| 17th Street. Here is an original photo by an unidentified photographer that was taken at the old Pennsylvania Railroad engine ladder near the 17th Street Bridge in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in July of 1978. Any hints of the concentrated steam locomotive action that once occurred here are long gone. Now, diesel-electric locomotives rule the rails. Shown here (L to R) is Conrail engine #6663 and four more units whose road numbers are not recorded. Just like in the age of steam, they're lugging an iron-ore train up the Allegheny Mountains via the Horseshoe Curve to Gallitzin and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Photo taken from the 17th Street Bridge. |