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Photo: Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, United States Geological Survey, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to allow trains to climb the steep Allegheny Mountains, this historic and well-known construction is a mecca for railfans. Located along the current Norfolk Southern east-west mainline, over 50 trains per day pass around the triple-track curve. Admission includes access to a small museum and a funicular ride up the hill to a grassy area on the inside of the curve, which has over 180 degrees' view of railroading action.
The Horseshoe Curve is a three-track railroad curve on Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The curve is roughly 2,375 feet (700 m) long and 1,300 feet (400 m) in diameter. Completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a way to reduce the westbound grade to the summit of the Allegheny Mountains, it replaced the time-consuming Allegheny Portage Railroad, which was the only other route across the mountains for large vehicles. The curve was later owned and used by three Pennsylvania Railroad successors: Penn Central, Conrail, and Norfolk Southern.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
in nearby Gallitzen
The Allegheny Portage Railroad was a great achievement in early travel. Charles Dickens, Jenny Linn, and Ulysses S. Grant traveled over the Allegheny Mountains. They braved a system that injured passengers on a weekly basis. A system of inclined planes and a nine hundred foot tunnel carved through solid rock by Welsh coalminers made this feat possible. For twenty years, it was the fastest way to cross the rough and wild terrain of Pennsylvania. The site features a recreated incline and winch used to pull portaged barges over the hill.
A Roman Catholic cathedral
Watch a live-action baseball team - up close and personal!
Family fun park, with the oldest operating wooden roller coaster in the world.