| 17th Street. Here is an image of a photo by an unidentified photographer that was taken in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on 29 November 1925. Shown here is the wreckage of a Pennsylvania Railroad freight train lodged under the 17th Street Bridge. The train lost its brakes while descending the East Slope of the Allegheny Mountains, jumped the tracks around 14th Street, and momentum did the rest. Two PRR men died in the process. The Bridge was pushed from its moorings and was replaced soon thereafter. Here, curious Altoona residents survey the damage. Visible in the hazy distance is the PRR's Test Plant Building. William E. Burket Collection. |