Altoona PA 10.09.12: The Thoroughbred Illuminating Moment

And then the sun came out.

There was a bit of a lull after 36A descended the grade, but as a reward for my patience in the meantime, the remaining cloud cover burned away and the sun shone forth more brightly than it had the entire trip. Now all I needed was a train. Or two. Or three...

The wait ended just before 11:30 as C40-8W 8434, SD60 6692, and C40-8W 8315 drifted slowly into the Curve with 14G's long and varied consist. By now the Curve park had been open for a while, and the park visitors elicited a few horn blasts from the engineer as the head end reached the apex. As SD40Es 6310 and 6321 guided 14G's tail through the Curve they were eclipsed by 24W, led by C40-9Ws 9258 and 9265. The faster-moving stack train continued to overtake 14G as the two continued down the far mountainside. SD40Es 6311 and 6315 followed close behind 14G, hidden from view until the last second by 24W's last well car. Now then, where are the westbounds?