Horseshoe Curve
National Historic Landmark · Altoona, Pennsylvania
The curve the Pennsylvania Railroad cut into the Allegheny Front west of Altoona in 1854, doubling the track back on itself around a valley head so that trains could gain height at a workable gradient — the engineering that finally beat the mountain and put the railroad out of the Allegheny Portage Railroad's inclined-plane business within months. It is a National Historic Landmark, it still carries heavy Norfolk Southern freight on three tracks, and a funicular lifts visitors from the museum to a trackside viewing area inside the curve, where trains pass close enough to feel.
2400 Veterans Memorial Highway, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 16601, United States
Seasonal and reduced — generally open daily from spring through autumn with shorter hours and some closed days in winter; verify before travelling. Admission includes the funicular to the trackside viewing area. The funicular is occasionally out of service, leaving 194 steps as the only access. Trains run at all hours on an unpublished freight schedule.