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(1) Guiness Book of Rail Facts and Feats has
steepest adhesion grade as 1 in 11 on Chamonix between Servoz and Chedde
(France).
(2) If this was an Olympic event I'm sure Lambing Flat's
little Krauss would be disqualified under equipment rules for adhesion
working.... LGB rubber tyres seem to me to be in the same league as sprung shoes
for high jumpers or flotation suits for swimmers. On the other hand, I bet they
have the sanders going full time on the Chamonix 1 in 11!
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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