Muleshoe Curve is a curve of track on the former

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

, located near Duncansville,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It never reached the same amount of popularity as the nearby Horseshoe Curve, located 4.34 mi (7 km) north of Muleshoe curve, mainly due to it being merely a secondary route. Built in 1850s by the state of Pennsylvania as part of the New Portage Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) purchased the line (and the curve) in 1857 and promptly closed it, as the PRR already had its own line in the region. It was brought back into service in the 1890s due to increased rail traffic. Subsequently, the rails were removed and used by the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. In 1904, the line was reopened and double-tracked by the PRR as a bypass. One track was removed in 1955 and the other in 1981. After the railroad was taken over by

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

, Muleshoe Curve was permanently abandoned in 1981.

References

Transportation buildings and structures in Cambria County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Railroad Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania Railway lines opened in 1857 Tourist attractions in Cambria County, Pennsylvania 1857 establishments in Pennsylvania {{US-rail-transport-stub