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Horseshoe Curve Chapter, NRHS Home
July 4, 2004:
Independence Day/Horseshoe Curve 150th Anniversary Celebration
(c) copyright 2004 by Dan Cupper
"The HSC (Horseshoe Curve) light train was drawn, fore and aft, by freshly painted Norfolk Southern GE Dash 9's, 9822 and 9828, each with Horseshoe Curve commemorative 150th anniversary magnetic logos affixed to the sides of their noses.The consist was 10 brand-new, never-used-in-revenue-service DTTX three-pack container well cars, spliced by a commemorative boxcar bearing the logos of all four owners of Horseshoe Curve -- PRR, PC, CR, and NS. The well cars held generators, strobe lights, detail lights, and spotlights, the latter of which were synchronized and choreographed for the light show with the multiple spotlights placed at parking-lot level and in the trackside park.
The downpour was predicted and most of the approximately 3,000 patrons were well prepared with ponchos, rain hats, umbrellas, etc. The Vice President did appear at the Altoona Curve minor-league baseball game in the evening but the rain was relentless (the game against the Harrisburg Senators was called after eight innings) and his appearance at the Horseshoe Curve 150th event was canceled. (Secret Service agents had been checking out Altoona and Horseshoe Curve for six weeks).
As dusk arrived, the westbound Amtrak 41 (Three Rivers) was about the last, if not the last, regular train to pass through the Curve before rail traffic was stopped for the festivities. NS Chairman David Goode and guests arrived aboard the NS business train on No. 1 track and disembarked, after which the business train moved out of sight. It was powered by two new SD70Ms.
The rain cleared about a half-hour before the light show began. The light train was held just out of range until the program began, when the train moved westward on No. 2 track at about 5 mph to the accompaniment of live music. The train stopped with the boxcar at the apex of the Curve. The engines and boxcar had their own individual side lighting, and the nose of the 9822 was also illuminated with lamps that changed brilliant colors. The light show, which lit up the mountainsides in all directions, continued for several minutes until a 30-minute fireworks show began. At the conclusion of the fireworks, the NS business train returned to gather its passengers, and the light train began to return down the mountain to Altoona.
As for the vegetation, the east side has been cleared to signal bridge 2416, opening that arc of the vista considerably, compared to what it had been. (i.e., from the parking lot, one can easily see the trains on No. 1 and No. 2 track now at that segment of the Curve). Much more remains to be done, and the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, administrator of the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark, has plans to continue the clearing, but a caveat here: Anyone expecting to see the clear-cut conditions shown in the 1952 PRR calendar painting recreated will be disappointed.
The event was conducted in such a way that those visitors on the lower level saw most if not all of the light show and the vegetation wasn't an issue. Those on the upper level saw much more of the train, but aside from the engines and boxcar, the darkened well cars weren't much to look at since the real attraction of the evening was the light show and the fireworks. The only complaints I heard were about the rain, and even that was mild because people did come prepared.
A lot of things could have come unraveled or gone wrong, but they didn't. It was a worthwhile celebration that shows what's possible when cooperation occurs among a nonprofit (ARMM), a corporate sponsor (OSRAM Sylvania) and a common carrier (NS), along with many theatrical lighting consultants, rigging experts, and other subcontractors.
Congratulations to ARMM exec. director Scott Cessna and his board and staff for having the vision to propose this and carry it through. Daniel Burnham, architect of Washington Union Station and PRR's Union Station, Pittsburgh, once said: "Make no little plans. They have no power to stir men's blood."
All rights reserved. For permission to copy or reprint, please contact Dan Cupper at cupper@att.net. Dan Cupper, Harrisburg, PA
July 4, 2004:
Independence Day/Horseshoe Curve 150th Anniversary Celebration Photographs
Horseshoe Curve 150th Anniversary Celebration - July 4, 2004 Altoona, Pa.
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(Click image to view a larger version)
"On behalf of the 28,000 people of Norfolk Southern, I thank all of you for coming out tonight and helping us celebrate the 150th anniversary of Horseshoe Curve.
We at Norfolk Southern have been delighted and honored be a part of the lighting of Horseshoe Curve, but we all owe our thanks to those who made it possible.
