ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA
This was the day that I had been planning for months. Seeing Union Pacific’s iconic Big Boy locomotive in Altoona. It was a bonus that I saw Big Boy in Duncannon, Pa, three days ago on its way from Harrisburg (Enola) to Altoona. I took that opportunity in case today was a bad-weather day, but today’s weather couldn’t be more perfect.
My first thought in my preliminary planning was that I would park at Logan Mall in Altoona then ride up Kittanning Point Road past Horseshoe Curve to the top of the mountain at Tunnel Hill. Eventually, I saw that there was a viewing party at the Curve and the road would be closed all day except for the shuttles. When tickets were made available for viewing, I tried to grab some but as soon as I saw the link they were sold out. So viewing by bike would be my choice and my preference anyhow.
I came here two weeks ago to ride up the mountain and find viewing in Tunnel Hill. I learned that there are two tunnels in Tunnel Hill. Previously, I only knew about the main one. So I found the tunnel that would be used for Big Boy and found a viewing location that I thought I could access pretty easily by bike, even if the road was closed to traffic.
It was hard to find answers about road closures both around Altoona and Gallitzin or Tunnel Hill. Initially, I had posted this as a club ride for my cycling club but with the closures, I canceled the group ride and decided to go by myself.
I was up by 5:00 a.m. and on the road shortly thereafter. I wanted to be “wheels down” by 8:00 a.m. and almost made it. It was 8:03 a.m. when I pushed off and headed to Sugar Run Road. That road also climbs the mountain and is roughly parallel to the one past Horseshoe Curve. I had been perusing some news or Facebook pages and saw that viewing in some Pennsylvania Game Lands was also an option. I saw a location at the top of the mountain just before the tunnel and thought that might be easier to get to than the viewing in Tunnel Hill, which was closed to traffic.
As I climbed the lower slopes of the mountain, I passed a small parking lot that was full. It was an access point to game lands. There was a young couple exiting their car. The dad had a toddler in a backpack carrier while the mom had a baby in a front-facing sling carrier. I stopped briefly to chat and learned they were walking to a vantage point. I told them where I was headed and he said that it would work but it might be more crowded. I thanked them and rode on.
After one mile and thinking about the crowding component, I decided to turn around and head up to the game lands that I had passed. At the parking lot I went under the bar of the gate (no vehicles) and started climbing the gravel road. I didn’t have my gravel bike with gravel wheels and came to a 15% grade. You cannot avoid that on this mountain, no matter where you climb. Horseshoe Curve, Sugar Run Road, and even this gravel road have this steep section.
I was on the steepest section and ready to dismount and walk when I passed three young men walking. Ugh. I couldn’t be seen pushing my bike instead of riding it. I found the energy to pedal.
I caught and passed the young couple who had not made it to the top. “See you up there,” I said, thanking them for the advice.
At the top, I found a wonderful viewing location. This wasn’t as crowded as Duncannon and had the added benefit of being on a climb. The train should be going slower.
The train was scheduled to leave Altoona at 9:00 and stop at the Curve at 9:30. It would leave at 9:45 and we were about one mile higher on the mountain between the Curve and the tunnel. Having ridden the Amtrak from Johnstown to Altoona in April, I knew there would be a train coming down the mountain shortly before 10:00 a.m. There had been no rail traffic the entire time we waited and I had arrived at 9:00 a.m. Almost on schedule, we could hear the Amtrak coming through the tunnel. I wonder if they stopped the Amtrak at the Curve so the passengers could see Big Boy?
We heard the whistle, that sweet whistle only steam can make, around 10:00 a.m. We knew Big Boy was getting ready to depart the Curve. Around 10:15 a.m. it came chugging up the mountain. It is so massive and it runs so perfectly. And it is beautiful.
While it took one minute to pass on the flat in Duncannon, it took about two minutes for it to go by here. But it wasn’t “slow” by my thinking. It was moving at a smart pace. And then it was gone.
What a day. Even though I saw it three days earlier, it was still worth waking up at 5:00, driving three hours, and biking another hour to see this machine marvel.
The ride down the gravel road was sketchy, but once I reached pavement, the ride down Sugar Run was marvelous. I reached my car and headed back home.
Recent Comments