Day 1

Begin by asking your class if anyone has ridden the Horseshoe Curve in Altoona. If some students have experienced the Curve, ask them to describe what it was like.

What is the Horseshoe Curve? [It is a stretch of railroad built in 1854 that is a 220-degree curve. This engineering feat transported people and freight over the Alleghenies more quickly.]

Why was it built in the first place? [Economic efficiency. Before the curve was built people depended on a series of inclined planes and canals from the state-owned Main Line of Public Works to travel over the Allegheny Mountains–a trip which took over three days from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. The Horseshoe Curve reduced this travel time to approximately 13 hours.]

To give students a better understanding of the Horseshoe Curve, disseminate Handout 1: The Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, Pennsylvania, along with Student Worksheet 1: Questions about the Curve, the Beyond the Marker page on J. Edgar Thomson and The Horseshoe Curve by Grif Teller. Pair students and ask them to read over the questions first. Then read the handout and write down appropriate responses to the corresponding questions.

After students have completed the worksheet questions, go over them in class. For possible worksheet responses see Teacher Guide to Worksheet 1: Questions about the Curve. You may wish to pause, reference Horseshoe Curve, and draw or give a 3-D demonstration (using three objects shaped like mountains–pyramids) of the geographical layout of the curve. Then focus on the final question regarding the Horseshoe Curve as a potential wartime target.

Ask students if they think the Horseshoe Curve was ever vulnerable to saboteurs in past wars. [Yes.] If so, which war? [Both Civil War and World War II]

Assign students the reading Student Handout 2: The Third Reich Plans an Attack. Recommend this be done in small groups to ease the discussion process of addressing the questions and help to generate a variety of responses more quickly. Suggest that students first look over the questions and jot ideas as they read. Do not forget to call student attention to the image of the saboteurs" "baggage," Photograph of German supplies described in the reading.

Conclude the day with some open-ended questions about ground transportation security in the United States since September 11, 2001 (9/11). Focus on railroads, but keep in mind that tractor-trailer vans are carried "piggy-back" on rail flat cars–or even "double-stacked" on low-bottom flat cars. These "inter-modal" vans often originate overseas, usually are taken across the country by rail, and are always re-exported on another ocean or are hooked up to tractors for regional or local highway delivery. Also, extract student concerns about tank cars and the often hazardous chemicals they contain plus the local and long-haul passenger rail service. (To help with vocabulary during discussion, give to students Student Handout 3: Railroad Terminology.)

Have Students consider the following questions:

What are some specific security issues faced now by American railroads?

• passenger identification (photo I.D. and tickets)


• safety of contents in baggage loaded on the train


• railway obstruction


• rail/highway accidents (Public following safety rules.)


• restricting access to vital bottlenecks (e.g., bridges and tunnels)

What are some specific security issues railroads share with overseas shipping?

• Inspection of cargo–sniffing dogs, spot checking of cargo

What are some specific security issues railroads share with highway users?

• Vulnerability from physical damage of bombs


• Public access (difficulty securing area)


• Chain-reactions (multi-car accidents)

What are some specific things terrorists might do to railroads? With what results?

• Put bombs on tracks


• Place bombs in cargo


• Create railway obstructions


• Force accidents


• Abduct/injure/kill engineer or railroad crew

What are some specific things are needed to do to prevent terrorist actions?

• Good intelligence and surveillance


• Identification of passengers


• Excellent communications with and use of the Department of Homeland Security/FBI/Federal, State, and Local Police


• Extra security at important strategic points


• Control of cargo – Sniffing dogs, spot checking cargo


• Establishing random inspection of road beds and rail routes.

For homework, students will write a plan of action for the Department of Homeland Security detailing concerns regarding railroads in the United States and particularly the Horseshoe Curve in Pennsylvania. Students will include information on the target's historical and strategic significance as well as specific, practical methods for improving security. For general assessment, reference Rubric 1: Homeland Security Assignment.

Day 2

After collecting the Homeland Security Assignment, you can chose to end the lesson at this point or continue to Day 2, further exploring the role of the railroads during World War II through the study of appropriate memorials. Explain to your students that the Pennsylvania Railroad played a key role in the war effort of World War II. Not only did help with transport of materials, but it also had 54,035 of its employees serve in the military. Of those, 1,307 died.

Write on the board:

Memorial (noun): something that keeps alive the memory of a person or event; especially: monument.

(Merriam Webster Online Student Dictionary)

Assign the students the task of creating an illustration or diagram of an appropriate monument or memorial to commemorate the PRR service to World War II. Students must also include where in the Commonwealth it should be placed and create a title for their memorial. Disseminate Student Worksheet 3: Pennsylvania Railroad Memorial Assignment to help each student think about key preparatory elements for the assignment. Provide colored pencils, graph paper, rulers, or other necessary art materials. When the assignment is complete (or nearly complete) permit several students to share their concepts and the ideas behind them.

You may wish to take questions posed to students during their preparation:

• Who is the audience of this memorial?


• What did you choose to honor the service of PRR during World War II?


• From what material would it be made?


• What was the title of your memorial? Explain you choice for a title.


• Did you use visual imagery, text, or a combination of the two?


• Why did you feel this would be an appropriate memorial?


• Where did you locate the monument or memorial?


• Why did you choose this location?

Next share the images of the Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial located at the 30th Street Station. These photographs are located in Student Worksheet 4: Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial. Along with the images is background information on the sculpture and some possible questions to engage the students. Note: Do not reveal the name of the statue until the contrasting activity in complete.
Elicit students' feelings about this evocative statue. (You may wish to mention as an interesting popular culture reference that this statue was the one by which a young Amish boy was fascinated in the 1985 film Witness.)

Have students contrast their proposals with the Angel of Resurrection. The above questions may help students compare their ideas with what the PRR actually did in memory of its WW II fallen soldiers. If time remains you may wish to close by generating a discussion using the following question. "If a memorial were built today how would it be different or would it even have been built?"