overkill650
New member
What is the steepest a railroad grade can be?
Steepest railroad grade?
- Thread starter overkill650
- Start date
captainkman
You are reading this.
For locomotives without rack rail, I'd say around 1 in 100.
overkill650
New member
im sorry captain, but what??? i mean like what percent?
captainkman
You are reading this.
Oh, sorry. 1 to 2 percent I believe.
overkill650
New member
unless you meant 1% out of 100?
BTW I checked out the site in your sig, is that your site?
BTW I checked out the site in your sig, is that your site?
captainkman
You are reading this.
1 in 100 means:
To go up 1 foot, you travel 100 feet.
Yes, it's my site.
Thanks for looking at it! 
overkill650
New member
ok then check this out. i found an elevation chart for an old spur that used to go to a coal power plant by me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65407986@N08/6188240546/in/photostream
that spur hasnt been used in 30 years, but they used rs-1s on it
the steepest grade there is 5%!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65407986@N08/6188240546/in/photostream
that spur hasnt been used in 30 years, but they used rs-1s on it
the steepest grade there is 5%!
overkill650
New member
ok i guess you learn somethin new every day.
and yeah i like your site, i dont really like steam engines, but the ones that resemble thomas the tank engine are cool because theyre so small but do so much.
and yeah i like your site, i dont really like steam engines, but the ones that resemble thomas the tank engine are cool because theyre so small but do so much.
ZecMurphy
Community Assistant
Adhesion railways can actually get pretty steep. 1in100 is actually fairly light compared to many railways...
The Puffing Billy railway in Australia has 1in30 grades in a few places, which is about the steepest railway in Victoria. Tramways (logging, etc) could have gotten a lot steeper though.
For grades, try using this converter: http://www.trainman.id.au/grade.htm
Good list of grades here as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_steepest_gradients_on_adhesion_railways
The Puffing Billy railway in Australia has 1in30 grades in a few places, which is about the steepest railway in Victoria. Tramways (logging, etc) could have gotten a lot steeper though.
For grades, try using this converter: http://www.trainman.id.au/grade.htm
Good list of grades here as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_steepest_gradients_on_adhesion_railways
ray_whiley
Active member
I believe from memory that 1:30 would be the absolute minimum in the UK and used only in very special circumstances. 1:40 would be steep. 1:100 would be steep on a main line. Some gradients are measured in 1:several thousands.
Gradients are now often expressed as percentages on road signs although the old-style gradient markers are still used here on railways showing eg. '275' which would mean 1:275. Feet, metres, inches, barleycorns, ells - doesn't matter provided both figures use the same unit of measurement.
Ray
overkill650
New member
thanks Zec, and hey man I dont know if you remeber, but i put in a ticket to the helpdesk about me not recieving my game in the mail, well apparently i did, and enjoying it. thanks for the help.:Y:
overkill650
New member
thanks guys, and i started the thread because i felt some of my routes were too steep, but makes sense a mainline would be relatively flat, and spurs could be steep.
well guys, good night, off to bed, 3am here. i may go and check out that spur tomorrow, take some pics
well guys, good night, off to bed, 3am here. i may go and check out that spur tomorrow, take some pics
Last edited:
captainkman
You are reading this.
Thanks, I was going off the S&C line from TC3 that I got working in TS2010.
The steepest adhesion gradient in the UK was the 457yd (418m) 1 in 14 (7%) Hopton Incline on the Cromford and High Peak Railway in Derbyshire. It had to be taken at a rush and the 0-6-0 tank engines could only haul three wagons at a time. It was originally a cable incline like others on the route.
I have always understood 1 in 20 (5%) was the steepest slope (Hopton being an exception) with 1 in 30 (3%) being the generally accepted maximum.
I have always understood 1 in 20 (5%) was the steepest slope (Hopton being an exception) with 1 in 30 (3%) being the generally accepted maximum.
Also according to Wikipedia the Katoomba Scenic Railway, New South Wales, Australia, is said to be the steepest cable-driven funicular railway in the world, with an incline of 52 degrees over a distance of 415 metres. It was originally constructed for a coal and oil shale mining operation in the Jamison Valley in the 1880s, in order to haul shale from the valley floor up to the escarpment above. It was converted for use as a tourist attraction prior to World War II.
Having been up and down it several times over the years it is a spectacular, if short, ride and even passes through a natural cave on its journey.
Peter Ware
Having been up and down it several times over the years it is a spectacular, if short, ride and even passes through a natural cave on its journey.
Peter Ware
The 3 ft gauge Uintah Railroad in western America had 7.5% grades and 66 degree curves (a 66 degree curve in HO scale is less then 18 inch radius). There are photos showing both the steep grades and the sharp curves in the book Narrow Guage in the Rockies by Beebe & Clegg.
Ben
Ben