Nothing stays the same forever. The truth is this phrase can be seen fully today in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. During the wee hours of June 10th, 2019, Norfolk Southern signal crews began the process of dismantling some of the most iconic and most photographed signal structures in entire United States. The West Slope of Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line has long been a haven for railfans. With its great scenery, heavy traffic, and of course all of the history in such a condensed area, its easy to see why people come from miles around to visit this famous piece of railroad. I’ve been fortunate to spend a good deal of time in this area over the years and this past week, I decided to return on two separate nights for a final look at a few locations on the West Slope before they changed forever. Here, the headlights of an eastbound silhouette the classic Pennsy signal bridge at mile 254.6 as the train works uphill into Lilly, Pennsylvania. At the time of this photo, these signals had less than a week to stand. Now, the only Pennsy artifacts left here are the cement pillars on which the bridge once stood.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
