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| dncr "The three-mile-long grade that crests at Saluda is the steepest mainline, standard-gauge stretch of track in the nation. It rises an average of 4.7 feet for every 100 feet in length....Construction on the Saluda line in the 1870s marked the first use of convict labor on such a large scale....The goal was to provide a rail connection for Asheville with Spartanburg, South Carolina, and points to the south, one to complement the routes to Salisbury in the east, Murphy to the west, and Knoxville, Tennessee, to the north. By 2000 the tracks had been abandoned with traffic shifted to other routes." [Location of marker] |
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| Southern Railway Historical Association posted via Dennis DeBruler Hot brakes! That’s what the cloud of smoke emanating from underneath the boxcar tells us. But that’s just a common side effect of descending a grade as steep as Saluda, which peaked at around 5%, much steeper than railroads generally prefer. The brakeman is likely out of view inspecting the train as it passed, checking for hotboxes, sliding wheels, and dragging equipment, a common problem on a long and heavy grade like this. If any defects were found in this train inspection, the train would be stopping once it cleared the grade here in Melrose, which would allow for these to be addressed. Then, the retaining valves and brakes would be reset and the train would continue its journey toward Spartanburg. Saluda grade, which was the steepest mainline grade in the US, was notorious for being difficult to control and was occasionally the site of runaway trains. In accordance with the special train handling rules for the grade at the time, all trains coming from Asheville would be descending the grade and would have stopped at the Stop Board at the top of the grade in the town of Saluda and had the retaining valves turned up and the brake pipes set to 100psi before departing down the grade. As soon as the train was rolling, the engineer was to set and release a 10psi brake application so that the retaining valves would retain the application in the brake cylinders, keeping the brake shoes against the wheels, but letting the brake pipe recharge. The engineer would then maintain a speed of 5-8 miles an hour descending the grade. Richard Baldwin photo. |
Looking at this map, I thought the grade was the three miles on the west side of Saluda.
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| 1960/60 Knoxville Quad @ 250,000 |
But then I noticed that the two Runaway Track labels and the Sand Cut label are on the east side of Saluda. Note the road closures on US-176. All of the popups say "Closed until 2028." Have these segments have been closed since Hurricane Helene struck the area in Sep 2024?
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| Satellite |
The runaway track would be the one that goes straight.
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| Drayton Blackgrove, Oct 2021, Runaway Track 1 |
The turnout would have to be on the side of a hill so that the mainline can continue to go down the grade but the runaway track can go uphill.
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| Andrew Raila ‘Bammers!, Dec 2024, Runaway Track 2 |
This shows the whole segment that NS abandoned and that is being turned into a trail.
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| safe_image for Norfolk Southern files for abandonment of Saluda Grade "Idle since 2001, the former Southern Railway route was once the steepest mainline grade in America, with a 4.7% incline including a brief stretch at 5.1%." Randall Hampton shared They're just now doing the abandonment paperwork? The trail conversion was funded a couple of years ago, at least. I don't know why everything is moving so slow. |
The 31.5 mile [51km] trail is evidently still in the planning stages. [SaudaGradeTrail]
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