Altoona PA 08.14.15: The Horse That Roared

It was time to go visit the shrine and pay our respects, in a manner of speaking.
We broke for lunch after capturing 10A in downtown Altoona and then headed straight for Horseshoe Curve. Okay, technically it wasn't straight since the road leading there has more curves than a piece of boiled pasta, but you get the idea. Short of a storm appearing out of nowhere, the weather and the afternoon sun angle on the west side of the Curve assured us it would be a great visit as the dispatchers lined up a flotilla of westbounds for a frontal assault on the grade.
The first shot was fired at 2:13 as intermodal hotshot 21E charged uphill, led by SD70M-2 2766 and C44-9W 9304. The presence of a track crew nearby on track 2 ensured extra blasts of the horn above the traditional salutes to the park visitors. 21E was followed less than 15 minutes later by a train of empty ethanol tanks, led by SD70M 2625 and C40-9 8843. Around 2:30 the track crew finished their work east of the Curve and packed up to move west, leading to a parade of assorted track equipment scurrying past to their next assignment.
At 2:45, one of the trucks was visible in the distance as eastbound oil drag 66Z snaked its way into the Curve behind ES44ACs 8119 and class engine 8000. The din of squealing brakes and flanges on 66Z was enough to mask the approach of 21J until the nose of C44-9W 9310 popped out from behind the tank cars, accompanied by a quick blast of the horn. The big GE had ample assistance with its labor from SD70ACe 1025 and C44-9W 9528. As 21J continued its march upgrade, SD40Es 6309 and 6301 passed behind on the rear of 66Z. The duo had just passed out of sight on the far side of the Curve when SD40Es 6319 and 6304 appeared, following close behind in a light move that likely would have been on track 2 were it not for the ongoing maintenance.
After 21J's last trailer passed, I relocated from my perch on the trackside boulder to the ledge under the trees for a wider view. At 3:11, SD40Es 6332 and 6320 cruised past on their way west to their next job. As the rails went quiet again, we passed the time by chatting with a member of the track crew who had moved his truck down to our right. We paused the conversation at 3:28 in deference to the arrival of 12G, The eastbound had a splash of color in its otherwise-normal-black lashup in the form of ex-Union Pacific SD9043MAC 7314, bracketed by SD70M-2 2690 and C40-9 8837. SD40Es 6321 and 6330 provided the braking boost that was critical for a train of that size to make it safely into Altoona.
At 3:50, our focus was on another westbound as C44-9W 9350 and ES44DC 7542 worked upgrade with autorack train 11J, minus the helper assistance we saw the day before. 30 minutes later, the clouds got the last laugh as 23Z passed under temporarily-darkened skies behind SD70M-2 2774 and C44-9W 9517. The forecast was not calling for any wet stuff, but we decided to hedge our bets and take it as our cue to exit, slope left.
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