Pennsylvania Railfanning October 2026, Part I: Peak Color

#train #autumn #trainspotting #railfan While I didn't make it to Pennsylvania earlier this year to witness Big Boy's passage in person, I did return in October for the second time in as many years to spend a long weekend railfanning. No teeming masses, no backroad gridlock, just me, my camera, a few trains, and a dash of autumnal splendor. Seems like a fair trade to me. 0:00 - NS 20H We were off and running as I checked into the Station Inn and learned from a fellow guest that a 65K was expected later with some interesting power in the lashup. I moved the FFVmobile around to the Arch St. side of the tracks and settled in to wait - just in time to watch a pair of units trundle up the siding with a loaded grain train for RJ Corman and tie down, leaving me looking at a wall of covered hoppers instead. Knowing full well the hoppers wouldn't be moving on to Clearfield any time soon, I relocated back to the Inn side of the tracks in time to catch eastbound stack train 20H, led by ES44DC 7534 and AC44C6M 4158. As SD70ACes 1032 and 1024 shoved away into the distance, they revealed a set of light helpers waiting to cross over to continue their journey east. 7:52 - NS 25P As some of my fellow Inn guests looked on, ES44DCs 7636 and 7510 led stack train 25P downgrade, adding more color to the scene with a large cut of international containers on the head end. The stalwart SD70ACu helpers are slowly giving up their role to SD70ACes, so it was nice to see a once-common matched pair like the 7230 and 7232 still plying their trade. 11:59 - NS 65K At last, it was time for the much-anticipated 65K. AC44C6M 4788 was on point, followed by Canadian Pacific ES44AC 8842 and KCS SD70ACe 4167; the latter two now serving under the CPKC banner. The real prize for me, however, was the lead half of the DPU pair - Erie heritage SD70ACe 1068, assisted by AC44C6M 4372. After a few near misses I had finally captured the last of the original 20 Norfolk Southern heritage units I had not yet seen in person, 14 years after spotting my first. 17:29 - Amtrak 43, Pennsylvanian While the grain train's power slumbered on 5 West, P42 88 whisked the Pennsylvanian away to Pittsburgh on Main 2 to wrap up my first evening in Cresson.