Trains through American mountains are often slow.

JonMyrlennBailey

Well-known member
This is something I have come to realize after riding the California Zephyr through the Rocky Mountains and having played a number of Trainz routes based on various mountain roads of the American West. This includes Mojave Subdivision, West of Denver and Milwaukee Road Avery-Drexel. Speeds can be as low as 10-25 MPH quite often. Many mountain lines in the American West are single-track systems with only occasional sidings to allow two-way traffic to pass. Red signals can entail long waits for oncoming trains.

Is mountain railroading as slow in any other parts of the world outside the mountains of the American West.
 
The slow speeds are generally due to grade and tonnage. Above 20 mph it becomes difficult to stop a heavy train on a 2+ percent grade. Curves further limit the speed those trains can travel.
Tracks are expensive to build in mountainous areas. Space is limited and adding sidings or a second track requires large rock-works or tunnels. So it is an economical balance between costs, traffic volume and required transit time that determine where sidings are needed.
 
Most western American railroads were surveyed in the 1850's to very... lenient specs, shall we say. Steep grades, tight curves, the whole nine yards. The alignment also very rarely changes. Europe having most of its rail network destroyed during WW2 meant they got better alignments, but it's still not much faster.
 
Did the steep grades play any role in why a number of lines (e.g. BCR, MILW, VGN) were electrified, or was it exclusively concern over the smoke in tunnels?
 
Did the steep grades play any role in why a number of lines (e.g. BCR, MILW, VGN) were electrified, or was it exclusively concern over the smoke in tunnels?
It was usually smoke in tunnels. Articulated steam engines were more than enough to handle steep grades when the lines were constructed, although even then some weren't enough. There are some interesting pictures of three or more large locomotives handling a simple passenger train on the Rio Grande's mainline in Utah
 
Back
Top