Steepest grade on an Amtrak route

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KmH

KmH

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Is this heaven? No. It's Iowa.
I know that back before the Moffet Tunnel opened on the California Zephyr route there were some 4% grades over the Continental Divide.

It seems the south track over Cajon Pass the Southwest Chief uses is a 3% grade, or has sections that are 3%.

It's kind of surprising but there don't seem to be any loops to/from Cajon Pass.

Are the any steeper grades?

Loops on grades I've found:

California Zephyr

Big Ten Curve

Gilluly Loops

Arnold's Loop

Emigrant Canyon/Donner Lake Loops.

Empire Builder

Iron Ridge/Greenhorn Creek/Austin Road loops

Baird Springs Road loop

Foss River loop

Index loop

Coast Starlight

Chorro loop

Rollercoaster Trail loop

Tehachapi Loop (only when the regular CS route is unavailable)

Cantara loop

Sawmill Curve

Shady Gap loop

Flat Creek loop
 
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The only steeper grade to be found on Amtrak is the one that makes diners profitable in less than 4 years...
 
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Raton Pass in New Mexico and Colorado has some 3 percent grades on the SWC route. For years it took three or four locomotives to get the chief over that pass.
 
So SWC is going to stay on its current route! I don't think so. Where's the money for repairs? none has been committed for 10 years, none has been committed for 5 years, none has been committed for 2 years and none has been committed for even 1 year. Colorado has tied their funding to only if New Mexico establishes its funding. Kansas has not set aside any funds for annual repairs either.. So where is the money? What little has been put into repairs thru grants is for La Junta eastward to Newton. I think there could possibly be another element at play-- I call it the Johnson effect. When President Johnson ran for office of President of US Amarillo area Potter and Randall Counties were the only counties in the state of Texas to vote solidly Republican. As a retaliation Johnson closed Amarillo Air Force Base and now Amarillo area is solid Republican to this day. Joe Boardman has been quoted within last 5 years as saying "Amtrak will never stop in Amarillo". Johnson effect?? maybe so ,maybe not. It is Politics and money that grease gov't operations.
 
The loops are to keep the grade down. For the most part to 2.2%, sometimes less.
 
Guest said:
I think there could possibly be another element at play-- I call it the Johnson effect. When President Johnson ran for office of President of US Amarillo area Potter and Randall Counties were the only counties in the state of Texas to vote solidly Republican. As a retaliation Johnson closed Amarillo Air Force Base and now Amarillo area is solid Republican to this day. Joe Boardman has been quoted within last 5 years as saying "Amtrak will never stop in Amarillo". Johnson effect?? maybe so ,maybe not. It is Politics and money that grease gov't operations.
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Considering that Joe Boardman is a Republican (He was George Pataki's DOT Commish in NY State before he came to Wasington DC as FRA admin under W AFAIR), I don't see what the relevance of all this is even if it were true regarding what Joe Boardman said, for which I await a citation.
 
Guest said:
So SWC is going to stay on its current route! I don't think so. Where's the money for repairs? none has been committed for 10 years, none has been committed for 5 years, none has been committed for 2 years and none has been committed for even 1 year. Colorado has tied their funding to only if New Mexico establishes its funding. Kansas has not set aside any funds for annual repairs either.. So where is the money? What little has been put into repairs thru grants is for La Junta eastward to Newton. I think there could possibly be another element at play-- I call it the Johnson effect. When President Johnson ran for office of President of US Amarillo area Potter and Randall Counties were the only counties in the state of Texas to vote solidly Republican. As a retaliation Johnson closed Amarillo Air Force Base and now Amarillo area is solid Republican to this day. Joe Boardman has been quoted within last 5 years as saying "Amtrak will never stop in Amarillo". Johnson effect?? maybe so ,maybe not. It is Politics and money that grease gov't operations.
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http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/53558-southwest-chief-re-route/
 
Best information I could find, wouldn't call it a citation, more of a conjecture. From, http://amarillo.com/stories/112209/new_news1.shtml

In 1964, the Department of Defense decided to close the base along with more than 90 other military installations. Rumors still float around that former President Lyndon Johnson closed the base out of spite for the Panhandle because it voted for Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election. But only eight of the 26 counties in the Panhandle voted for Goldwater in 1964, and the decision to close the base was made during the election year.
 
Having been over Cajon and Raton passes within the last few weeks.....and during daylight hours......Raton wins easy.

The SWC craws through Raton and strains pretty good. Is there a defenite stauts on Raton and Amtrak???? Everytime I ride I wonder if it will be the last time through.
 
Are we talking about the grade of the steepest segment of an uphill climb or the ruling grade for the entire uphill climb?

Please ignore this question. I thought I once knew what the difference was. Checked Wikipedia and now I'm not sure of anything. :(

But according to this (about half way down)... http://www.railserve.com/stats_records/highest_steepest_railroads.html ...the Raton Pass is 3.3% - however, there's probably something else giving a different grade.
 
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Dave Van said:
Having been over Cajon and Raton passes within the last few weeks.....and during daylight hours......Raton wins easy.

The SWC craws through Raton and strains pretty good. Is there a defenite stauts on Raton and Amtrak???? Everytime I ride I wonder if it will be the last time through.
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Cajon has Sullivan's Loop to ease things a bit.

BITD, I used to hike a bit around Cajon Pass. I'd stop at Tiffany's and the waitresses there would tell stories of seeing train crews leaping out of runaways on that grade.
 
The Pacific Crest Trail goes through Cajon Pass.

Where in Cajon Pass is Sullivan's Loop? North of highway 138?

Or is it across from the truck weigh stations on I-15?

I kinda keep track of where Amtrak routes are relative to the PCT.

FWIW - the PCT comes out of the mountains right there at the north bound weigh station.

I don't see where the PCT continues north out of Cajon Pass.
 
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OK, calling it a curve is better. I wouldn't call a curve of only about 120° a loop, but then again as long as it appears to be a local name or one given by trainmen - then it could even be called Sullivan's Death Spiral. :)
 
Runaway freight train on the Cajon grade have killed many residents trackside in San Bernadino
 
Years ago I saw a TV show about a derailment near the bottom of the grade, the Duffy Street incident May 12, 1989

The Wikipedia links says the derailment leveled 7 homes, killed 2 young boys in one of the homes. The Conductor and a Brakeman on the train were also killed.

Clean up of the derailment apparently damaged a petroleum pipeline under the derailment site that a 13 days later, May 25, 1989, right after another freight train had gone by, ruptured and caught fire, killed 2 more people, destroyed 11 more homes, and 21 cars.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Duffy+St,+San+Bernardino,+CA+92407/@34.1368619,-117.3440851,543m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x80c3526c9db51bd9:0xd66d41b1182af0c0
 
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