What is the steepest a train can climb?

Saluda Grade is the steepest standard-gauge mainline railway grade in the United States. Owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway as part of its W Line, Saluda Grade in Polk County, North Carolina, gains 606 feet (185 m) in elevation in less than three miles between Melros and Saluda. It's maximum grade is 4.9%.



People Also Ask

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.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

Freighthopping or trainhopping is the act of surreptitiously boarding and riding a freightcar, which is usually illegal.

MORE DETAILS

The magnetized coil running along the track, called a guideway, repels the large magnets on the train's undercarriage, allowing the train to levitate between 0.39 and 3.93 inches (1 to 10 centimeters) above the guideway [source: Boslaugh].

MORE DETAILS

Anyway, the reason for using two locomotives is pretty simple. Twice the number of locomotives means twice the power. This extra power boost is used for especially heavy loads or for trains going up steep grades.

MORE DETAILS