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Horseshoe Curve
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An orthophoto of Horseshoe Curve. Trains headed counterclockwise around the curve are going uphill.
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| Location: | Logan Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania |
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| Nearest city: | Altoona, Pennsylvania |
| Built: | 1854 |
| Architect: | Pennsylvania Railroad |
| Governing body: | Norfolk Southern Railway |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000647[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | November 13, 1966 |
| Designated NHL: | November 13, 1966[2] |
Horseshoe Curve is a famous railroad horseshoe curve in central Pennsylvania, near Altoona in the United States. Called an "engineering marvel", it was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad.[3] It was later used by the Penn Central, then Conrail, and is currently owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway.
The Curve is in Kittanning Gap near the summit of the Allegheny Front, about 5 miles (8 km) west of Altoona. It covers about 220 degrees of arc; on the north side, the radius measures 637 ft (194 m), tightening to 609 ft (186 m) on the south side. The elevation at the east end is 1594 feet (486 m) above sea level, rising to 1716 feet (522 m) at the west end.[4]
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Railroads had sought to cross the Allegheny Mountains for two decades before the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) succeeded with the Horseshoe Curve.[5]
The Curve was designed by John Edgar Thomson and Herman Haupt and built by men with picks and horses.
It opened on February 15, 1854, as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line to the west, and has been in continuous operation ever since.
Originally having one track,[5] it was widened to four tracks between 1898 and 1900. Conrail removed one track in 1981 and the Curve has had three tracks since then.
The curve was so important to U.S. railroad traffic that it was guarded by Union soldiers during the American Civil War. The Nazis attempted to sabotage it in Operation Pastorius during World War II.[6] The curve was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966, and is now a part of the National Register of Historic Places.
The location is noted among geologists for its excellent rock outcrops, including the Devonian Catskill Formation.
As of 2009, the curve has more than 50 trains daily on the triple-track mainline and it is not uncommon to see three trains passing simultaneously, with long freight trains working the westbound grade assisted by helper engines on the rear.[3] The curve also serves Amtrak's Pennsylvanian, which runs once in each direction every day. It has long been a popular tourist attraction, and is accessible via the Horseshoe Curve Funicular, a funicular railway running to a small park built by the PRR in 1879 at the summit of the ridge. A modern visitors center with a trackside observation area was built in 1992 and is open April through October, managed by the Railroaders Memorial Museum. Altoona's minor league baseball team, the Altoona Curve, is named after this railroad landmark.
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