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Pittsburgh Line
Eastbound intermodal train on the Pittsburgh Line in Newport
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Norfolk Southern
Locale	western and centralPennsylvania
Termini	CP-Harrisburg inHarrisburg CP-West Pitt inPittsburgh
Service
Type	Freight rail andpassenger rail
System	Norfolk Southern,Amtrak
Operator(s)	Norfolk Southern,Amtrak
Technical
Line length	248 mi (399 km)
Number of tracks	2-4
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Route map Legend Fort Wayne Line Pittsburgh P&W Subdivision P&W Subdivision Bloomfield Connector P&W Subdivision Brilliant Branch Wilkinsburg East Busway Port Perry Branch NS Pittsburgh Intermodal Yard SWP Radebaugh Subdivision Greensburg Latrobe Conemaugh Line Conemaugh Line Sang Hollow Extension Stone Bridge Johnstown CSXS&C Subdivision NS South Fork Secondary RJCP Cresson/Irvona Branches[1] RJCP Cresson Branch RJCP Irvona Branch Gallitzin Tunnels Gallitzin Tunnels Allegheny Tunnel Gallitzin Tunnel New Portage Tunnel Horseshoe Curve Horseshoe Curve NS Cove Secondary[2] Altoona Altoona Works Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad Tyrone Spruce Creek Tunnel Huntingdon Lewistown Enola Yard/Port Road Branch Rockville Bridge Buffalo Line Harrisburg Intermodal Yard Harrisburg Line Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line

ThePittsburgh Line is theNorfolk Southern Railway's primary east–west artery in its Pittsburgh Division and Harrisburg Division across theU.S. state ofPennsylvania and is part of theKeystone Corridor,Amtrak-Norfolk Southern's combined rail corridor.

The Pittsburgh Line spans 248 miles (399 km) between its namesake city ofPittsburgh (PT 353.3) and the state capital inHarrisburg (PT 105.1), crossing theAllegheny Mountains through theGallitzin Tunnels west ofAltoona and the famousHorseshoe Curve in the process. Its east end connects with the railroad'sHarrisburg Line HP 112.9) toReading and Philadelphia, and the west end connects to theFort Wayne Line toConway, Pennsylvania, and points west inOhio andIndiana.^[3]

The Pittsburgh Line is arguably Norfolk Southern's busiest freight corridor, where 50 to 70 trains traverse the line daily and is the leading connector of intermodal traffic between New York City and Chicago.^{[citation needed]}

The Pittsburgh Line was originally owned by thePennsylvania Railroad (PRR). It began as two rail lines, the Middle Division Main Line which was part of the PRR Middle Division and the Pittsburgh Division Main Line which was part of the PRR Pittsburgh Division. The Pennsylvania Railroad combined the Middle Division Main Line and the Pittsburgh Division Main Line into one rail line, forming the Pittsburgh Line, though at the time the Pittsburgh Line was not referred to by that name. At the same time the Middle Division and the Pittsburgh Division were also combined.

The Pennsylvania Railroad eventually combined the merged Middle Division/Pittsburgh Division Main Line with their main rail line toPhiladelphia, forming theMain Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad (now known as theKeystone Corridor). The Main Line served as the PRR's primary route across Pennsylvania, continuing its existence through thePenn Central years and the early years ofConrail.

Conrail broke the PRR Main Line into two rail lines again, reestablishing the Pittsburgh Line and the PRR Philadelphia main line which eventually became known as thePhiladelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, now under the ownership ofAmtrak. The Pittsburgh Line received its current name in the 1980s under Conrail.

The Pittsburgh Line was passed down to theNorfolk Southern Railway in 1999 during the breakup of Conrail between Norfolk Southern andCSX Transportation.

The Pittsburgh Line is marked with three major freight terminals at its ends. On its east end, Harrisburg Terminal handles the bulk of the railroad's intermodal traffic, with a handful of intermodal trains originating and terminating there. Across theSusquehanna River inEnola is Norfolk Southern's major freight terminal in the Greater Harrisburg area:Enola Yard, which handles almost all manifest freight traffic that passes through the area. Many of the Pittsburgh Line's manifest freight trains originate or terminate here, with a few continuing south toBaltimore and points east, while others bypass Enola and cross theRockville Bridge over the Susquehanna to Harrisburg bound forAllentown and points east.

On its west end, the Pittsburgh Line becomes the Fort Wayne Line after crossing theAllegheny River bridge, where trains travel 23 miles (37 km) to reachConway Yard. Conway is the hub of activity inWestern Pennsylvania, where many trains originate and terminate, with many of those trains being the same freight trains that originate and terminate at Enola Yard, respectively. Conway is the hub of operations for Norfolk Southern in the Greater Pittsburgh area, featuring ahump yard and a crew change point for virtually all Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne Line trains.

FromHarrisburg/Enola, the railroad travels northwest following the path of theSusquehanna River parallel toU.S. Route 11/15, passing through the communities ofMarysville,Cove, andDuncannon. At Duncannon, the Pittsburgh Line leaves the Susquehanna and follows the path of the smallerJuniata River, which it will follow for much of its length toAltoona. This segment is unofficially dubbed the "Middle Division", after the Pittsburgh Line's predecessor, the Middle Division Main Line which was part of thePennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Middle Division.U.S. Route 22 follows the route for much of its length here. The line interchanges with theJuniata Valley Railroad atLewistown, and with theNittany and Bald Eagle Railroad atTyrone. Once at Altoona, the railroad arrives at the base of theAllegheny Mountain Front, which it must climb to reachJohnstown andPittsburgh.

