Horseshoe Curve, Pennsylvania, 1900
POV from front of locomotive traveling through Horseshoe Curve at Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1900. To purchase a clean DVD or digital download of this film for personal home use or educational use contact us at questions@archivefarms.com. To license footage from this film for commercial use visit: travelfilmarchive.com
TOP 14. Best Tourist Attractions in Altoona, Pennsylvania
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The most beautiful places and sight in Altoona.
TOP 14. Best Tourist Attractions in Altoona, Pennsylvania: Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark, Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, Peoples Natural Gas Field, Boyer Candy Factory Outlet, Lakemont Park, Fort Roberdeau, Benzel Pretzel Outlet, Reighard's Gas Station, Southern Allegheny Museum of Art, Galactic Ice,
Travel 'n Truck Altoona, Pennsylvania area
Explore some railroading history sights in the Allegheny Mountains like the Horseshoe Curve and Allegheny Portage Railroad
Horseshoe Curve Pennsylvania Norfolk Southern Railway
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.
The curve was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a means of lessening the grade to the summit of the Allegheny Mountains by increasing the distance. It was built as an alternative to the time-consuming Allegheny Portage Railroad, the only other method of traversing the mountains for large vehicles. It has formed an important part of the region's transport infrastructure since its opening, and during World War II was targeted by Nazi Germany in 1942. The curve was later owned and used by the Pennsylvania Railroad's successors—Penn Central, Conrail, and Norfolk Southern. The Horseshoe Curve was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2004.
Day Odyssey Series: Ride to Horseshoe Curve - Altoona PA
Another incredible journey from the Baltimore area to the world-famous Horseshoe Curve! Featuring (of course) classic footage, cool photos and (of course-AGAIN) history! Great fall colors too! Brace yourself for this one! Our day...in west-central PA! Read this description so you'll know what's going on.
As per usual, we begin in the hood, and use an incredibly interesting route to the Horseshoe Curve area, avoiding freeways as much as possible. We pass through many historic towns along the way and make a few interesting stops.
Our first historic stop is at the site of the onetime Allegheny Portage RR, built in the 1830s. This short line was a link in the PA Canal system and used for hauling canal boats over the mountain from one end of the canal at Duncansville to where the canal resumed again near Johnstown. But it was a horrible idea! Due to steep inclined planes the ropes that pulled the flatcars the boats sat on often snapped, causing passenger injury, freight damage, and a lot of insurance claims! The canal system was replaced by what became the PRR, and the portage RR section replaced by a straighter line known as the New Portage RR which included Horseshoe's predecessor, the Muleshoe! Bet you didn't know there was a muleshoe!! Now it's a bike trail.
I included classic VHS footage of the summit of the planes as I couldn't get any closer on this day. You'll see the winch house (which housed stationary steam engines that pulled the ropes) before and after restoration! You'll also see the skewed arch bridge that passed the future US 22 (William Penn Highway) over the portage line and the Lemon House, a onetime passenger stopover.
But even this route proved too roundabout, and in 1854 the PRR had enough and set out to find another route. They eventually settled on a route west from Altoona which involved a sweeping curve around a couple mountain ranges which became Horseshoe Curve! This still involved grades over 1.6 percent, but anything was better than that confounded portage line! By comparison, the B&O's Old Main Line, as originally built, had grades nearing 2 percent, but was rebuilt 1900-1910 and grades cut to below .8 percent-less than their Metropolitan Branch!
Horseshoe, as built, was a 2-track line, with 2 more tracks added a few decades later. In the 1970s it was reduced from 4 to 3 tracks. Altoona Reservoir lies at the bottom within the Horseshoe.
At Horseshoe the action is never-ending!! A train every couple minutes!! I ain't lying!! We get great horn action from many friendly NS engineers! You definitely have to see this!!
Up until the early 1990s one could climb up to the curve for free! Now an admission is charged (sign of the times?), but stay there long enough and it's well worth it, considring all the action!
After the curve we make a side trip to Gallatzin which is at the top of the grade and through which tunnels pass. We then head back to Altoona and after a pit stop we begin our trek back to the big city, passing through State College, Lewistown and Harrisburg on US 322. A great return route! It's a night odyssey at this point but still somewhat interesting.
