Field Trip: Horseshoe Curve in Pennsylvania
Two of our intrepid volunteers, Michael Guy and Dave Wetherald, undertook an intense six day trip to seven different sites of interest to railfans in the eastern U.S.A. Here is a list of the places in the order that they saw them:
- Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum. (Thursday)
- Horseshoe Curve (Altoona). (Thursday)
- The North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer NC ("Spencer Shops"). (Friday)
- The New Hope Valley Railway, New Hill (south-west of Raleigh NC). (Saturday & Sunday)
- Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke VA. (Monday)
- The C&O Railway Heritage Centre, Clifton Forge VA. (Monday)
- Cass Scenic Railway. (Tuesday).
This one of the most popular and famous railfan sites in North America. Wikipedia tells us: "The Horseshoe Curve is a 3,485-foot (1,062 m) triple-tracked railroad curve on the Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line in Logan Township, Blair County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is close to 1,300 feet (400 m) in diameter and has a grade of almost 2 percent. As a train travels west from Altoona, it ascends almost 60 feet (20 m) in the 0.66-mile (1.06 km) segment that makes up the curve and rotates 220 degrees. ....." Click here to learn more about Horseshoe Curve at Wikipedia.
The video above captures their experience at the Curve. Note also the funicular railway used to access the site. It is near the end of the video.
Below is a aerial view of the curve from Wikipedia.
Posting by Russ Milland; Videos by Michael Guy and Dave Wetherald
Click on the image for a closer look!
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