Muleshoe Curve
The Muleshoe Curve ("mule horseshoe" curve) was a railroad turn near Duncansville , Pennsylvania . The curve is seven kilometers southwest of the much more popular Horseshoe Curve . It had a bend of about 200 degrees with a radius of about 190 meters. A stone arch bridge spans old US Highway 22 .
The turn was built by the New Portage Railroad in the 1850s as part of the bypass route for the old Allegheny Portage Railroad . Soon after opening in 1856, the Pennsylvania Railroad , which had opened its own railway line in 1854, bought the company and dismantled the rails. It was reopened in 1904 as a single-track bypass route for freight trains. After the takeover by Conrail , the final end for the railway came in 1981 through the Muleshoe Curve.
Unlike the Horseshoe Curve, the Muleshoe Curve never achieved much notoriety, although it represented a similar technical masterpiece. One reason for this can be seen as the fact that the single-track line was operated solely as a freight bypass railway. Passengers only drove through the Muleshoe Curve in the event of problems on the main route or as part of occasional special trips.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Photo of the Muleshoe Curve Bridge on Panoramio
- ^ David W. Seidel: Horseshoe Curve. Page 58
Coordinates: 40 ° 26 ′ 6 ″ N , 78 ° 31 ′ 12 ″ W.