So, come exploring with us-again, and maybe even learn something! It's a great trip!
Shot November 3 2013. NO CSX here-guaranteed!
Next up in Day Odyssey Series: ...(don't know yet!)
The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Pa, United States.
A tour of part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Pennsylvania, United States (nearest city, Altoona, Pa.).
Although short lived, the Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania: it operated from 1834 to 1854. This collection of clips shows the remains/reconstructions of this important transport link and in a way a perfect summary of the American spirit of the 19th century.
Useful GPS: (copy & paste into Google maps/earth)
Visitor Center: 40.45840,-078.54908
Skew Arch Bridge: 40.45314, -078.54357 (in the middle of Route 22 highway so be careful)
Site I should have visited but I was only passing though on my way to a Pirates game that evening so ran out of time....: Horseshoe Curve National Historic site which looks superb: 40.49803, -078.48407
2014 World World II at The Horseshoe Curve
From 1942 to 1946, the Horseshoe Curve railroad link between east and west was not its typical tourist getaway. It became a guarded transportation link under martial law. In June 1942, Operation Pastorius went into effect. This secret mission organized by Adolf Hitler himself targeted many United States industries, one of them being the Horseshoe Curve in Altoona, PA. From August 9-10, 2014, members of the Furious Fourth WWII Living History Group recreated a garrison impression at the National Historic Landmark in the Allegheny Mountains.
Tuxedo Junction by The Universal-International Orchestra (*We do not own the rights to this song*)
Portage Picnic
A short video introducing a very nice, secluded and shaded picnic area at the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site along U.S. Highway 22 in Blair County, PA between Altoona and Ebensburg (Cambria County).
Fort Pitt Museum Tour | Saw A Building Erected In 1764 !! (2018)
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Fort Pitt Museum is an indoor/outdoor museum that is administered by the Senator John Heinz History Center in downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, where the Ohio River is formed. Fort Pitt Museum is surrounded by Point State Park, a Pennsylvania state park named for the geographically and historically significant point that is between the rivers. This piece of land was key to controlling the upper reaches of the Ohio River Valley and western Pennsylvania, before, during and after the French and Indian War as well as the American Revolution.
The museum is in a recreated bastion of Fort Pitt, which was originally built in 1758 by the British. An outline of Fort Duquesne is nearby. The historical focus of the museum is the role that Fort Pitt played during the French and Indian War. The museum also features detailed information on Fort Pitt's role during the American Revolution, the Whiskey Rebellion and the founding of Pittsburgh. The museum was established and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Fort Pitt was a fort in what is now the city of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The fort was built in 1758 during the French and Indian War, next to the site of Fort Duquesne. The French built Fort Duquesne at the beginning of that war, and it became a focal point due to its strategic river location. The Braddock expedition, a 1755 attempt to take Fort Duquesne, met with a bloody repulse at the Monongahela River. The French garrison viciously mauled an attacking British regiment in September 1758, but abandoned and destroyed the fort at the approach of General John Forbes's expedition in November.
The Forbes expedition was successful where the Braddock expeditionhad failed because of the Treaty of Easton, in which area American Indians agreed to abandon their alliance with the French. American Indians—primarily Delawares and Shawnees—made this agreement with the understanding that the British military would leave the area after the war. The Indians wanted a trading post on the spot, but they did not want a British army garrison. The British, however, built a new fort on the site and named it Fort Pitt, after William Pitt the Elder.
As a result, in 1763 local Delawares and Shawnees took part in Pontiac's Rebellion, an effort to drive the British out of their territory. The Indians' siege of Fort Pitt began on June 22, 1763, but the fort was too strong to be taken by force. In negotiations during the siege, the commander of Fort Pitt gave two Delaware emissaries blankets that had been exposed to smallpox, in hopes of infecting the surrounding Indians and ending the siege. The effectiveness of this attempt is unclear. Outbreaks of smallpox had plagued Native Americans for years before, during and after the Fort Pitt attempt, killing much of the Native American population. On August 1, 1763, most of the Indians broke off the siege in order to intercept an approaching force under Colonel Henry Bouquet, resulting in the Battle of Bushy Run. Bouquet fought off the attack and relieved Fort Pitt on August 10.
