Existing comment:
Stop 1: Orange Special:
Directly across from where you step onto the railroad grade is a plaque commemorating the "Orange Special" wreck. This wreck was caused in part by the steep 1.6 percent grade that continues to your right across the paved road. On the transcontinental route, only a short section of track near the summit of the Sierra Nevada was steeper than the grade here. All freight trains and many long passenger trains required at least one helper, or hog, locomotive to assist them up and down Promontory's east slope. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 mandated that the transcontinental railroad grade's steepness could not exceed 2 percent. This was so that locomotives could ascend the grade while pulling heavy loads and also to keep trains from derailing while descending the grade. It is for these reasons that the grade does not follow what would appear to be the most direct route, but incorporates many curves and turn along its path to Promontory. |