[PRCo] Re: Steepest grade in Pgh

[Fred Schneider]

I've been told that there was a very short section of track on the Fineview line that exceeded 14 percent.  The 12.5 figure is commonly mentioned.  Ten percent was far from
abnormal.  Six to eight  percent grades were common as fleas on a shaggy dog.  What I'm trying to say here is that Pittsburgh Railways and West Penn Railways commonly ran using
only adhesion on grades far steeper than those that would have caused European designers to resort to cog and rack operations.   I remember reading somewhere that the steepest
tramway grade in Germany was on the order of six percent.

The American practice of going up walls also helps to explain why both West Penn and Pittsburgh resorted to track brakes very early.

Pepa Kalousek wrote:

> Hello, guys!
> What was the steepest grade in Pittsburgh trolley system? Some steep grades were on the 21 Fineview line, about 12.5%, em I right? But also 16.8% grade was mentioned somewhere.
>
> Boris

fws