[@Vanakatherock]

Man I would love to see some AC6000's pulling that hill. That would be awesome.

[@MystiCmeshtool]

That would probably break a lot of couplers on the train cars if it were all AC6000's

[@NPminnetonka]

i never knew 8-headed monsters existed until now

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

Vast herds of them once roamed the rails long ago, but they have since been hunted to near extinction. I adhere to a 'catch and release' philosophy.

[@NPminnetonka]

huh. why am not learning this stuff in school!?

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

It's The Man trying to keep us down.

[@NPminnetonka]

***** you should send this in to fact or faked. they might get a kick outta this

[@55chh]

Wow...how many cars?

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

+ben dunn My best guess based on trying to count in the unedited clip is around 138-140.

[@curraheewolf]

What year was this? Happy railroading.

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

curraheewolf This is from a trip I took in August 1996.

[@curraheewolf]

Thank you for letting me know. Happy railroading!!

[@bubblejomay]

Not 8 headed but six. You see in train terms only the engines in the front are the engines that are called headers the two in the rear are called pushers, and not those that sell drugs. LOL.

[@EasternRailVideos]

HSC is still iffy, and i.m.o not worth the admission for maybe 2 hours of action if you get any. if you stay all day it is worth it. The trees n brush outside the fence make the view horrible, just a few lil openings you can see a train coming. These were the days of train watching

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

I haven't been to the inside of the Curve since October 2010, and the only reasons I went then were that I had my family with me and the leaves were really nice that year, so getting foliage in the shot was part of the objective. I'm probably hoping against hope, but maybe one of Wick Moorman's last acts of benevolence as NS CEO will be to order the trimming of the Curve again. I can always dream.

[@EasternRailVideos]

i agree trees are very nice in the fall. And as for Wick, that would be nice if he could

[@FastFlyingVirginian]

***** Absolutely. The fact that NS got primarily the PRR routes and CSX got primarily the NYC routes when their predecessors were rebuffed in their efforts to essentially do the same thing over 35 years prior has always been a bit mindblowing to me.

[@ljones121]

FastFlyingVirginian I always kinda figured it was almost revenge when they split Conrail up the way they did and it is ironic that NS got the old PRR basically because at one time the Pennsylvania railroad controlled the Norfolk and Western

[@Ischaue]

Ansich ein nettes Vid, AAABER mit sehr bescheidener Kameraführung :-(