Mountain Railroads

Mountain Railroads, the latest special issue from Classic Trains, explores railroading’s battle with gravity and geography — getting heavy trains up steep grades and safely descending them. The 124-page special edition features new and rare photos, detailed maps, and classic articles from Trains magazine, including:

• Horseshoe Curve — A visit to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Allegheny Mountain landmark in 1940.
• Cajon Pass — To reach Los Angeles, Santa Fe and Union Pacific trains faced a climb of 1.6 percent, then a descent of 3.5 percent!
• 2-10-4 to Revelstoke — Ride the cab with David P. Morgan over Canadian Pacific’s crossing of the Continental Divide.
• Snowbound Streamliner — Hundreds of people were marooned for three days when SP’s City of San Francisco got stuck on Donner Pass.
• Saluda Grade — Generations of crews battled the short but fierce grade of the Southern Railway’s line south of Asheville, N.C.
• And more!