Remarks: On a beautiful fall morning, Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian rounds the famous horseshoe curve eastbound on the Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line. Completed in 1854, it has become a national historic landmark. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to reduce the line’s grade as it works its way up west up the Alleghany mountains. The Amtrak in the picture is going down the grade. The curve has been under the ownership of 4 different railroads: Pennsylvania, The Penn Central Transportation Company, Conrail, and finally, Norfolk Southern. To the left is the trackside observation park which has been there since 1879. On a nice day, crowds of railfans and the general public can be seen enjoying the sights and sounds of the curve. Usually, engineers will give the crowds a nice horn show as they round the bend!
The electrified Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor have the traffic. The Pennsylvanian and Capitol Limited routed, which are all diesel, have the scenery.
