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Horseshoe Curve
Horseshoe Curve
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
	Satellite view of Horseshoe Curve, west of Altoona, Pennsylvania. Trains headed counterclockwise around the curve are going uphill.
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Nearest city:	Altoona, Pennsylvania
Coordinates:	40°29′51.42″N 78°28′54.09″W / 40.4976167°N 78.4816917°WCoordinates: 40°29′51.42″N 78°28′54.09″W / 40.4976167°N 78.4816917°W
Area:	8 acres (3.2 ha)
Built/Founded:	1852
Architect:	Pennsylvania Railroad
Governing body:	Norfolk Southern Railway
Added to NRHP:	November 13, 1966
Designated NHL:	November 13, 1966
NRHP Reference#:	66000647

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. Amtrak's Pennsylvanian passenger train traverses the curve.

The Curve is located in Kittanning Gap at the summit of the Allegheny Front, approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of Altoona. The bend is a tight arc of approximately 220 degrees. It comprises two separate curves; on the north side, the radius measures 637 ft (194 m), tightening to 609 ft (186 m) on the south side.

[edit] History

Horseshoe Curve was constructed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) due to the difficulty of constructing a railroad through the summit of the Allegheny Mountains. It was designed by John Edgar Thomson and Herman Haupt, opening on February 15, 1854, as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line to the west.

The curve has been in continuous operation since 1854. Originally comprising two tracks, it was widened to four tracks between 1898 and 1900. Conrail removed one of the tracks in 1981 and the Curve remains in this three-track configuration.

The curve's importance to railroad traffic in the U.S. was such that it was guarded by Union soldiers during the American Civil War and the Nazis attempted to sabotage it in Operation Pastorius during World War II.^[4] 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 also noted among geologists for its excellent rock outcrops, including the Devonian Catskill Formation.

[edit] Current operations

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] 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.