| Road Power. Here is an original photo that I took of road locomotives in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on 22 August 1960. Prominent here (R to L) are PRR engines #9468 and #9469. Both are FF-20's built by Fairbanks-Morse and rated at 2,000 horsepower each. #9468 was constructed in February of 1948 and retired in June of 1963, while #9469 was built in March of 1948 and retired in October of 1962. This photo reveals just how the process worked. The locomotives and the cabin car would have been driven forward from East Altoona to the Wye Switches in Duncansville, proceeded up the New Portage Branch line for a hundred feet or so, and then run backwards from there into the Hollidaysburg Yards. This crew has just uncoupled from N-5 cabin car #477020, which will be pulled to the far end of the Yard and coupled to the out-bound train by engine #9394 ~ an ES-12 switcher built by GM-EMD in May of 1950. After the cabin has been moved, this crew will back their FF-20 locomotives a bit further into the Yard and couple onto the train they'll move. From here, the train will pass the Passenger Station in Hollidaysburg and WYE Tower in Duncansville, climb the Allegheny Mountains using the New Portage Branch, and merge eventually with the mainline at Gallitzin. This photo was taken just west of the intersection of Jones and South Juniata Streets. Visible in the distance is the PRR's Samuel Rea Shop. |