First and foremost is the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona. The museum and the Horseshoe Curve Visitors Center is the blueprint for industrial heritage sights throughout the country. Scott Cessna, thank you for your leadership and commitment to preserve and interpret a glorious part of Norfolk Southern’s history. We are proud to be associated with you.
I commend Sylvania and the Hite Company for their investment of time, money, resources and incredible expertise for tonight’s event. Fran Piscatelli, there were more than a few times when I was struck – sometimes with disbelief – by the scope and magnitude of the project. I thank you, Lee Hite, and your teams for creating a new image of Horseshoe Curve that people will be talking about for generations.
Finally, since tonight is about anniversaries, I want to mark a significant milestone for Norfolk Southern. Five years ago last month, Norfolk Southern began operating through Horseshoe Curve, Altoona and central Pennsylvania. While we encountered challenges along the way, we are today on a key route for the nation’s premier transportation company. This is a piece of history – but for us it’s a very busy line and a key part of the future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Congressman Bill Shuster, Sen. Bob Jubelirer, and Reps. Jerry Stern and Rick Geist for their guidance and support along the way and in the future.
Horseshoe Curve is the single most recognizable railroad landmark in North America, if not the world.
Over the years, Horseshoe Curve helped the United States expand west. It provided a means for families to find new opportunities during the Great Depression, and it was a vital link for military efforts during World War II in the Pacific and Europe – to the point that saboteurs were sent to destroy railroad operations in this area. It also allowed some of our most recognized companies grow their businesses.
Today, Horseshoe Curve continues to play a vital role not only in our national economy, but in the economies of Asia and Europe as well.
But an important part of Horseshoe Curve is the railroaders that have made and continue to make all this possible – beginning with the men who carved this landmark out with nothing more than picks, shovels, gun powder and mules.
I salute the past and present generations of railroaders who have had the opportunity to work on and over Horseshoe Curve:
* The track and signal forces that have kept the Curve open on beautiful days like today, as well as in some of the most miserable weather imaginable.
* The train crews that have coaxed their steam and diesel locomotives up – and nursed them down – the mountain.
* The operators of Alto, Slope, MG and AR towers, the yardmasters at Rose and the train dispatchers in Altoona and Pittsburgh who have kept the trains moving.
* And the craftsmen at the Juniata and Altoona shops who settled this area and continue to set the standard for equipment maintenance.
You all occupy a special place in the continuing story of railroading in America. I look forward to many more anniversaries for the Curve.
Thank you."
(Prepared remarks of David R. Goode Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Norfolk Southern Corporation; Used with permission from Norfolk Southern)
150th Anniversary Of "Horseshoe Curve" Features Major Fourth Of July Tribute March 11, 2004
www.railroadcity.com/hsc1954. "We recognize the historical significance of the anniversary of the construction of Horseshoe Curve and are pleased to support the recreation of the spectacle of the first lighting. As we did in the past, we will be using the most innovative products available on the market today," said Charlie Jerabek, president and CEO of OSRAM SYLVANIA. "Many of the lighting products available through OSRAM SYLVANIA today were developed within the last five years."Norfolk Southern and OSRAM SYLVANIA Engineer Lighting Extravaganza; This Year's Event Will Trump the 1954 "SYLVANIA Big Shot"
ALTOONA, PA - With the commemoration of Horseshoe Curve's 150th anniversary this year, the Railroaders Heritage Corporation today announced that it will "pull out all the stops" with a major evening spectacular on July 4th. This extraordinary event will be reminiscent of the famous 1954 "SYLVANIA Big Shot," which featured the simultaneous deployment of more than 6,500 SYLVANIA Blue Dot flashbulbs to light Horseshoe Curve. This time, OSRAM SYLVANIA and Norfolk Southern will provide technology, equipment and sizzle for the celebration of this major transportation and engineering milestone in American history.
