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Can't speak for model railways, but the Roaring Camp and Big
Trees Railroad, Felton, California which uses steam ex-logging locos claims a
grade of 1 in 12. Having ridden on it in 1997, it is certainly
steep. Tramways, and electric railways using single vehicles can also be
quite steep. The steepest in Australia (ignoring the Balmain wharf line
which used counterweight assistance) was the line to Neutral Bay wharf, which
had a ruling grade of 1 in 8.5. This required trams to be equipped with
special braking systems, at first they used mechanical track bracks, then a
corridor car with dynamic brakes was employed for the final years of the
line. I'm sure that there are electrically worked Swiss mountain lines and
perhaps the Chamonix line (France), using single coaches, which are steeper than
1 in 12 using adhesion.
Regards
David Bennetts
Canberra
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