occasionally I run into something online that I just have to share, this video is of some carolina short lines, and between about 1:40 to about 3:30ish there is some neat footage of some first generation diesels really treading on thin ice on the carolina southern. its right after they start up this crazy steep but short grade, just guessing between 2-3%. (I think E.M. had some steep grades on his old line he may be a better judge at that) I would imagine some "puckered crew members on trips like these, our line used to be this way in spots on some of our branches, I dont miss those days! this is short line railroading at its best or worst, depends on how you look at it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9zwq-TnykA
after about a minute in, this one is self explanitory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g11qWro1LzQ
heck..just a few swinging joints there...nothing to sweat below 20mph!
We had a lot of spots like that before they put the big rail in. The 7738 we used had trucks the where just plum work out..springs bottomed out, lateral motion ect. It rode so bad on track like that we had to velcro out coffee mugs to the control stand. When we would MU Two engines together, it was nothing to watch the one behind you rock and roll so bad you could read the number board on the OTHER side of it in some of the low spots.
The bankrupt RRs that went into Conrail (including Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna and Lehigh Valley) all had rough spots like that when I was a kid back in the mid '70s.
Yeah we used to laugh at a couple of our more notable dips, they were famous for swinging your jacket off the coat hooks on the back wall.