"We are excited to once again help bring notice to such an important moment in American history," said Scott Cessna, executive director of the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona. "In 1854, an enterprising young civil engineer named J. Edgar Thomson opened the first railway to scale the mighty Allegheny Mountains in Central Pennsylvania. To avoid a sharp incline, which would be impossible for heavy steam trains to manage, Thomson routed the right-of-way in a horseshoe shape, so the rise would be gradual. The feat was considered a major engineering masterpiece at the time and was pivotal to opening commerce across the continental U.S."
The American Society of Civil Engineers recently recognized Horseshoe Curve as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark during a ceremony in Altoona. "Horseshoe Curve is a vital component of Norfolk Southern's 22- state freight rail network," said David R. Goode, Norfolk Southern's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The 150th year of operation of this American industrial and engineering landmark, its role in the westward expansion of the U.S. and its continuing importance to the national economy are certainly deserving of celebration."
Today, an average of 60 Norfolk Southern freight trains and four Amtrak passenger trains operate over Horseshoe Curve daily. This volume translates into more than 100 million gross tons of freight annually. Commodities coming through Horseshoe Curve include mail, consumer goods, coal, finished automobiles, construction material and agricultural products.
SYLVANIA technology continues to focus public awareness on the remarkable feat of engineering that Horseshoe Curve represents. In 1954, SYLVANIA and the Pennsylvania Railroad captured the imagination of children and adults alike with the illumination of Horseshoe Curve, which was the sixth in a series of 18 photographic achievements known as Big Shots. All 18 Big Shots were illuminated using SYLVANIA flashbulb technology. Photographs of the 1954 event can be found at
In order to provide the safest and most comfortable atmosphere for the celebration, the event will be ticketed. Entertainment will be provided the entire day both at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona and Horseshoe Curve, culminating with the lighting of Horseshoe Curve and a display from Zambelli Fireworks Internationale - the "First Family of Fireworks." Ticket information is available by contacting the Railroaders Memorial Museum at 1-888-4ALTOONA." Norfolk Southern Corporation; Thursday, March 11, 2004
(About OSRAM SYLVANIA; Headquartered in Danvers, Mass., OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American lighting operation of OSRAM GmbH. Together we are the second- largest lighting and materials enterprise in the world, serving customers in more than 140 countries. We manufacture and market a wide range of lighting products, including automotive, electronic and magnetic ballasts, and precision materials and components for industrial and commercial users, original equipment manufacturers and consumers, sold primarily under the SYLVANIA brand name, but also under the OSRAM brand. OSRAM SYLVANIA also offers lighting systems installation and maintenance services. For further information, please refer to our Web site at
www.sylvania.com.)
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(L to R) Frank Givler, KR&P Vice-President; and members Dave Seidel, Pat McKinney and son Patrick McKinney | |
February 15,1854 marked the day of the opening of a complete rail route of the Pennsylvania Railroad from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh by way of the newly completed Horseshoe Curve. Approximately 100 feet west of the apex of Horseshoe Curve, is a marker designating the distance from Philadelphia, known as Milepost 242. The former PRR style milepost disappeared sometime ago, replaced only by a pressed-steel post with scotchlite number-decals. Originally made from cast iron, and probably cast in the PRR's South Altoona Foundry, it may have deteriorated from the acid of the cinders from decades of steam engines, sent off to a scrap pile, or stolen by vandals.
Whatever the reason, as the celebration year marking the 150th anniversary of the opening of world famous Horseshoe Curve nears, Keystone Restoration & Preservation Inc., replaced the milepost on Saturday, December 13, 2003, with a new marker fabricated from steel, and made from the original PRR standard plan. The fine craftsmen of the Norfolk Southern Juniata Shops fabricated a fitting replacement (weight approximately 400 lbs), to be positioned where the former had been, according to former Pennsylvania Railroad engineering valuation maps.
