Trivia: Steepest Gradient?

[matchmaker]

aka the Middleton Incline

Yes. 1 in 8!!!! But rope worked.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromford_and_High_Peak_Railway

Across the plateau, since the line had been built on the canal principle of following contours, there were many tight curves, which in later years were to hamper operations. Not only did the C&HPR have the steepest adhesion worked incline of any line in the country, the 1 in 14 of Hopton, it also had the sharpest curve, 55 yards (50 m) radius through eighty degrees at Gotham.

 

[dosxuk]

There's some pretty steep hills on the Sheffield tramway...

I've heard there's a section of 1:10, but I don't know where. There's several possibilities though.

 

[Taunton]

Liverpool James Street to Birkenhead Hamilton Square is 1 in 27 on both sides, which I believe is the steepest on the national network.

 

[34D]

If we were talking modern EMU's what would be the theoretical maximum they could achieve?

I realise this will be different from a standing start and with a run-up

 

[SWTH]

The Welshpool and Llanfair has that beat. Golfa bank is a mile of 1 in 29, still regularly worked by steam.

True, although I'd argue that the sheer length of the climb between the Aberglaslyn Pass and Pitts Head (over six miles averaging 1 in 40) makes it just as much of a challenge, if not more so.

 

[73001]

If we were talking modern EMU's what would be the theoretical maximum they could achieve?

I realise this will be different from a standing start and with a run-up

There's an article somewhere that I read about the 507s being tested when they first came to Liverpool. They had half of the traction motors switched out and then performed a standing start on one of the steepest sections of line. They managed it although a fair bit of heat was generated. Presumably much steeper though and you start to get wheel slip etc.

 

[swt_passenger]

Exeter St Davids to Exeter Central?

Similar to the Lickey, so not the steepest.

 

[kermit]

Surprised nobody's mentioned the Werneth Incline, Oldham.....

 

[colchesterken]

How about the DLR it is like a switchback around canary wharf

 

[Whistler40145]

Does Shap qualify whereby a train climbs from Tebay upto Shap Summit or Beattock, which is another long climb?

 

[notadriver]

High speed one has some pretty severe climbs at 1 in 40.

 

[fowler9]

How steep is that climb heading from Bury Bolton Street on the East Lancs Railway to Heywood out of interest?

 

[mirodo]

I've heard there's a section of 1:10, but I don't know where. There's several possibilities though.

Neverthorpe Road, I would imagine.

 

[Jonny]

If rope-hauled counts, then the preserved section of the Bowes Railway in Springwell, North East England might be a contender. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowes_Railway)

 

[duffield]

If rope-hauled counts, then the preserved section of the Bowes Railway in Springwell, North East England might be a contender. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowes_Railway)

And if rope hauled counts, why not include cliff railways?

 

[Taunton]

And if rope hauled counts, why not include cliff railways?

Actually, if rope hauled counts then the vehicle hoist that used to move the old Glasgow Subway cars from their depot down onto the running lines underneath is surely going to be the unbeatable winner ... 1 in 0

http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSE00118

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Does Shap qualify whereby a train climbs from Tebay upto Shap Summit or Beattock, which is another long climb?

Shap is 1 in 75 from the south.
Beattock is similar (also from the south) but peaks at 1 in 69 over a short distance.
Slochd is 1 in 60 (several sections).
Copy Pit is 1 in 65, often overlooked.
The South Devon banks are 1 in 38 (Dainton), 1 in 45 (Rattery), and 1 in 42 (Hemerdon).

On the Mersey Railway, I think the 1 in 27 is on the Liverpool side which is slightly steeper than the climb to Birkenhead.
The climb out from Green Lane to the BJ main line is also very steep but I haven't found a figure for it.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Surprised nobody's mentioned the Werneth Incline, Oldham.....

It's sort of a tramway now and other systems have steeper climbs Is the reason. It's a bit steep. Anyone know the ratio?

 

[oddiesjack]

It's sort of a tramway now and other systems have steeper climbs Is the reason. It's a bit steep. Anyone know the ratio?