Altoona is the site of theNorfolk Southern (NS)'sJuniata Shops, the largest locomotive repair facility on the NS system. Originally constructed by the PRR in 1850, this large complex of shops is what gave the city of Altoona its worth and structure.

Leaving Altoona, the railroad travels at a 1.76% grade up the east slope of theAlleghenies, negotiating the famousHorseshoe Curve during that climb. Past the curve, the Pittsburgh Line continues to climb a grade of 1.86% to the small town ofGallitzin, where the mainline reaches the top of its climb at 2,167 feet (661 m) above sea level, the total westward climb from Altoona amounting to 12 miles (19 km). From there, the railroads descends the Alleghenies' west slope to Johnstown, a total distance of about 25 miles (40 km). From Johnstown, the Pittsburgh Line follows the path of theConemaugh River on both of its banks to Conpit Junction, where the line divides. Westbound and lighter eastbound trains take the again-graded Pittsburgh Line west towards Pittsburgh, while heavier eastbound trains take the Conemaugh Line on an easier routing from Pittsburgh, which continues to follow the Conemaugh River. The Conemaugh Line joins back in with the Pittsburgh Line at CP-PENN in Pittsburgh. The line's westernmost end is at CP-WEST PITT by Pittsburgh'sAmtrak station, where it crosses theAllegheny River to form theFort Wayne Line.

Until reaching Altoona, the Pittsburgh Line is a double-track mainline from Duncannon. Once at Altoona, a third track is added for the climb up the Allegheny Mountains. The line goes back to two at Conpit Junction, where the Conemaugh Line remains a single-track route.

On the east slope of the Alleghenies, the tracks traverse remote mountainous terrain at a grade of about 1.8%. Roughly halfway up the westward ascent lies theHorseshoe Curve. Originally constructed by the PRR in 1854, the 220-degree curve was the solution for the railroad to gain enough elevation around a valley to reach the higher land across to continue west. Constructed mainly by immigrants, the curve was built by cutting into the hillside around Kittanning Point and filling in the necessary places for the railroad right-of-way to be laid. Today, the curve functions as a tourist attraction for both railroad enthusiasts and the rest of the public, and is a magnet for drawing visitors from all over the globe. It is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, and boasts a visitors park in the apex of the curve adjacent to the Pittsburgh Line tracks, as well as a visitors center andgift shop.

Past the curve, the Pittsburgh Line continues west to Gallitzin, passing through MG Interlocking a mile west of Horseshoe Curve, whose old PRR interlocking tower is also on the historic register, though off-limits to the public. East of Gallitzin, the railroad passes through Bennington Curve, the site of a PRR passenger wreck in 1947 killing 16 people and injuring over 100. Past Bennington Curve at a railroad timetable station called "SF", the three tracks split. Tracks 2 (bi-directional) and 3 (westward) continue on towards Gallitzin at their same ascent, while Track 1 (eastward) diverges up a 2.46% grade known as "The Slide", which is a downhill-only track restricting trains to traveling no more than 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) over its steep grade. Both sets of main tracks pass through tunnels to exit and crest in the town of Gallitzin. Tracks 2 and 3 pass through the new Allegheny Tunnel, while Track 1 passes through theNew Portage Tunnel. A third tunnel can be seen; the Gallitzin Tunnel, which used to house Track 3 before the Allegheny Tunnel was heightened and widened to house Tracks 2 and 3 as well as doublestack container traffic on intermodal trains in 1994. Upon its completion in 1995, the Gallitzin Tunnel was officially closed.^[4]

Past Gallitzin, the railroad passes through the small town ofCresson, where all of the Pittsburgh Line's tracks come back together. Here is also where a locomotive helper base is located, as well as interchange(s) with theRJ Corman Railroad.

Past Cresson, the railroad passes down the Alleghenies' west slope, through the towns ofLilly,Cassandra,Portage,Wilmore,Summerhill,South Fork,Mineral Point,Parkhill, andEast Conemaugh before reaching Johnstown at the bottom of the mountain. South Fork is the junction of the South Fork Secondary, a coal route used to reach local mines in the area which generates a train or two a day bound for various destinations.

Helper locomotives are used by Norfolk Southern to assist heavy trains over mountainous portions of the Pittsburgh Line. Helper crews are mainly based in Altoona andConemaugh/Johnstown, though some helpers are called as far away asPittsburgh.

Today,Amtrak'sPennsylvanian is the only passenger service that remains in operation on the Pittsburgh Line, making stops atHarrisburg,Lewistown,Huntingdon,Tyrone,Altoona,Johnstown,Latrobe,Greensburg, andPittsburgh.

In May 2013 theCommonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed toUS$3.8 million in funding tosubsidize the passenger line.^[5]

• Conemaugh Line, a low-grade alternate route between Johnstown and Pittsburgh
• Port Perry Branch, used (together with part of theMon Line) as a high-clearance alternate route betweenWilmerding and Pittsburgh
• List of Norfolk Southern Railway lines

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPittsburgh Line.

• Pittsburgh Line
• Norfolk Southern Railway lines
• Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Railroad lines

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