> How does the Dubbo Xpt cope then coming down the hill from Katoomba? There is
> several kilometers of 1 in 30 grade there.
A bit smokey, but not too bad. The line is very curvy which aids in friction,
and the train is shorter than the southern services. It is also not continuous 1
in 33, but rather broken by short sections of 1 in 66. The longest continuous 1
in 33 is between Bullaburra and Wentworth Falls, at a length of 2 kilometres.
Between Valley Heights and Katoomba, the line climbs from 322m up to 1017m, and
travels a distance of 32.533 km. This makes the average gradient 1 in 46.8.
On the other hand, between Unanderra and Summit Tank, the longest section of 1 in
30 (Compensated) is 5.7 km. The line climbs from 14 m up to 582m, and travels a
distance of 19.862 km. This makes the average gradient 1 in 35. Needless to
say, all XPTs I have seen on this line have produced huge amounts of smoke. When
the tilt train went down, we had to ask the driver to turn the damper switches
on.
-- David Johnson CityRail Guard trainman@ozemail.com.au http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman/