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
We are at the bottom the grade .. from here on it is up up .. up
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'
Here's the switch for the run-away ramp .. that strip you see along the rail is a rail heater for the Winter.
.. and here's the tank that powered that rail-heater
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
We are at the bottom the grade .. from here on it is up up .. up
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'
Here's the switch for the run-away ramp .. that strip you see along the rail is a rail heater for the Winter.
.. and here's the tank that powered that rail-heater
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