| NRHS. Here is an original photo that I took at the Muleshoe Curve on the New Portage Branch Line west of Duncansville, Pennsylvania, on 8 April 1962. Shown here is Pennsylvania Railroad Observation Car #1126. It is the last car of a "Railfan Special" heading up the New Portage Branch to Gallitzin ~ where it will merge with the mainline, pass through the west- and eastbound tunnels, and then head East down the Allegheny Mountains to the Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, and Philadelphia. According to James C. Smith Jr., "The 1126 is a one-of-a-kind car, built as the observation for Pennsy's pre-war, all coach South Wind. It has an Obs end that is more round than tapered, but not as round as Santa Fe and Reading Budd obs cars. The windows are also taller than the standard used on other full-sized Budd cars, and I'd bet this was the first stainless steel train to have its exterior painted. The South Wind was one of three Chicago-Miami trains that covered the route, each leaving the opposing terminal every third day. The others were IC's City of Miami, which used IC's Central Station, and the C&EI's Dixie Flagler, which left from Dearborn, while the PRR train used Union. The three trains followed different routings between Chicago and Jacksonville, but all three used the FEC, onward to Miami." Once upon a time, the New Portage Branch Line was double-tracked all the way from Duncansville to the tunnels at Gallitzin. The "Special" is on what used to be the westbound or up-hill track. Another 100-yards or so up the track, there used to be a water tower to the left of the tracks and a water spout between the two tracks. During the depths of winter, big icicles would form on the tower's sides! |