Thank you to Ernie McClellan, Assistant Superintendent, and Boilermakers Rick Massaro, Joe Chirdon, Jeff Rupp, and Dan Woomer; Vince Laratonda, Gang Leader, and the Juniata Shops for manufacturing the new milepost. Chris Carney, Assistant Division Engineer, Bill Little, Track Supervisor, Rick Rabish, Foreman, Bill Durbin, Machine Operator, of the Pittsburgh Division Maintenance Of Way & Structures Department for site preparation, and thanks to Nick Seman for computer graphic work for the numerals. A special thank you to Frank Givler for taking delivery of the milepost, providing a facility to store it during paint and finish work, and transporting it to the installation site.Keystone Restoration and Preservation is a not-for-profit corporation for historical and educational purposes to restore, preserve, exhibit and operate historically significant railroad equipment and properties. KR&P had a significant volunteer presence in the 1986-87 restoration of former PRR K-4s Class steam locomotive# 1361, and provides operational crew for that endeavor. KR&P has also restored the amusement park steam locomotive for DelGrosso Park, Tipton, PA, owns historical railroad cars and equipment, and engages in various rail-heritage related projects, which often has included assisting the mission of Railroader's Memorial Museum, Altoona, PA.
Press Release from August 2003
THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE MODERN WORLD
THE WORLD FAMOUS HORSESHOE CURVE GETS READY TO CELEBRATE ITS 150TH BIRTHDAY
" In 1851 a brash young civil engineer by the name of J.Edgar Thomson set out to build the first railroad to scale the mighty Allegheny Mountains in Central Pennsylvania. When his boss balked at putting up the money for this seemingly impossible task, young J.Edgar got himself elected to the Presidency of the Pennsylvania Railroad one year later and raised the $3 million dollars it would take to get the job done.
Considered an engineering masterpiece even today, his 14.4 mile climb from Altoona up the face of the east slope of Allegheny Mountain, reverses itself at Kittanning Point into an amazing Horseshoe and ascends almost 2 feet every 100 feet, clinging to drop dead valley walls and ridges all the way to the summit. Within three short years J. Edgar Thomson had opened up an East-West corridor that made possible the industrialization of an entire nation. John Edgar Thomson is also credited with being the first to organize a corporation into line and staff management positions. For this significant achievement he is considered to be the father of the modern day global corporation. For this reason alone this event is expected to receive wide support from America's business community.
Taking the lead in celebrating these amazing and historic events the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona (the base for Thomson's assault on the Alleghenies) has planned a month-long series of commemorative events. With a kick-off planned for the Museum's annual Railfest event in October of this year, a special excursion train lead by the last remaining passenger locomotives of the once-mighty Pennsylvania railroad will travel from Philadelphia to Altoona for the occasion.
The actual February birthday will feature a dedication event sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers which had named the Horseshoe Curve one of the original Seven Wonders of the Modern World in the early 1900's. ASCE will designate the Curve as a National Civil engineering Landmark at the February event to be held in Pittsburgh.
In preparation for the June 2004 month-long celebration the Museum will release an RFP to assess the possibility of returning the last remaining K4 steam locomotive currently under restoration at Steamtown to Altoona in time for the celebration. Once the assessment is completed the Museum will seek a Corporate Sponsor to partner with the State's Department of Transportation to make it happen.
The centerpiece of the 150th Anniversary will be the dedication of the nation's first Railroaders Memorial Monument to be unveiled at the apex of the Horseshoe Curve on Memorial Day of 2004. The Memorial will commemorate those men and women who have given their lives in service of the Railroads of North America.
The Museum has issued an open invitation to all operators of classic locomotives in North America for them to participate in a Memorial Display of Motive Power that is expected to be the largest collection of vintage steam and diesel locomotives in the nation's history on July 4th.
The Railroaders Memorial Museum wants everyone to remember the men and women who gave their blood, sweat and lives to build "the Eighth Wonder of the Modern World," the 150 year old Horseshoe Curve and every other mile of track across this great nation. Museum President Dr. Andy Mulhollen puts it best, when he says, "These men, these women, they truly are the backbone of America. They cannot be forgotten. They will not be forgotten."
A press conference announcing the slate of events will be held will be held at 10AM on August 18 in the theater at the Railroaders Museum." Contact: Harry Webber
NRHS and its
logo are trademarks of the National Railway Historical Society
Railfest is a trademark of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, Inc
"Eighth Wonder" Logo is a trademark of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, Inc
The logos for the
Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, Conrail, CSX, Norfolk Southern,
and Amtrak are trademarks of their respective organizations.
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