Tag Archives: #Cassandra

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Poised and Ready on the West Slope!

In Conrail days, I made many memorable visits to the West Slope of Alleghenies. The former PRR mainline was always alive with freight.

It had been almost three years since our last visit to this hallowed ground. Last Saturday we made an overdue pilgrimage.

We arrived at the Railroad Overlook at Cassandra, Pa. just before 1pm. There were a fair few photographers already in position, plus an extended Mennonite family enjoying a PRR-themed picnic.

It was quiet for the first half hour.

Light clouds crossed the sky, and a set of light helpers went West toward Cresson. I made photos to capture the aura of the place. And then a distant roar, just barely audible above the rustle of leaves.

Shhhh. A westbound cometh, and its very heavy.

It won’t be long now . . .

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Tips and Technique

West Slope Glint

I made these glint images looking west from the Railfan’s Overlook at Cassandra, Pennsylvania toward the November evening sunset.

The trick to successful glint images is correctly exposing for the highlights in order to retain sufficient detail.

Another trick is to select a ‘daylight’ white balance, rather than using an automatic white balance setting.

Westward Norfolk Southern intermodal train passes Cassandra, Pennsylvania on the West Slope of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line grade over the Allegheny Divide.
Helpers at the back of a westbound double stack train.

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photography

Low Sun on the Middle Track—Cassandra, Pennsylvania.

In the autumn, the sun swings around in the late afternoon at Cassandra, and neatly lines up with the rock cut to the west of the Railfans Overlook bridge.

Looking west at Cassandra.

We heard a westward freight approaching, so I took a position over the middle track to make for a dramatic telephoto view in the low autumn sun.

I exposed this view using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm Z-series zoom extended to 165mm.

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Coal Train at Cassandra

Standing at the Railfan’s Overlook at Cassandra, Pennsylvania we could hear a heavy eastward train climbing the West Slope on Norfolk Southern’s former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line.

Kris and I had arrived at this famous photo location on our drive east from Illinois last month. It was Kris’s first time at Cassandra, and my first visit here in more than a decade.

Finally after several minutes a headlight appeared on the long tangent looking west toward Johnstown. A slow-moving loaded unit coal train was clawing up grade towards us.

As the train approached and passed us, I made this series of photos using my Nikon Z6 mirrorless digital camera fitted with a Z-series f2.8 70-200mm zoom lens. A pair of NS SD70ACUs were working at the back of the train.

Looking east at Cassandra as the helpers shove at the back of the eastward loaded coal train.

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