Nomad of Mid-America
Coming Full (Half) Circle
Horseshoe Curve is an icon, a feat of engineering, a strategical component of Norfolk Southern's extensive network in the east. Elementally, it's a little more than a half circle, plain and simple--220-some odd degrees arced around a diameter spanning in excess of 1,200' with an offset of 9.25" at the midpoint of every 62' chord length. Nonsensical geometry to some, but in this gibberish of numbers resides 16+ decades of history and lore plus a dramatic spectacle for every traversal of a train around one of its several main tracks. This most celebrated location on the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad, perhaps the most famous curve in all of railroading, circumvolves trains around both ridges bordering Kittanning Run west of Altoona, easing the Pennsy's westward crossing of the Alleghenies to surmountable grades not exceeding 2%. Though the Pennsy is long gone and one of its four famous lanes has been nixed, Horseshoe Curve continues to support major tonnage, exceeding 100 MGT per calendar year, as a focal point on Norfolk Southern's Pittsburgh Line, continuing its purpose of serving as a vital artery in the conveyance of goods from the Midwest to the east. This time, its 25V's turn to take center stage, immersing the vivid valley of Kittanning Run with the sonic pounding of FDL horsepower dragging their containerized payload from Jersey to Chi-town towards the top of the mountain at Gallitzin. Once the engines pass, the throaty exhaust racket will defer to the piercing screech of metal-to-metal contact as the conical tread of each wheel loses the ability to steer through the tightly bent strips of iron and the flanges are pressed into action against the gauge face of the rail. A pitch perfect performance in mountain railroading, no doubt.
Coming Full (Half) Circle
Horseshoe Curve is an icon, a feat of engineering, a strategical component of Norfolk Southern's extensive network in the east. Elementally, it's a little more than a half circle, plain and simple--220-some odd degrees arced around a diameter spanning in excess of 1,200' with an offset of 9.25" at the midpoint of every 62' chord length. Nonsensical geometry to some, but in this gibberish of numbers resides 16+ decades of history and lore plus a dramatic spectacle for every traversal of a train around one of its several main tracks. This most celebrated location on the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad, perhaps the most famous curve in all of railroading, circumvolves trains around both ridges bordering Kittanning Run west of Altoona, easing the Pennsy's westward crossing of the Alleghenies to surmountable grades not exceeding 2%. Though the Pennsy is long gone and one of its four famous lanes has been nixed, Horseshoe Curve continues to support major tonnage, exceeding 100 MGT per calendar year, as a focal point on Norfolk Southern's Pittsburgh Line, continuing its purpose of serving as a vital artery in the conveyance of goods from the Midwest to the east. This time, its 25V's turn to take center stage, immersing the vivid valley of Kittanning Run with the sonic pounding of FDL horsepower dragging their containerized payload from Jersey to Chi-town towards the top of the mountain at Gallitzin. Once the engines pass, the throaty exhaust racket will defer to the piercing screech of metal-to-metal contact as the conical tread of each wheel loses the ability to steer through the tightly bent strips of iron and the flanges are pressed into action against the gauge face of the rail. A pitch perfect performance in mountain railroading, no doubt.