The Werneth Incline wasn't on the section taken over for Metrolink, but on the line from Middleton Junction to Oldham, which closed in 1963/4. Ir was 1 in 27 and used to be the steepest route in the UK for passenger trains.

The line that the tramway now follows up as far as the site of Werneth Station was the easier-graded route that left the Oldham-Rochdale main line at Newton Heath. Where Werneth station was, the trains now take a very sharp left turn as part of the diversion into Oldham town centre proper.

 

[Whistler40145]

Surprised Oddiesjack hasn't yet mentioned Chinley to Peak Forest, that must be a rather steep incline?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Surprised Oddiesjack hasn't yet mentioned Chinley to Peak Forest, that must be a rather steep incline?

Mostly 1 in 90, with a bit of 1 in 87 near New Mills.
Woodhead was mostly shallower than 1 in 100 but there was a bit of 1 in 70 near Guide Bridge (still in use).
In that neck of the woods there was the steeply graded Cromford and High Peak which was rope worked in places (1 in 7 max).
The later linked freight line from Buxton to Hindlow, still in use, is also pretty steep with sections of 1 in 60.

 

[Whistler40145]

Then there's Bethnal Green Bank, Camp Hill, Llanvihangel Bank and many more.

 

[Bevan Price]

It's actually the 1:27 on the climb up from
River bed in the Mersey tunnel.

The profiles actually show short sections at 1 in 26, in addition to longer sections at 1 in 27.

On former BR freight lines, Hopton Incline (Cromford & High Peak Railway) was 1 in 14.

 

[Whistler40145]

Raven's Rock Summit on the Kyle line has a gradient of 1:50.

I also wonder what the gradient on West Highland line is from Helensburgh Upper to Glen Douglas?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

It's not as long as many already mentioned, but Greetland Junction to Salterhebble Junction (used by services from Brighouse to Halifax) always looked pretty steep...

 

[civ-eng-jim]

I was having a discussion with a colleague regarding train performance on inclines. He mentioned back in the days of steam and diesel loco hauled passenger trains, a train may start the incline at, say 60mph and barely scrape 20mph nearer the top.

On the long climbs today, do trains still struggle to maintain their speed up an incline? Voyagers on Lickey or Pendolinos on Shap?

 

[Deepgreen]

The profiles actually show short sections at 1 in 26, in addition to longer sections at 1 in 27.

On former BR freight lines, Hopton Incline (Cromford & High Peak Railway) was 1 in 14.

Yes, that was regarded as Britain's steepest adhesion-worked gradient. I remember a visit when I was a child with my father and a five brake van special was double-headed by J94 0-6-0Ts and had to be split into two sections to breast the summit!

 

[Philip C]

How steep is that climb heading from Bury Bolton Street on the East Lancs Railway to Heywood out of interest?

The gradient appears to be 1 in 36 eastbound and 1 in 41 westbound. With little scope for approaching the ramp at speed this must be quite a challenge.

 

[Taunton]

Yes, that was regarded as Britain's steepest adhesion-worked gradient. I remember a visit when I was a child with my father and a five brake van special was double-headed by J94 0-6-0Ts and had to be split into two sections to breast the summit!

The Great Western built a standard style of coal stage which had a ramp at one end. From what I remember the one at Taunton was said to have a gradient of about 1 in 12. There's one still extant at Didcot museum depot, but the gradient there looks less than the one at Taunton, which had to fit a very confined space.

It was shunted by a 57xx Pannier Tank which pushed up one coal wagon at a time, and only had a short run up before. Full gear and full regulator, but often with big slipping and especially in wet weather it wouldn't make it first time round. Huge noisy slipping which could be heard across half the town, especially given that the loco would tend to see-saw going over the crest. Some crews were better at it than others.

 

[Tobbes]

I was on the train to work and the section of the ELL extension heading south from Surrey Quays past the Milwall FC ground is marked as 1 in 30m - as a passenger it certainly feels steep. If I understand the history correctly, this is an old alignment being reused, but is it the steepest built in recent years?