Eastern Railroad Discussion > Surveys for alternate Saluda routes

I've read in multiple places that the area around the Saluda grade was surveyed extensively, both before and after the route was built, to try and find a path for a gentler grade.    According to all sources, no suitable alternate route was found.   Looking at the topographic maps around the area, it appears that a less-steep route *could* be possible if multiple loops involving long tunnels and/or very long/high trestles were employed, obviously at great expense.   I'm curious if any of the alternate route surveys are in existence?   It would be interesting to see if, for instance, a looping route was proposed and rejected due to the high cost of the bridges and tunneling involved.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/19 11:20 by i64west.

The story as was told on a video of Saluda back in the late 80's to mid 90's, was that the alternate route would have added some 20+ miles of track, looping to the east of where the line actually is.

Having recently seen operations of the Central Andino Railway in Peru it is interesting to think about how it compares. The average grade of Saluda is 4.24% and is extreme here... but on the FCCA in Peru the entire mainline is on a 4-4.5% grade for something like 70-80 miles. The switchbacks limit train length, so there are quite a few crews and trains running at a given time that only amount, tonnage wise, to one standard US train. Here it is impossible to imagine railroad management accepting short trains and a lot of crews to get tonnage over a mountain district.

I believe the main alternative route that was considered was a line coming up the Green River.  It would have reduced the grade, but, that is some very rugged terrain, especially in the gorge.  I've been working in Saluda this week.  There are lots of weeds and other plant debris on the tracks.  It was better 20 years ago.