Mountain Railroads, the latest special issue from Classic Trains, explores railroading’s battle with gravity and geography — getting heavy trains up steep grades and safely descending them. The 124-page special edition features new and rare photos, detailed maps, and classic articles from Trains magazine, including Horseshoe Curve, Cajon Pass, 2-10-4 to Revelstoke, Snowbound Streamliner, Saluda Grade, and more!
Making the grade
Horseshoe Curve • A stiff grade, heavy traffic, and a breathtaking bend make the Pennsylvania’s main line west of Altoona a railfan Mecca
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
CAJON PASS • Where Santa Fe and Union Pacific trains descend from the desert to the lush Los Angeles basin
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
TENNESSEE NARROW GAUGE • 4-PERCENT HILLS, 32-DEGREE CURVES, AND TRIM 4-6-0s HELP EAST TENNESSEE & WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA MAKE THE GRADE IN A LAND OF RUGGED BEAUTY
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
2-10-4 TO REVELSTOKE • CANADIAN PACIFIC’S BIG SELKIRKS, DEFEATED LAST WINTER BY A DIESEL, ARE STILL SLUGGING IT OUT ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
The BATTLE of SHERMAN HILL • 42½ miles of new railroad have made a long-standing Union Pacific dream a reality
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
REOPENING TUNNEL 10 • The skipper on the Denver–Craig local sensed something wasn’t right, so he called in from a lineside phone. “Hello, dispatcher … this is Conductor Pierson — First No. 1, Engine 302.… We’re at Quartz. Say, when we went through Tunnel 10 a few minutes ago, we smelled smoke, and it wasn’t engine smoke…
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
California’s mountain midget • SIX MILES IN A BUCKBOARD WAS TOO DURNED FAR, SO THE CITIZENS OF QUINCY, CALIF., SPIKED DOWN THEIR OWN RAILROAD IN 1910 — AND THEY’RE STILL BEING REPAID FOR THEIR EFFORTS
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
SALUDA • America’s steepest mainline grade challenged generations of Southern Railway men
“A REAL HERO”
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
STRANDED STREAMLINER • High in snow-swept Donner Pass, the City of San Francisco was marooned! Here is the dramatic story of how the Southern Pacific dug it out
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS
B&O battles the Alleghenies • GRADES, CURVES, TONNAGE, AND MONSTER LOCOMOTIVES: THE WEST END OF B&O’S CUMBERLAND DIVISION HAS THEM ALL
MOUNTAIN RAILROADS IN PHOTOS