Saluda Grade


eTraxx

eTraxx

Member
Yesterday I went with okiecrip621 (Gary) up to Saluda NC. The Saluda Grade is the steepest standard-gauge railroad grade in the United States.

According to Wikipedia .. "Owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway as part of its W Line, the Saluda Grade in Polk County, North Carolina consists of a three-mile section of track that rises over 600 feet (180 m) in elevation with a highest official grade of 4.7% but reaching 5.1% at one point between the towns of Melrose and Saluda."

The former access to the grade - a gravel road running along it is closed off so we could only access the grade where it passed through here and there.

Here it is crossing through Tryon NC
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We are at the bottom the grade .. from here on it is up up .. up
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Backing up a bit .. the switch and track to the left is the 'run-a-way' track. Behind me it continues up at a slope ... very similar to the 'run-a-way' ramps you see for trucks on mountain roads. You can't see much at all since it is overgrown and simply disappears into the trees'
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Here's the switch for the run-away ramp .. that strip you see along the rail is a rail heater for the Winter.
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.. and here's the tank that powered that rail-heater
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I remember reading about Saluda years ago in an issue of Rail Model Craftsman. It must have been awesome to see it in person. They said attempts were being made at the time to abandon it but doing so would add up to a day and a half of travel time to two of the regularly scheduled trains that pass through so the line stays active.
 
Right now, it's not being used. The crossing lights are covered. The thing is that the grade is so dang steep. Gary told me that they keep it in 'reserve' .. just in case. Seems that trains have to be broken into pieces and reassembled on the other side of the grade.

Need to go back for an extended visit. We don't know why the road that runs along the grade is closed .. but evidently it was in poor shape 'back when'.

The town of Saluda is interesting from the quick look I had of it. Check out this building .. it's on the main road through town .. that slope .. that's straight out of a model railroad layout .. looks 'normal' on the front but from the side is that steep sloping foundation
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Reminds me of those streets in the movie Bullitt where they were doing those car chases down the hills in San Francisco.
 
Looked on Google maps. Marion is a bit East and North of Old Fort .. about 13 miles according to Google.

Edit: Did they move for real? I found a 'Old Fort Model Trains' online. The Map/Directions for this has the store located across from the train depot in Old Fort. Is this the same place?

http://www.oldfortmodeltrains.com/id13.html
 
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According to a "press conference" about 3 yrs ago with a couple of VP's with NS, the line is still listed as active, and is not going to be abandoned. However the line is still cut at Lamison, just down from Tryon, and just south of Hendersonville. Also there is a washout between Tryon and Melrose, behind the Caro-Mi (Think thats the name), on US 176. As of a year ago, no effort has been made to repair it.

Several people have told me that the future of the line will depend on the amount coal traffic going thru the port of Charleston, as those facilities get finished.

Saluda has always been my favorite railfanning place. I have several hours of video that I have shot over the years there and I really and truly hope that the line is put back into use. Its the only place that I have seen 3 SD-70's running at full throttle going maybe 10MPH with 25 cars. The railroad did what is called the "Saluda Shuffle". They split the train into 3 or more parts and take each section up, reassembling the train just west of downtown Saluda.
 
yes it is one of favorite places to railfan also. i have many many pics. there actually got to ride to the top and back down one time;)
 
okiecrip621 said:
where is marion from old fort and do you know when they moved:confused:
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eTraxx said:
Looked on Google maps. Marion is a bit East and North of Old Fort .. about 13 miles according to Google.

Edit: Did they move for real? I found a 'Old Fort Model Trains' online. The Map/Directions for this has the store located across from the train depot in Old Fort. Is this the same place?

http://www.oldfortmodeltrains.com/id13.html
Click to expand...
Yes, they moved for real. Their grand re-opening should be this coming weekend. They have the same phone number, so you can call for directions.
 
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