Horseshoe Curve! In American railroading, there are few places that evoke more history and drama. Horseshoe Curve was J. Edgar Thompson’s engineering marvel and the signature achievement of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s 1850s crossing of the Allegheny Mountains. More than a century-and-a-half after its construction, the Horseshoe Curve route remains bustling and dramatic as a key Norfolk Southern rail artery – and soon, it’s coming to Train Sim World 2!

The upcoming Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route will re-create Norfolk Southern’s contemporary crossing of the rugged Alleghenies and deliver the opportunity to haul tonnage ranging from priority intermodals to ponderous coal behind high-horsepower NS diesels.

To climb the eastern slope of the Alleghenies, the Pennsylvania Railroad faced the daunting task of ascending nearly 1,000-feet in elevation between Altoona and Gallitzin, Pennsylvania. To do so required a torturous and twisting climb with a 1.85 percent ruling grade, and even that was achieved only through the building of 3,612-foot-long Allegheny Tunnel at the summit and the line’s masterstroke, the great horseshoe-shaped curve at Kittanning Point, which itself carries the line from an elevation of 1,473 feet on its east end to 1,706-feet on its west side.

As part of the Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh Division, Horseshoe Curve and the Allegheny crossing from Altoona on the east to Johnstown, Pennsylvania on the west was (and is) one of America’s busiest and most critical railroad arteries, home to a seemingly endless passage of tonnage and passenger trains, including PRR’s premiere Broadway Limited. And Horseshoe Curve itself was far from the route’s only classic and memorable location, which included the Gallitzin, Allegheny, and New Portage Tunnels, remote MG Tower, the steep eastbound “Slide,” key coal feeder lines at Cresson and South Fork, and the sprawling yards and Juniata shops at Altoona.

After more than an uninterrupted century of being one of the gemstones of the great Pennsylvania Railroad – known as “The Standard Railroad of the World” – the Horseshoe Curve route, during the latter half of the twentieth century, entered a time of tumultuous change. On February 1, 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with its long-time rival, the New York Central, to form the Penn Central. Integration of the two sometimes bitter rivals proved problematic and, burdened with miles of duplicative and often unproductive trackage, the 20,000-mile Penn Central in 1970 entered a bankruptcy from which it would never reemerge. By the mid-1970s, under the auspices of the United States Railway Association, it was decided to roll Penn Central together with other troubled Northeastern railroads, thus forming Conrail.

Given its status as an amalgamation of not only bankrupt Penn Central but other equally troubled railroads, many observers held little hope for Conrail, but like a phoenix it rose from the ashes of Penn Central to become one of railroading’s greatest success stories. As part of the 12,000-mile Conrail system, the Horseshoe Curve route served as a vital rail link between the American east coast and Midwest and its infrastructure was modernized to contemporary requirements, including a reduction of the line around Horseshoe Curve from four to three tracks. Having admirably and remarkably served its purpose of rejuvenating eastern railroading, most of Conrail was divided in 1999 between eastern rail giants Norfolk Southern and CSX. Norfolk Southern acquired the lion’s share of Conrail (7,200 miles) including the Horseshoe Curve route, which now serves as a busy segment of Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line.

Today, the Horseshoe Curve route remains one of railroading’s greatest shows of big-time, tough, mountain railroading, constantly humming with traffic ranging from double-stack container trains to coal tonnage, manifest freights, grain, oil, and autos. And the line is also host to Amtrak’s New York-Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian.

As developed for Train Sim World 2 by Skyhook Games, the upcoming Horseshoe Curve route extends 40 route miles from the renowned railroad town of Altoona and its sprawling Juniata Shops to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, climbing over the daunting and scenic spine of the Allegheny Mountains and representing the railroad circa 2018. The route also features a portion of Norfolk Southern’s steep (with grades of up to 3 percent) and historic South Fork Secondary line extending 15 miles from South Fork to a coal mine near Windber, Pennsylvania.

The upcoming Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route will feature Norfolk Southern’s powerful third-generation workhorse, the six-axle, 4,400-horsepower General Electric ES44AC, as well as the versatile NS Electro-Motive GP38-2. To replicate the diverse traffic flow over the Horseshoe Curve route, a full range of modern freight equipment will be provided with the route. And with the upcoming Train Sim World Horseshoe Curve route, you’ll be ready to climb aboard and immediately take the throttle for challenging and realistic railroading with a selection of four training tutorials, five scenarios, and a variety of timetabled services.

In the coming days here at Dovetail Live, we’ll be taking a further look at the legendary Horseshoe Curve route, its locomotives, features, and operations, so stay tuned! – Gary Dolzall