French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1916-09-14
IMPROVEMENTS ARE
CONTEMPLATED FOR
THE SALJDA GRADE
Line to be- straightened and Safety
Switches AbandOned-When
Work VIII Commence.

The Charlotte Observer learns that
great changes are to be made in the
famous Saluda grade, which will call
for the elimination 81 the safety
switches. a number of the turns and
curves and a general relocation of
the track giving two per cent grade
instead of foul and a half per cent.
This undertaking, says the Observer,
has been discussed for a long time
and ever since the traffic on this divi-
sion become to heavy several years
ago has been under AMUSEMENT by
Southern Railway officials. Nothing
definite however was decided upon and
the famous grade with its safety
switches have remained. The recent
flood and its terrific toll brought the
enterprise more forcefully to the at
tention of the officials and definite de-
termination has been reached to make
the changes.
Instead of the four and a half per
cent grade there will be a two per
cent grade, the track will be relocated
and extended So that it will be about
four miles longer than it is today; the
curves and turns will be eliminated
which have heretofore o~ccasioned so
much of the stress in the heavy pull
ing, thereby giving more of a straight
away track, and the safety switches
will be abandoned. The grade will
not be light enough to. do away with
the auxiliary engine that has heretofore
stood at the foot of the mountain 20
push all trains up but the load will be
reduced to such an extent that it will
be an easy proposition. There will
be no trouble whatever as to the safe
ty of trains descending the mountain
and this heavy item Of expense will
be eliminated. Neither Saluda nor
Tryon will be left off the track nor
will any changes be erected otherwise
than those already stated.
AS to the time when these improve
ments are to be made, it is stated
that they will not be undertaken until
after the present double track work
Lbeween Charlotte and Atlanta is well
under way. This will probably be by
the latter part of next summer when
the work on this division will be
started. Recently there has been q
great increase of traffic on this Spar
tanburg-Asheville line and hence the
growing need of the elimination of this
very expensive grade at Saluda. 1t
would be possible of course for h
Southern Railway engineers to reduce
the grade to the extent of enabling one
engine to pull almost any load on this
incline but the track would have to
be heightened to the extent that il
would not be an economically feasible
proposition. To get such a grade.
the line would have to be heightened
very much after the fashion of the
tennis-racke loop on the Clinchiel:
leading into Altapass. This with the
volume of business on the Spartan
burg-Asheville division would not be
feasible.
The changing OF the track and the
reduction of the grade would call for
the abandonment of one of the most
interesting features in railway con
struction and operation in the South,
namely the safety switches on Saluda
mountain. The track drops about 500
feet in four miles and there are two
safety switches with men constantly
on guard, who keep their switches al.
ways on the safety track until the
engineer in charge of the train gives
the signal that he has his train un-
der control. Only her does the
guard open the track and permit him
to descend. If 10 signal is given, the
train is runout on the safety tarck
until the force of gravity brings 1t to
a halt. The engineer can then back
and proceeds on down the mountain.
One of the heavy items of expense
of this extraordinary grade is the
wear and tear on the wheels and
brakes and rolling stock generally of
all trains that pass over it.