After Pontiac's War, Fort Pitt was no longer necessary to the British Crown, and was abandoned to the locals in 1772. At that time, the Pittsburgh area was claimed by both Virginia and Pennsylvania, and a power struggle for the region commenced. Virginians took control of Fort Pitt, and for a brief while in the 1770s it was called Fort Dunmore, in honour of Virginia's Governor Lord Dunmore. The fort served as a staging ground in Dunmore's War of 1774.
During the American Revolutionary War, Fort Pitt served as a headquarters for the western theatre of the war. Fort Pitt fell into disrepair once again in the years following the Revolution. It was abandoned in 1792 when Fort Fayette was built to replace it. Residents of the growing Pittsburgh used the remnants of the fort to build permanent housing for themselves.
A small brick building called the Blockhouse—actually a type of outbuilding known as a redoubt—remains in Point State Park, the only intact remnant of Fort Pitt. It was erected in 1764, and is believed to be the oldest building, not only in Pittsburgh, but in western Pennsylvania. Used for many years as a home, the blockhouse was purchased and has been preserved for many years by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who make it open to the public. Part of the foundations of Fort Pitt have been excavated and some of the fort has been rebuilt, though, giving visitors to Point State Park a sense of the size of the fort. In this rebuilt section the Monongahela Bastion houses the Fort Pitt Museum.
Horseshoe Curve - Pennsylvania
Horseshoe Curve is a railroad curve on Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line in Blair County, Pennsylvania. The curve itself is about 2,375 feet long and 1,300 feet in diameter; it was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a way to lessen the grade to the summit of the Allegheny Mountains. It eventually replaced the time-consuming Allegheny Portage Railroad, the only other route across the mountains for large vehicles.
Reenactors bring history to life at Horseshoe Curve
By: Lauren Hensley
LOGAN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A historical landmark in Altoona was the focus of a failed German sabotage plot during World War II. Sunday at Horseshoe Curve, dozens learned more about the historical event that could have altered history.
The Dec. 7, attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the deadliest attacks on American soil and four days later, the United States was at war. The Nazis began planning a secret sabotage mission -- their goal was to attack American economic targets. On the list was Horseshoe Curve, a crucial railroad passage near Altoona.
Their mission was not only to strike at America's capacity for making war, but also to strike a blow against the morale of the American people at that time, organizer Jared Frederick said.
Frederick said this is a little known event in American history and that is why they are working to educate the public about what happened in Blair County; Dozens of families came out to learn more. The curator of the museum said the reenactors give an inside perspective of what America was like in the 1940s.
It is amazing the stuff that they have brought in, how authentic it is. It's amazing to realize this was a very important time in our history and it gives you a better appreciation of what people went through in the 1940s, John Meise said.
Fredrick is also a Penn State Altoona history instructor. He said events like this help him become a better educator and share his passion for history with others.
History is much more than names and dates-- it is the story of people and whether we are in the classroom or out in the field like this, by offering these firsthand perspectives we are making the past more meaningful and relevant, Frederick said.
The sabotage plot was discovered when two of the conspirators turned themselves in.
Copy of Horseshoe Curve Pennsylvania Norfolk Southern Railway
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.
The curve was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a means of lessening the grade to the summit of the Allegheny Mountains by increasing the distance. It was built as an alternative to the time-consuming Allegheny Portage Railroad, the only other method of traversing the mountains for large vehicles. It has formed an important part of the region's transport infrastructure since its opening, and during World War II was targeted by Nazi Germany in 1942. The curve was later owned and used by the Pennsylvania Railroad's successors—Penn Central, Conrail, and Norfolk Southern. The Horseshoe Curve was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2004.
Econo Lodge Altoona - Altoona (Pennsylvania), USA - Review HD
Econo Lodge Altoona - Special price! -
The Econo Lodge hotel is located near the central business district and several historic sites like the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark at the Railroaders Memorial Museum. Blue Knob, Pennsylvania's highest ski mountain, and Prince Gallitzin State Park are within 15 miles of this Altoona hotel.
