05-12-2010, 12:23 PM
MountainMan Wrote:I assume you mean the "steepest grade in modern times"?
The Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad had a stretch of 6% and a ruling grade of 4%.
I think the reference is to the "steepest grade on a standard gauge class one railroad." Narrow gauge, short lines and logging railroads often have much steeper grades. The steepest I've heard of was 14% on a logging road in the Sierra Nevada Mtns here in Ca., but I think the steepest of all was the incline where the Sugar Pine Lumber Company interchanged with the Yosemite Railroad.