Conrail on the Pennsy The Brickyard

There were a lot of great places along the Pennsylvania Railroad’s four track main over the Allegheny spine to watch and photograph trains. One of the best of those railfan locations is between downtown Altoona, (ALTO Tower) and famous Horseshoe Curve. “The Brickyard” allowed for viewing at track level or from atop a ridge to the south. Although there were only three tracks remaining into the 1990’s, Conrail and Amtrak traffic remained heavy and the “Brick Yard” was still a great place to watch railroad action in 1995. Westbound trains were just out of Altoona and were making a run for the Curve. They all had “snappers”, or pushers, up and around the curve. Heavily laden eastbounds had just conquered the mountain and were braking for Altoona yard. The pushers were still tied on. There was also a steady stream of pushers returning to Altoona for another assignment.