The "I Must Be Losing My Mind" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My wife Carol and I are visiting with our friends Jere and Sue who live in State College, Pennsylvania, about a two-hour drive from Lancaster.  It's been the first time in about a year-and-a-half that we have been able to make a visit due to COVID-19.  All four of us have had a couple doses of the vaccine and waited a month before deciding it was time for a visit-in-person.  I graduated from high school with both Jere and Sue and taught at that same high school with Jere for many years.  After both of us retired in 1999, we began to travel together to exotic locations in the Caribbean as well as a few trips to Hawaii.  Jere and Sue moved to State College shortly after Jere retired and we have been making visits back and forth for the past 20 plus years to spend time together and talk about just about anything you can imagine.  Before we left for State College, I asked if we could visit the Horseshoe Curve which is located near Altonna, Pennsylvania which is about an hour drive from State College.  

Plaque near the Museum at the bottom of the Horseshoe Curve.

Have always wanted to see the place and see exactly why it was called the Horseshoe Curve.  We arrived about 10:00 AM on a Saturday morning and after a few hours of conversation, we had a great lunch which Sue had prepared for all of us.  Wasn't long before we were in their car, headed to The Horseshoe Curve.  Easy drive, especially for me, since I didn't have to do the driving.  The rolling hills and valleys in the Allegheny Mountains on that bright Spring day were amazing and a touch of green showed that summer will soon be here.  Wasn't long before we pulled into the parking lot and above, on the side of the nearby mountain, could be seen the multi train track Horseshoe Curve which stretched for as far as we could see in all directions. Walked into the entrance of the gift shop where tickets were sold which allowed you to take a ride on the nearby lift to the top of the mountain on an incline car.  

This is the inclined plane that we had hoped to ride to the top.

Only problem today was that the incline car was not in operation and if you wanted to get to the area were the tracks wrapped around the mountain, you had to walk to the top.  Wow!  We decided to walk through the museum and watch a short movie on how the tracks were laid and the incline was added for transportation to the top of the mountain to watch the trains.  

Sue and I climbed the steps to the top.

After we watched we exited the museum and talked about walking to the top which looked to be "way up there!"  Sue and I thought we would give it a try while Carol and Jere found a bench to sit on and relax.  About ten minutes later we reached the top of the mountain and could see for miles.  The train tracks stretched the entire distance around the sides of the mountain.  

View of the train tracks once we reached the top.

The Horseshoe Curve is a three-track railroad line on Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line in Blair County, Pennsylvania.  The curve itself is about 2,375 feet long and 1,300 feet in diameter and was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a way to lessen the grade to the summit of the Allegheny Mountains.  

View from the bottom of the steps of the train rounding the curve.

Back in the 1850's dynamite had not yet been invented so black powder was what the construction gangs used for blasting to form the horseshoe curve.  Horseshoe curves are fairly common on railway lines in steeply graded or hilly country, where means must be found to achieve acceptable grades and minimize construction costs.  The biggest problem in laying out a horseshoe is keeping the radius as large as possible since sharp curves limit train speed and are harder on the actual rails due to increased friction.  Replacement of the rails needs to be done more frequently on a horseshoe system.  

View of the Museum and the train rounding the Horseshoe Curve.

Well, Sue and I made it to the top and I snapped a few photographs as we began our wait to view a train rounding the horseshoe curve.  Didn't happen!  We finally gave up and headed back down the stairs.  A few minutes after we got to the bottom we heard a rumbling noise in the distance.  Yep!  A train was arriving!  I decided I was a heading to the top once again, but changed my mind after the first few steps.  We watched the train traverse the horseshoe curve as I snapped a few photos from the base of the mountain.  Wasn't long before we were back in the car and headed to our next historical stop.  Now, the reason for the title of my story today.  When we returned to Jere and Sue's home, Sue grabbed one of her old photo albums and opened it to reveal a photo of me standing at the top of the inclined plane years ago.  Next to it was another photo of me riding on a train around the Horseshoe Curve.  I looked at it and couldn't believe my eyes.  "That's not me!" I told her.  She laughed and said we actually rode a train around the Horseshoe Curve many years ago.  I realize that I'm not getting any younger, but how could I have forgotten that I rode a train around the Horseshoe Curve!  The more photos I looked at, the more I realized that I must have already made a visit to the Horseshoe Curve years ago and had totally forgotten about it.  That's enough to make a grown man cry, but I held it back!  What's worse is that I'm now sitting in front of my keyboard, typing this story and I still don't remember it!  Ever get the feeling that you're losing it?  I often thought my memory was completely intact...but I now know that isn't true.  I only hope that if I live another ten to fifteen years and travel back to the Horseshoe Curve once again, that I will remember that I have visited the location...twice already.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

A photograph I found showing the Horseshoe Curve.

A night-time photograph of the Horseshoe Curve.

An old black and white showing the Horseshoe Curve.