Can trains go uphill?

Conventional trains, using steel wheels on a steel track, could never efficiently climb a track as steep as most funicular railways. Steel wheels are used to decrease rolling resistance, which improves the efficiency of trains on flat ground, but would hinder their ability to get traction going up steep slopes.



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Grades are generally 1 percent or less, and grades steeper than about 2.2 percent are rare. The steepest grade on a major railroad's main track was historically said to be on the Pennsylvania Railroad north of Madison, Indiana, rising 413 feet over a distance of 7012 feet — a 5.89-percent grade.

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Most trains find it difficult to climb hills and mountain slopes. The trains of cog, or rack, railroads, however, can scale steep slopes using a special toothed rail, known as a rack, in the middle of the track.

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High-speed railways commonly allow 2.5% to 4% because the trains must be strong and have many wheels with power to reach very high speeds. For freight trains, gradients should be as gentle as possible, preferably below 1.5%.

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A train has a system called Wheel Slip Protection (WSP). This system automatically eases power to the drive wheels to prevent slipping. A train carries sands that can be distributed in front of the drive wheels giving them some friction to adhere to. This can be operated by the WSP or manually by the driver.

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Hillclimbing is a problem faced by railway systems when a load must be carried up an incline. While railways have a great ability to haul very heavy loads, this advantage is only significant when the tracks are fairly level. As soon as the gradients increase, the tonnage that can be hauled is greatly diminished.

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Since 1889 from Alpnach and up the Pilatus Commissioned in 1889, a gradient of up to 48 percent, about 30 minutes travel time: that is the steepest cogwheel railway in the world in figures.

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A funicular is a railway that goes up the side of a mountain. A funicular is pulled by a moving cable and involves complex, counterbalanced movements of the cars. It's a coincidence that the word fun is in funicular, though riding a funicular would likely be very fun indeed: it's a railway that goes up a mountain.

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It doesn't matter exactly what it means, 20% is steeper than 10%. In surveying 20% is interpreted as 20% of a right angle (i.e. a brick wall) and so would be 18 degrees.

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Yes. Yes it is easy to walk on top of or inside a train [on the footwalk- if it is moving fast, there will be wind]. It's easy to walk on a moving ship [on calm seas!] It's even easy to walk on the Concorde zipping along at Mach two.

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The Broadmoor's Pikes Peak Cog Railway climbs from an elevation of 6,412 feet in Manitou Springs to 14,115 feet at the summit of Pikes Peak. This 125-year-old railway made its first ascent via steam engine on June 30, 1891.

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Also known as the Fourth Street Elevator and the world's shortest, steepest, scenic railway - 296 feet in length. Magnificent views of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Open April through November.

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rather than pay for the expense of maintaining track to a higher standard, and having to maintain the additional cab signals, and having to outfit all locomotives that use the line with cab signals, or ATS, or ATC, the freight RRs simply place the speed limit at 79 mph, and use Automatic Block signal systems.

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The planet's longest train trip would come to around 18,755 kilometres, take three weeks, travel through 13 countries and require at least seven different visas. Certain rules were taken into account. There should be no pointless back-and-forth between two places and no transfers to boats or planes (duh).

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A train goes twice as fast downhill as it can go uphill, and 2/3 feet as fast uphill as it can go on level ground.

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So - if you were walking in the direction of the moving train, you're adding to your own existing kinetic energy (you're already on the moving train, so your already have same kinetic energy), so it's a lot harder than you expect (depending on the speed of the train - the slower, the harder!), while if you walk the ...

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