Horseshoe Curve - Altoona PA
Posted by: 
nomadwillie
N 40° 29.847 W 078° 29.030
17T E 713223 N 4486014
Completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad to lessen the grade ot the summit of the Allegheny Mountains.
Waymark Code: WMNZM8
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 05/30/2015
Views: 11
Horseshoe Curve replaced Allegheny Portage Railroad which was the only other method to cross the Allegheny Mountains to head west. The curev is 2,375 feet long and 1,300 feet in diameter. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2004. A observation deck was built in 1879.
In 1834 the state of Pennsylvania built the Allegheny Portage Railroad across the Allegheny Mountains to connect Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,[7] as part of the Main Line of Public Works. The Portage Railroad was a series of canals and inclined planes and remained in use until the mid-19th century. The Pennsylvania Railroad was incorporated in 1847 to build a railroad from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, replacing the cumbersome Portage Railroad.
Work on Horseshoe Curve began in 1850 and took over three years. It was done without heavy equipment, only men "with picks and shovels, horses and drags". The entire line, including Horseshoe Curve, opened on February 15, 1854. The total cost for 31.1 miles (50.1 km) of track between Altoona and Johnstown was $2,495,000 or $80,225 per mile ($49,850 /km).
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