Canoe Creek State Park and Penn State Altoona college are less than six miles away. Be sure to visit the nearby Lakemont Park, home to more than 30 rides and attractions, including the Island Waterpark. DelGrosso's Amusement Park is about 15 minutes away. Visitors can enjoy shopping at the nearby Logan Valley Mall. Several restaurants are located in the surrounding area. Be sure to visit the on-site Hong Kong Buffet for lunch and dinner.
Guests of this Altoona hotel can enjoy amenities like free continental breakfast and free local calls. This is a pet-friendly hotel. Business travelers can appreciate conveniences like computer hook-ups and access to copy and fax services.
All spacious rooms include cable television. Some rooms come equipped with coffee makers, kitchenettes, microwaves and refrigerators. Non-smoking rooms are available. Laundry facilities and a newsstand are on the property for added guest convenience.
Horseshoe Curve
“Horseshoe Curve,” for concert band, is a moderately difficult piece with a duration of about 3:30. This piece is published at aamanomusic.com.
Horseshoe Curve, built in the early 1850s, is a section of railroad that crosses the Allegheny Mountains in Blair County, Pennsylvania, near Altoona. The Curve climbs the Allegheny Mountains in a gradual, curving ascent, instead of a direct, bottom-to-top route. This new design let the trains of those days reach the mountaintop. Horseshoe Curve was the first successful effort of this kind. The Curve was an engineering marvel then, and it still is today. Horseshoe Curve was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 13, 1966.
In addition to its engineering innovation, the Curve is a construction wonder because in the early 1850s there were no diesel-powered excavators, heavy-duty cranes and tractors, other earth-moving equipment, and specialized railroad-building machines. Every shovelful of earth was moved by hand, and every piece of track, every tie, and every tool were brought into the area by hand and by pack animals.
In “Horseshoe Curve,” as a westbound passenger train enters the Curve, a rider’s imagination takes him to the Curve’s construction during the early 1850s. Amid the rhythmic clicking of train wheels he hears the metalwork clanking and the horse driver’s whip. He imagines the struggle of both the men and the pack animals as they labor, day after day, year after year, to hand-build this engineering feat. The train then leaves the Curve, having conquered the Allegheny Mountains on its westbound journey. The piece ends contemplatively with the passenger’s offering a thoughtful sigh, reflecting on Horseshoe Curve and its construction.
Even though “Horseshoe Curve” is moderately difficult, its sophistication and complexity make it accessible by more experienced bands. “Horseshoe Curve” fits any concert venue, and players and audiences alike will enjoy it.
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Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Altoona - Altoona (Pennsylvania) - United States
Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Altoona hotel city: Altoona (Pennsylvania) - Country: United States
Address: 1601 Valley View Blvd.; zip code: PA 16602
Situated in Altoona, 1.7 km from Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark, Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Altoona features air-conditioned rooms with free WiFi throughout the property.
-- Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Altoona酒店位于阿尔图纳（Altoona），距离Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark地标1.7公里，提供设有空调客房和覆盖各处的免费WiFi。 每间客房都设有带浴缸和淋浴的私人浴室。 酒店设有24小时前台。
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The Abandoned Railroad Grade to Muleshoe Curve
I take a short hike along the abandoned grade of the New Portage Railroad to Muleshoe Curve in Blair County, PA while explaining the history of the line. The grade, which is part of the Allegheny Portage National Historic Site, was once part of the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works, a system of railroads, canals, and inclined plains that connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Internet Links:
6 to 10 Trail:
Allegheny Portage National Historic Site:
My Industrial Heritage Homepage:
Altoona
Produced with CyberLink PowerDirector 9
Around Our Neighborhood Pt 3--The Most Historic 47 Miles of USA Mountain RR!!
Life Beyond The Horseshoe Curve. Part 3--HQ. A Guide to Railfanning the NS West Slope in PA.
We visit Gallitzin---The Wine Cellar, and have lunch at The Midway Cafe.
Exploring defunct fantasy forest in gallitzin pa
We explored this abandoned storybook land... gallitzin pa.... what was once a colorful storybook play land....for kids of all ages, to check out just how their favorite nursery rhyme characters lived...now just defunct abandoned memories for those who were lucky enough to enjoy it while it was open ....
Gallitzin Parade 2004..Halloween
Gallitzin, PA Halloween Parade 2004. ENJOY