70 years ago, a failed Nazi plot to sabotage Horseshoe curve, He11 Gate Bridge, Pennsylvania Station ...

I think there is a plaque at Galitzin Tunnel?  not far from Altoona and Horseshoe

Curve that says it was a potential target for sabotage and was guarded....

Use Hecksgate Bridge

Or H E Double Toothpick bridge

I hate to see what the computer would think of D. Tracy!

Seems like I heard of a plot against C&O's Ohio River Bridge at Sciotoville, O. where the Russell-Toledo Line crosses the river.

Gorgeous bridge.

EdKing

I must say that the moderation on this forum -- whether by human review or automated text-scanning -- has gotten very old and tiring.  There's something inherently wrong when you can't even use the real name of a well-established Lionel accessory for gosh sakes!!! What a joke.  

David

Interesting...thanks for posting it Ace.

Or Hellsgate  

I must say that the moderation on this forum -- whether by human review or automated text-scanning -- has gotten very old and tiring.  There's something inherently wrong when you can't even use the real name of a well-established Lionel accessory for gosh sakes!!! What a joke.  

 

David

Don't lose sleep over it, David.  And if you're tired, some sleep might be just the ticket.  Try not to sweat the small stuff, because there are far more important things to be concerned about. 

Or you could use "H-E-double hockey sticks" as we used to say in our neighborhood.  But Allan has the best advice.

I've read that in the First World War the Germans had a plot to try to blow up or otherwise disable the Missabe Road's ore docks in Duluth MN. (This would be the "old" Missabe, the Duluth Missabe & Northern.)

IIRC in the book "The Railroaders" (a book of interviews with retired railroaders published around 1980) that one of the guys mentions that small-level sabotage wasn't uncommon on the railroads, more likely from Nazi sympathizers than foreign agents.

The official name is He11 Gate Bridge, and I discovered a loophole to spell out this profane name by using ones instead of letter L's.      

The name He11 Gate" is a corruption of the Dutch phrase Hellegat, which could mean either "He11's hole" or "bright gate/passage", which was originally applied to the entirety of the East River.      

The Angicized version of the name stuck because of the navigational hazards from rocks and tidal currents. Info from Wikipedia.

In today's politically correct world, perhaps a new name is in order. Something like "Harmony Bridge" ?     

This history or discovery channel has a show on this.

A book aimed at teenage readers was loosely based on the Horseshoe plot. The Long Trains Roll by Stephen W. Meader, Harcourt Brace & Co, 1944 was one of my favorite books whan I was a teen. Although written for young people, I'd HIGHLY recommend this book for PRR fans.

Just over 11 years ago when the plane went down near Altoona PA, on 9-11-11, my first thought was the terrorists had slammed the airplane into Horsheshoe Curve and crippled the northern USA railroad capabilities. There is a huge amount of rail traffic thru Horsheshoe Curve daily, so it would be a real target.

If Horsheshoe Curve were taken out, I think railroad traffic would have to go south to Washington D.C. or Virginia. I am not 100% sure on the routes, I don't think there is any major railroad near the Great Lakes beside the old Pennsy line that goes eastward.

Lee F.

That's right. The NS uses the East Penn Branch and Main Line of the Reading to connect Alltentown/Bethlehem (and New England) and Philadelphia with the Reading's Lebanon Valley Branch to Harrisburg. The Reading's Rutherford Yard between Hershey and Harrisburg has been upgraded to a 24/7 intermodal facility.

The Lebanon Valley Branch meets the Pennsy main a few blocks south of the Harrisburg station. Those tracks don't have catenary.

Railroads covered PA like spaghetti covers a plate. But the Pennsy had the only route across the Commonwealth. It connects Philly, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The B&O/CSX comes through Pittsburgh but it swings north from Cumberland.

Without Horseshoe Curve trains would have to go south as phillyreading posted or north through Binghampton (southern tier).

To appreciate the efficiency of Horseshoe Curve, consider that traveling between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in colonial days took about a month on foot or with horses in good weather.

The Main Line of Public Improvements combined railroads, canals and inclined planes. Canal boats were built in sections so they could be separated and secured on flatcars for journeys over inclined planes. Then they were joined again. A one-way trip took a week.

Horseshoe Curve reduced that time to 24 hours. Fierce competition with the Water Level Route brought passenger trains that ran between New York City and Chicago in 18 hours.

During World War II, 48 blue ribbon passenger trains ran across Horseshoe Curve every 24 hours. Plus freight trains, helper movements, local trains and troop trains. Quite a show!

Actually, if sabateurs wanted to disrupt east-west traffic, wouldn't any of the tunnels or bridges along the Harrisburg-Pittsburgh route make a more crippling target, and take longer to repair.  Tracks alone can be quickly replaced.

Kent,

What you say is true, but if you knew the importance of Horseshoe Curve and the land areas it connects then you would know why it is such a criticle target. Horsheshoe Curve has the most important area of trackage for east-west rail traffic in the Pittsburgh and surrounding area.

You could easily bypass most of the areas 20 miles east of Pittsburgh with a shortline or regional railroad.

Lee F.

There is a very interesting book available about that foiled plot during WWII, called simply "Horseshoe Curve" by a local (Altoona) historian who researched the plot and ultimate execution of six of the German spies that were involved.  They actually never got anywhere close to Horseshoe curve although that was their ultimate objective.

Paul Fischer