page_title: Spiral (railway)
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Spiral (railway) / List of spirals / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Close up picture of w:Tehachapi Loop from Terra Server-USA/ USGS
context_page_description: A spiral is a technique employed by railways to ascend steep hills.
  A railway spiral rises on a steady curve until it has completed a loop, passing over itself as it gains height, allowing the railway to gain vertical elevation in a relatively short horizontal distance. It is an alternative to a zig-zag, and avoids the need for the trains to stop and reverse direction while ascending. If the train is longer than the length of each loop it may be possible to view it looping above itself.
  The term "loop" is also often used for a railway that curves sharply and goes back on itself: if the railway crosses itself, then it forms a spiral or helix; otherwise, it forms the much more common horseshoe curve or bend.
context_section_description: Tehachapi Loop, at Tehachapi, California at 35°12′03″N 118°32′13″W on the former Southern Pacific Railroad, now part of Union Pacific Railroad.
  Williams Loop, east of East Quincy, California at 39°54′36″N 120°48′29″W on the former Western Pacific Railroad now part of Union Pacific Railroad.
  Hiwassee Loop, also known as the Hook and Eye; 2 miles NNE of Farner, Tennessee at 35°10′53″N 84°17′59″W on the former Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway now operated as a heritage railroad by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, which operates excursion trains from Etowah, Tennessee to Copperhill, Tennessee via the loop, as well as trains just to the loop and back from Etowah.
  Georgetown Loop, at Georgetown, Colorado at 39°42′02″N 105°42′32″W on the former Colorado Central Railroad. The spiral was completed in 1884, abandoned and dismantled in 1939, rebuilt between 1972 and 1984 and is now owned by History Colorado and operated as the Georgetown Loop Railroad.
  The MAX Red Line, a light rail line in Portland, Oregon, loops over itself at 45°31′51″N 122°33′49″W in the vicinity of the Gateway Transit Center.
  In the Loop District of the Alaska Railroad at 60°39′36″N 149°02′29″W between mileposts 48 and 51 northeast of Seward, Alaska, there was a spiral and a horseshoe curve both on an extensive range of timber trestles up to 106 feet high. Track relocation in 1951 removed all of this but added a new horseshoe at milepost 48. 
  Abandoned spiral at Riflesight Notch Loop at Rollinsville, Colorado at 39°54′00″N 105°42′47″W on the former Denver and Salt Lake Railway route over Rollins Pass. The spiral was bypassed by the Moffat Tunnel built in 1928, and was dismantled in 1935.
  Abandoned spiral called Double Circle, or Double Loop, or The Golden Circle, at 39°58′48″N 117°02′06″W  east of Eureka, Utah on the former Tintic branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. It was bypassed in 1940 and the branch removed in 1943.
  Abandoned spiral on the Roaring Camp Railroad at 37°02′33″N 122°03′54″W. The spiral was completed in 1963. The spiral was bypassed by two switchbacks after a trestle fire in 1976.
caption: Tehachapi Loop, on the Union Pacific Railroad, California, United States, viewed from the air.
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