Horseshoe Curve 150th Anniversary - Part 1

To celebrate Horseshoe Curve's centennial in 1954, the Pennsylvania Railroad and Sylvania Electric teamed up to create an historic photograph by posing trains on Horseshoe Curve while lighting the scene with 6,000 synchronized flashbulbs and a fireworks display. To celebrate The Curve's sesquicentennial in 2004, PRR and Sylvania corporate successors Norfolk Southern and Osram Sylvania teamed up to recall the memory of the centennial with a new fireworks and light display, this time coinciding with the celebration of America's independence on 4th of July weekend.

For the new event, the scene was lit with dozens of spot and strobe lights mounted in the surrounding area and also on a special train of flatcars, a commemorative boxcar, and specially-lighted locomotives. The lighting danced and changed color and focus in concert with the fireworks display, all backed by patriotic music.

The weather tried desperately to dampen everyone's spirits (not to mention clothing) - while waiting for the ceremony to begin we were slammed by a cloudburst that whipped bands of rain across the mountain. People clamored for anything that might keep them dry - garbage bag ponchos were the popular fashion. Miraculously, the rain broke just in time for the show.

Part 1 opens with the start of the light show as the special train pulls onto The Curve, led by C40-9W 9822. After the train is in position, a horn blast from the 9822 signals the start of the fireworks, fired from a jetty extending out into the reservoir at the base of the mountain. The opening music for the fireworks is 'Fanfare For The Common Man' by Aaron Copland.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Horseshoe
• Curve
• Norfolk
• Southern
• freight
• passenger
• train
• railroad
• 150th
• anniversary
• fourth
• 4th
• of
• july
• fireworks
• light
• show
• Altoona
• Pennsylvania

[randommagnum]

Wish I was there...

But I'll tell you where I DO plan on being on May 10th, 2019: Promontory Summit, Utah. I expect that to be one heck of a celebration. We'll see...

[FastFlyingVirginian]

@randommagnum You're right, that should be something to see.

[OhioRails]

AMAZING! I wish I was there! What did the people at the event think of the music,,, did they like it being there, would they have rather not had the music?

[FastFlyingVirginian]

Judging by the reactions, I don't think they minded at all. :) Here's hoping I'm still around for the 175th anniversary...

[dallyborr]

And finally this music loop come to an end...

[01type]

> to PRRK4Lover > to TheGreening1 Thanks for instructing ♪ (Arigatoh Gozaimasu.)

[TheGreening1]

@meccaturbo

It was a newly minted DASH 9 supplied by NS. I was a co producer of the event

[TheGreening1]

@01type

It was called "Coming Home" and was composed and performed by a well know jazz clarinetist born and raised in Altoona. .

[TheWwefan152]

@fastflyingvergian hey when is the next annverisy

[NYSW3636]

they should do the penny E8's with the flat cars



[meccaturbo]

@RollThunProd, NS doesn't use K3LA's on new locomotives...those are only holdovers from Conrail.

[RollThunProd]

@meccaturbo Evidence to the contrary: 1. It was a Dash 9 pulling the train. NS has only fitted those locos with K5 and K3LAs along with Nathan P5s. 2. This actually sounds like a K5LAR24 with it's B Major 6th chord. (thought it is slightly out of tune much like that of all the NS 9800 series. 3. I saw this loco in the daylight in another video of the same train, and it had a K5LAR24.