My first rule: study the prototype!
The town of Saluda and the apex of the Saluda Grade rests on the top of the Saluda Mountains at Milepost 32. The town is just over the NC/SC border, about 40 miles north of Spartanburg.
The Saluda Grade is the stretch between a very tiny town called Melrose, NC at the base of Melrose Mountain and Saluda, NC. Tryon is the town immediately south of Melrose.
The ruling grade is 5.1%. For HO scale that is a 5.1 inch rise over a 100 ft run, or 8.3 ft of track. That is a remarkable grade in HO scale! It is inconcieveable in real life! A 3% grade is more common in HO on a 4x8. Wow!
Key bodies of water to model:
- Lake Summit (just north of Saluda, so we'll move it a bit)
- Pearson's Falls
- Pacolet River
- Saluda town
- Bridge at Melrose Switch (over Pacolet)
- Sandy Fill
- Emergency Switch
- Pearson's Falls Road Tunnel
Trains Magazine article on the Saluda Grade
http://www.polkcounty.org/saludagrade/saluda%20grade.pdf
Wikipedia on Saluda Grade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saluda_Grade
Saluda Grade History
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3230/2914182351_11abf5036a_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/luxomni/2914182351/&usg=__62psF5DH_Z0mJiG-6PBpDdfZ3qw=&h=1607&w=2420&sz=188&hl=en&start=31&sig2=VvkgJQesx2ViSaw7mWzFzg&um=1&tbnid=0Rjcp30bU6EiFM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsaluda%2B%2526%2Bgrade%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1&ei=aHz3SsHCJoWWtgee_q24Aw
3D Computer Generated Video of the Saluda Grade (about 2/3 through is Melrose)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otgDdqsxulg
The town of Saluda Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKD3jhGVqz4
the Saluda Grade as driven by car (used for scenery tips)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xb2wc2boVg
Saluda view with an interested auto tunnel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMgXGPYwA6s
A Southern consist barrelling up the grade...look at the smoke!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8ueSbaapng
A Southern Steam Train
http://www.southernsteamtrains.com/locomotives/srprint.jpg
Pictures of Melrose and Lake Summit
http://www.hometownheritage.com/railsite/pages/Saluda.html
Info on the town of Saluda
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://saludalandfinders.com/aboutsaluda/saluda1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://saludalandfinders.com/aboutsaluda/aboutsaluda.htm&usg=__sgLpJoB-aRYiQx2IQ_-fHiq9cOU=&h=446&w=595&sz=65&hl=en&start=16&sig2=bet807pFsQq2s2oCJCDyrw&um=1&tbnid=8d2y-d6UTzDTgM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsaluda%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26um%3D1&ei=Bnr3SuiwFsKUtgf-4Lm2Aw
Information on the Saluda Grade - Key photos and grade maps!!!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.polkcounty.org/saludagrade/thegrade/dcp00268.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.polkcounty.org/saludagrade/TheSaludaGrade.html&usg=__1uubC27uHtRVmsjLjcZrr2z8Rrk=&h=432&w=576&sz=38&hl=en&start=7&sig2=PvFpzEEmc2WJNl7H0-tuJw&um=1&tbnid=HxBWABAKYms6cM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsaluda%2B%2526%2Bgrade%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26um%3D1&ei=gHr3SuO9B8S0tgfa6dG0Aw
Modeling Saluda Grade
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/OrlandoNtrak/JimT/town1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.trainweb.org/orlandontrak/layouts.htm&usg=__fspnWOqJjwqoA2EAMVTykB6TVtU=&h=689&w=1024&sz=299&hl=en&start=8&sig2=Lfgz_WCVzz1X5goG6JgJiQ&um=1&tbnid=fWqRoFjd-VxMSM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsaluda%2Bgrade%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26um%3D1&ei=coH3StKLLsaVtgeoiOS9Aw
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