Like much of the south and northeast, Pittsburgh got hit with about six inches of snow earlier this week that is slowly melting away. On Wednesday, I took the opportunity to try and get some wintertime shots of my favorite local shortline, the Allegheny Valley Railroad, on its run from Glenwood to Washington. ![405178B3-F1A9-415F-BDB5-12B644088998 405178B3-F1A9-415F-BDB5-12B644088998](https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/155716354382227123/filePointer/158674373663411483/fodoid/158674373663411475/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/405178B3-F1A9-415F-BDB5-12B644088998.jpeg)
I started my chase at Bruceton, PA, instead of waking up early and going closer to downtown. This CDP (some new suburban McMansions and light industry) is the over-under crossing of the former Pittsburgh & West Virginia and the Baltimore & Ohio, today the Wheeling and Lake Erie and AVR. Behind the bridge is the interchange track for the two roads.
![1CF4917D-A77E-4B32-8D7A-D14305634D8A 1CF4917D-A77E-4B32-8D7A-D14305634D8A](https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/155716354382227123/filePointer/158674373663411484/fodoid/158674373663411476/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/1CF4917D-A77E-4B32-8D7A-D14305634D8A.jpeg)
Approaching the Country Store, Venetia, PA. As I am sure I have mentioned, AVR spent the summer upgrading the ballast on the line, allowing six-axle power and a track speed of 20 MPH instead of 10-15, though today's crew was likely running at 25 (I had perhaps 3 minutes of a lead on them).
![246EDD04-F2CF-498E-A638-30B8F584801A_1_201_a 246EDD04-F2CF-498E-A638-30B8F584801A_1_201_a](https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/155716354382227123/filePointer/158674373663411485/fodoid/158674373663411477/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/246EDD04-F2CF-498E-A638-30B8F584801A_1_201_a.jpeg)
Tuesday's turn was unusual in that the train had eight frac sand hoppers in addition to the normal boxcars and plastics hoppers. With the cratering of oil prices in 2018, among other (nonpolitical) factors, Range Resources in Wylandville stopped receiving regular shipments of sand, which shrunk AVR-3 by a good twenty cars.
![C473EA8E-6709-4F11-B57B-6991E98B7321 C473EA8E-6709-4F11-B57B-6991E98B7321](https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/155716354382227123/filePointer/158674373663411486/fodoid/158674373663411478/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/C473EA8E-6709-4F11-B57B-6991E98B7321.jpeg)
There does not seem to be a rhyme or reason to what powers the turn; earlier this month a two-car train drew a sole GP59, while a 5-car train drew two SD60Ms. Today's power was a return to form, in some ways, with the return of GP40-3s to the train. 4001, rebuilt and repainted in 2019, sported a K3 series horn that gave the day a pseudo-Canadian feel.
![F68582FB-1D95-4A3A-AD58-6E4E9A0DDDB2 F68582FB-1D95-4A3A-AD58-6E4E9A0DDDB2](https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/155716354382227123/filePointer/158674373663411487/fodoid/158674373663411479/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/F68582FB-1D95-4A3A-AD58-6E4E9A0DDDB2.jpeg)
The conductor rides the stirrup of the two boxcars being switched to International Paper at Wylandville. The train left with just one plastic hopper, and I mistakenly assumed they were going all the way to Washington, PA (they did not).