I modeled the curve after the photo, this was one of two curve locations I identified while we still had bare module frames.
Remember that things look a lot different today than they did in 1950. When I was working on the Russell corner, I planted a bunch of trees around the river, matching what it looks like today. Then I found a historical aerial photo and there wasn't a single tree within the borders of the module.
Railroads spent more money spraying/burning weeds within the ROW back then.
If you're modeling modern day, by all means do something different. But come see the Newport corner in person before you write it off completely!