Steepest gradients?

[Mark_re]

The climb just North of Rannoch seemed pretty extreme when I was there a few months ago. My 156 made a very ginger approach to the station. Anyone know the gradient here?

 

[ANorthernGuard]

The Climb up to Chapel-en-le-frith from Whaley Bridge seems to be very steep (one of my fav views is the small reservoir to the left and the semaphore near the top of the hill to the right)

 

[MCR247]

Must be bad if its too steep for Pacers to climb (?)

Really? 142s climb Lickey so it must be steep....

 

[MidnightFlyer]

142s aren't cleared to Hazel Grove-Buxton AFAIK, hence 150s/156s and tours only...

 

[ANorthernGuard]

142s aren't cleared to Hazel Grove-Buxton AFAIK, hence 150s/156s and tours only...

142's are banned as they cant make the gradient on 1 engine

 

[Sun Chariot]

I know the OP specified UK but I was impressed at how steep the Swiss Gotthard-Mattehorn 'main' line is.

And the steepest I've ever travelled: southern India, up the Nilghiri Blue Mountain railway - still worked by adhesion-cog-fitted Victorian-age steam tank locos - mostly at 1 in 10. Yes, ten...!

 

[Pumbaa]

The climb just North of Rannoch seemed pretty extreme when I was there a few months ago. My 156 made a very ginger approach to the station. Anyone know the gradient here?

There is a very low speed limit over part of Rannoch Moor as well, although I agree there are harsh gradients there.

 

[Lampshade]

Buxton to Dove Holes, of course, is where John Axon GC lost his life.

Nope, it was Dove Holes to Chapel-en-le-Frith, which I believe is 1 in 57.

 

[EltonRoad]

The climb just North of Rannoch seemed pretty extreme when I was there a few months ago. My 156 made a very ginger approach to the station. Anyone know the gradient here?

It's 1 in 53 going north from Rannoch for about 1½ miles, according to a gradient profile I'm looking it. It's the steepest part of the climb over Rannoch Moor.

 

[12CSVT]

Between West Sutton and Sutton I believe there is a short stretch of 1 in 25

 

[lewisf]

Does anyone have the gradients of the Wimbledon flyover? That's got to be up there with the steepest gradients.

 

[TGV]

The climb out of the Bank tunnel on DLR - that's insane.

 

[truckman060473]

Although only running steep for a short length, there is a place somewhere, where on a Traction DVD it showed a 37 and a rake of wagons storm at a short bank, described as the "ski jump" (think it's near Birmingham) in order to climb it using some momentum. I wonder what the gradient is at the steepest?

 

[notadriver]

Light rail and trams seem to be able to negotiate gradients up to 1 in 10 and the climb near Birmingham is known as the Lickey - 1 in 37.

 

[12CSVT]

Although only running steep for a short length, there is a place somewhere, where on a Traction DVD it showed a 37 and a rake of wagons storm at a short bank, described as the "ski jump" (think it's near Birmingham) in order to climb it using some momentum. I wonder what the gradient is at the steepest?

The 'Ski Jump' is on the East Lancs railway where it crosses the Metrolink in Bury. There is a 1 in 36 climb followed immediately by a 1 in 41 drop, this being the only way the ELR could cross the Metrolink. It wasn't possible to make the gradients any shallower as there are road overbridges either side.

I presume the DVD is of 2007 when EWS were running infrastructure trains on the ELR for the Mertolink upgrade.

 

[Eric]

Does anyone know what is the climb out of Bradford Interchange is?

 

[brad465]

Does anyone know what the highest gradient for a section of track allowed is?

 

[Ploughman]

Do you mean the shallowest gradient that would be signed i.e. the one with the highest figures such as 1 / 4000 or the Steepest gradient?

 

[krus_aragon]

The North Wales passenger branch from Holywell Junction to Holywell Town had a gradient on 1 in 27. Freight lines, such as those to collieries in South Wales, would often be steeper. The Dowlais Iron Co.'s incline was 1 in 10, but worked by a winding engine. When you get this steep, if you intend to use locomotives, you either have to build zig-zag lines up the slope, such as the GWR and Rhymney's joint line at Dowlais, or use a rack to stop the train sliding downthe tracks (see Snowdon Mountain Railway).

 

[Badger]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BridgnorthCliffRailway-looking-down.jpg

There you go! ...though I doubt it counts.

In terms of actual heavy rail though the magical Wikipedia says it's the Lickey Incline in Brummingham: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lickey_Incline

1 in 37.7.

 

[142094]

Allowed currently or one that is already in existance?

 

[brad465]

Do you mean the shallowest gradient that would be signed i.e. the one with the highest figures such as 1 / 4000 or the Steepest gradient?

Allowed currently or one that is already in existance?

Steepest Gradient already in existence

 

[mumrar]

Allowed currently or one that is already in existance?

The steepest adhesion based incline I believe was Hopton incline on the Derbyshire high peak system, at 1 in 18 trains had to be split to go up it.

 

[142094]

Think the Lickey has been mentioned.

This is from a book I've been reading:

"In the case of railways, older freight lines were built with grades up to 2%. Modern practice is to limit grades against the load to 0.5% where possible, and grades against empty cars to 1.5 to 2.0%. There reason is that the rolling resistance of rail vehicles is very low compared with the grade resistance."

Unfortunately the book is American and printed in 2002.

 

[plannerman]

The Lickey is, I believe, the steepest main line gradient. However the Mersey Railway Tunnel is steeper - 1 in 27 has been mentioned, from James Street to the bottom and then up to Hamilton Square

 

[Barrett M95]

HS1 has 1 in 40 in several places.

In terms of light rail - there is a crazy incline on the DLR as you exit the Bank tunnel and head into daylight towards Shadwell - anyone know the gradient of that?

 

[AlterEgo]

HS1 has 1 in 40 in several places.

In terms of light rail - there is a crazy incline on the DLR as you exit the Bank tunnel and head into daylight towards Shadwell - anyone know the gradient of that?

There's also the flyover near Poplar/Canary Wharf too.

 

[notadriver]

Many inclines of 1 in 30 on the East London line.

 

[Bedpan]

I went on a train from Zurich to Uetliberg, a mountain overlooking the city, and the gradient seemed frighteningly steep, particularly coming back down. Later found out that it was the steepest adhesion worked standard gauge line in Europe with a grafdient of 7% which worlks out at around 1:14. I thought that Hopton Incline on the Cromford and High Peak railway was actually 1:14 also.

 

[12CSVT]

If you include light rail in this thread, the Sheffield Supertram network has a gradient of 1 in 10.