Coal Drag Climbs the West Slope

In this summertime throwback, a pair of GEs muscle Norfolk Southern coal train 510 up Pennsylvania's West Slope along the Pittsburgh Line while a helper crew pushes from the rear with a pair of SD70ACUs!
Filmed 8/21/2020
©2025 M'G:20 Productions - Matty Gunn
!!!!DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION!!!!
Train/Engine information:
510 Eastbound
Coal Loads
Shire Oaks, PA - Spring Grove, PA
-NS ET44AC [HH] #3634
-NS AC44C6M [HH] #4248
C68 Eastbound (Turn)
Altoona Helpers
-NS SD70ACU [HH] #7249
-NS SD70ACU [HH] #7245
Equipment used:
-Canon Vixia HF R800
-Canon EOS Rebel T6 DSLR
-Uniden Bearcat BC125AT Handheld Scanner

[@stephenlichtenwalner1579]

Great video!!! I love coal trains!!

[@gp3829]

Thanks Matty. I could tell that the EMDs were doing all the real work - not that I'm biased in any way, of course. Cheers.

[@tfs4499]

Nice catch!

[@Ken_G9s]

Amazing how spring has arrived at West Slope! 😆

[@mattygunn693]

If only, this winter weather is getting old lol

[@roballen5670]

Great catch. Those SD70ACU'S Were screaming.

[@mattygunn693]

Thanks!

[@MrVideoman777]

Killer! Those Spring Grove trains are rare.

[@mattygunn693]

Glad I caught it then!

[@Watertender-lu7vj]

130 cars by my count. One of the coal fired powerhouses for Kodak in Rochester used to burn a carload every 15 minutes 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Somerset burned more than that. Now it's all gone. Even the stack at Somerset is gone

[@mattygunn693]

I was disappointed when I heard about Somerset. I was hoping that it would eventually be put back online under the new administration; it wouldn't take much to replace the tracks. So much for that.