Steve Forney Wrote:
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> I asked John Bush about the name "Gravity
> Hill." He told me he had heard it called "State
> Line Hill," and "Gravity Hill" was new to him.
Sorta like "Tanglefoot Curve", which IIRC was known by the D&RG(W) as "Cumbres Loop".
Earl Wrote {approximately}
:
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> "Gravity Hill" is something the Antonito Boys
> came up with in the last few years. I never
> heard the term until I left the C&TS.
... The
> funny thing is the grade there is considerably
> less than other spots between Antonito & Lava.
> It is a serious optical illusion. The entire topo-
> graphy is sloped close to a 1.5% grade, down-
> ward toward Mt. Blanca & the valley. The top
> of the mesa slopes down, the track is climb-
> ing up on something around 1%. Once you
> get around the curve at the top, you have to
> pull harder on {up to} Lava.
I vaguely remember the same thing, Steve -
But maybe 'cause I read it on one of John's or Earl's previous posts. Most of the run-bys there take place just uphill (northeast) of m.p. 289, and the trains seldom back down far enough to make the grade (or lack thereof) apparent. But on September 13, 2009, there was a "chase" train being chased by #315, and the freight was held back at least a mile while we Phraud-O-Graphers™ set up. In the following series of pics, it's pretty clear that as the train crosses the state line (#4 in this first series) it's more across from us than below
:
The difference in elevation that shows in most posted photos at that location is mostly due to the majority of us climbing up the hillside above the track. (Some o' them young Whipper-Snappers, like Kevin, are able to get a lot higher than us old Curmudgeons)
:
Here's a shot of the little trestle at m.p. 286.72
* - about 2½ miles away as the crow flies - which shows #315 descending the hill
way in the background (arrow). It's clear that - like Earl sez - the grade ain't really all that steep
:
-
Roosso
* The trestle shown above was culvertised in 2009.
Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2015 10:57PM by Russo Loco.