Hello everyone…First time post long time reader…Here is the situation: We are heading to the Altoona area in a few weeks with my almost four year old who loves trains…Which are the spots we should go? Is the horseshoe curve worth it? What about the railroad musuem in Altoona? What other cities should we hit? Cresson, Cassandra, Galitzin not sure which ones(s) we should hit. What I am trying to find out if what sites would work best with a four year old…If I was going by myself I would go everywhere.
With a four year old the Horseshoe Curve is a must. Has lots of room to run around, restrooms, gift shop, etc. Cassandra and Gallitzin also have plenty of roaming room and a good close up view of the trains and in addition is the caboose at Gallitizin. Cresson sits between those sites so you can check it out and get ice cream at the replica caboose ice cream stand thats along the tracks near old US22.
As to the museum, not much for a four year old. The equipment on display most of it you cannot go in or climb around on, but your admission to the museum is also used at the Curve, so make sure you get your money’s worth. You can also get a good view of the yard display by parking along the tracks and using the sidewalks to check things out between trains bopping by. Don’t forget Alto tower is close by and you can walk to see it up close. If you do go into the museum yard you will get a sad look at the K4s they own. Its in pieces and looking bad.
Hope the little tyke has fun, have a great time!!!
If you’re spending the night in the area, I’d suggest one of the two B&Bs nearby–the Station Inn in Cresson or the Tunnel Inn in Gallitzin. My wife and I stayed at the Tunnel Inn for a couple of nights in 2009, and it was perfect for railfanning. Your four-year-old will be fascinated with the trains going into or out of the tunnel, right there. The caboose that K4sPRR mentioned is right across the tracks from the Inn. Station Inn is in Cresson, which has a few more amenities available (we didn’t stay there, so don’t know how kid-friendly it is). Both should have good web sites.
4 yr old? Horseshoe curve and the gallitzin tunnels. Maybe take a quick stop over at Cresson (at least you may see some helpers moving around or idling - beats staring at empty tracks).
Check out the turntable at the Juniata shops (east end of the shops). Always neat to see what sort of stuff they have sitting around.
EBT and the Rockhill trolley museum are open until the end of October on weekends.
I can add that Cresson has a platform for trainwatching.It has a button where you can listen in to the railroad.You can also see the helper engine area across the tracks too.I know 3 boys that had a great time when we were there.have fun.
You might also want to pick up a copy of the August Trains magazine if you haven’t done so already. It has a foldout map of the whole area from Altoona to Johnstown.
Also at Altoona - the 2 pedestrian bridges from the Amtrak/ bus station side over the tracks to the RR Museum provide a really good place to watch the trains, and also a higher-level view of the RR Museum’s turntable and collection there.
A good walking loop is over one of the bridges, along the RR Museum and through the adjoining parking lot, back over the tracks across the 17th St. bridge - which is right next to ALTO tower, and then back down to the Station alongside the PRR Expressway.
That can be fun when one of the 2 daily Amtrak trains come through, because then you can see them up close and stopped for a few minutes.
If you’re going to be there on a Sunday afternoon and evening, look into taking Amtrak from Johnstown to Altoona or Tyrone, and back again - the connection/ wait between the 2 trains at those easterly stations is roughly only an hour or so. Or, if you have someone with you who could drive to meet you, just ride the train 1 way between any 2 stations you like. The fare is pretty reasonable, too.
And just a little further to the northeast from the Shops and the turntable, which is at the stub end of N. 6t St. heading southeast, just southeast of N. 4th Ave. - is CP ROSE, just about under the N. 8th St. bridge over the
i recomend the station inn in cresson. innkeeper tom davis will make you feel at home and knows all about the railroad. after a hearty breakfast head west to carney crossing and catch amtrak 42 at track level. then visit the iron bridge at cassandra deepest cut on the mainline of the pa. rr.
Contrary to others’ opinions, I would reccommend the Railroaders Museum even for the 4 year old. But I would way Horseshoe Curve is number one followed by Gallitzen and Cresson, the three can be done in one morning or afternoon; then do the Museum and downtown Altoona. And don’t forget the Portage RR museum and planes, Muleshoe, et al.
After visiting Altoona, Horseshoe Curve and Gallitzin… as well as Cresson…(and I am a frequent guest at The Station Inn at Cresson so can vouch for others advice for lodging therelthough October might be a tough month to book a room there with Fall foliage bookings abundant)…I would recommend checking out the West Slope beyond Cresson as well…There are neat spots to watch and photograph trains in towns West of Cresson such as Lilly, Cassandra, Portage, Summerhill, and South Fork…Each of those towns except for Portage all have some form of bridge or overpass over the mainline where one can get good views of the action.
Cassandra offers an old footbridge with a picnic area away from road traffic.
Summerhill offers a roadbridge over the mainline as well as a PRR signalbridge for a photoprop.
South Fork has a road bridge that leads to Ehrenfeld…and there is also an area where one can park along side the road at tracklevel near the South Fork wye…which is the junction with the South Fork Secondary Line…where NS’ SD80MACS can be seen running hoppers back and forth from local coal mines…
At Summerhill, I believe you can see the signal indications from the road bridge - for at least 2 of the 3 tracks, maybe all 3 - as the signals have high masts so the train crews can see them over the road bridge, which is just in front. That’s another way you can get an early indication that something is coming - as well as a scanner, etc. of course. Are there any other locations where the signals are readily visible from a publicly accessible and ‘legal’ train-watching spot ? ALTO tower and the signal bridge at the ‘Brickyard’ crossing at the SW side of Altoona come to mind, but i don;t know the West SLope real well yet.
Cresson has two things going for it. One, there is a playground right near the viewing platform, so there is something for the kids while you wait. The other is that there are signals visible, plus a grade crossing within hearing distance, so you get some warning that the trains are coming. When I was there in May the speaker was not working.
Horseshoe Curve has plenty of room to run around. I recommend the afternoon as the volume of traffic seemed to pick up markedly after lunch. May have just been that day, but I have been told that is the case most days. Morning was pretty slow. In the afternoon I saw trains back to back, both directions, pretty much constantly for a few hours.
Gallatin also has a playground, plus a caboose to hang out in. Trains sort of surprise you bursting out of the tunnel.
We went to the curve on Saturday which had great weather…That place was pretty cool. It’s amazing how the engines growl when they come up from Altoona. My son loved the ride up and down on the inclined plane. We got there about 1230 and saw a lot of trains and during the two hours we were there we probably saw about 10-12 trains. The little museum they had was neat and overall a good expreience.
We went to the museum in Altoona next and that was pretty cool but my son did not make it out of the play area in the gift shop. He enjoyed going into the caboose and walking around the yard. We then went on the walkway by the tracks and walked down to take a picture of Alto tower. The bridge to the Amtrak station was neat too. Also drove around and got a picture of the turn table which my son thought it was neat.
On Sunday we went to Galitzen and Cresson. We only saw three trains in the two hours we were in both places. Also saw one set of helpers. Both towns were neat and I got some good pictures of the trains coming out of the tunnel.
Thanks to everyone for their ideas on where to go…Already planning my next trip.
