| Muleshoe. Here is a photo of the double-tracked, reconstructed culvert under the Muleshoe Curve near Duncansville, Pennsylvania, c. 1902 "The Muleshoe Curve never reached the same amount of popularity as the nearby Horseshoe Curve. This was due mainly to it being merely a secondary route between Spruce Creek and Gallitzin. It was built in 1850's by the State of Pennsylvania as part of the New Portage Railroad, itself built to bypass the inclined planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the line in 1857 and promptly closed it, as the PRR had just completed its own mainline via the Horseshoe Curve. Between 1904 and its closure, the line was used by the PRR as a freight bypass called the New Portage Branch Line. After the PRR was taken over by Conrail in 1981, the Curve was permanently abandoned." (Text from the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: 114925998531185) Photo Credit: William E Burket. |