The Aug04 Trains mag is simply awesome, as we are accustomed to expect by now. The nice features on the Horseshoe Curve almost (not not quite), make me want to repaint my warbonnets to pinstrips and tuscan.
Now for the idea. Very very little is ever mentioned about the 2 spurs that lead off the horseshoe curve. I believe they go to mines. One closed in the 1930s but the other one may still be there; I don’t know.
The spurs don’t look to be more than 10 or 20 miles long. The idea for modeling, if you are one of the many Pennsy fans, would be to model one or both spurs as the primary layout, with the transfer track being the horsehoe curve.
Actually, I don’t believe that trains transfered there but simply went from the 2 spurs straight into the curve and to the processing plant, whereever that might have been located.
The spurs could be pretty accurately modeled, even in O scale.
THe same idea of modeling spurs could be applied to other railroads as well. For example, the D&RG narrow gauge is frequently modeled but not some of the interesting spurs like the one to Pagosa Springs. These are not short lines because they are part of Class 1 RRs so they frequently get ignored.