A steep grade railway is a railway that ascends and descends a slope that has a steep grade. Such railways can use a number of different technologies to overcome the steepness of the grade.

Usage

Many steep grade railways are located in

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

regions, and are hence also mountain railways. Such railways may form part of infrastructure provided for use by

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

s, or as provision for

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold a ...

. Other steep grade railways are located in hilly urban areas. Again these may be largely tourist oriented, or may be used as part of the local public transport provision.

Technology

On steep grades the

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of ...

between the wheels and the rails cannot apply sufficient

adhesion Adhesion is the tendency of dissimilar particles or surfaces to cling to one another ( cohesion refers to the tendency of similar or identical particles/surfaces to cling to one another). The forces that cause adhesion and cohesion can ...

to the train's wheels so as to overcome gravity, and the train is in danger of sliding down the track. In practice this affects downhill braking capability before it affects uphill climbing ability, and some mountain railways at the lower end of the steepness spectrum rely on standard adhesion for propulsion, but use special track brakes acting directly on the rails. Where the line is too steep to rely on adhesion for climbing, a

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with t ...

may be used, in which a toothed cog wheel engages with a toothed rack rail laid between the tracks. A now little used alternative to the rack and pinion railway is the Fell system, in which traction and/or braking wheel are applied to a central rail under pressure. Another alternative is a cable car in which the car runs on rails, but grasps a continuously moving cable underneath the rails for propulsion, releasing the cable to stop. This is used in San Francisco's famous cable cars. Finally at the steepest end of the spectrum, a

funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

may be used. Here a cable is used to haul counterbalanced trains up and down the track. The cars are permanently attached to the cable, which stops, starts and reverses as required. Cars are often custom built for the slope, with specially raked seating and steps rather than a sloped floor. Taken to its logical conclusion as the slope becomes vertical, a

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...

becomes an

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ...

Lists of steep grade railways

List of steepest gradients on adhesion railways The inclusion of steep gradients on railways avoids the expensive engineering works required to produce more gentle gradients. However the maximum feasible gradient is limited by how much of a load the locomotive(s) can haul upwards. Braking when ...

* List of Fell system railways * List of rack railways * List of cable hauled railways *

List of funicular railways This is a list of funicular railways, organised by place within country and continent. The funiculars range from short urban lines to significant multi-section mountain railways. A funicular railway is distinguished from the similar incline eleva ...

* Hillclimbing (railway)

Gallery

File:Poestlingbergbahn20051008.jpg, The Pöstlingbergbahn is one of the steepest railways that uses only adhesion File:Pilatus 2008 - 27.JPG, The

Pilatusbahn The Pilatus Railway (german: Pilatusbahn, links=no, PB) is a mountain railway in Switzerland and the steepest rack railway in the world, with a maximum gradient of 48% and an average gradient of 35%. The line runs from Alpnachstad, on Lake Alpn ...

is the steepest rack railway File:Cable Car 15 on Powell Street.jpg, The

San Francisco cable car system The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. The system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railwa ...

File:Gelmerbahn Di Renzo.jpg, The

Gelmerbahn The Gelmer Funicular is a cable railway in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It links a lower terminus at Handegg, in the Haslital (the valley of the upper Aar River), with an upper terminus at the Gelmersee lake. The Gelmerbahn was the steepes ...

funicular railway {{Authority control Railways by type