Saluda Grade
N 35° 14.172 W 082° 20.925
17S E 377275 N 3900070
The Saluda Grade in Saluda, NC.
Waymark Code: WM10N8
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 12/04/2006
Views: 50
The picture above shows the sign at the crest of the grade in the town of Saluda. The grade opened to rail traffic in 1878. However, the idea for tracks across the mountain is much older than that. The original idea was put forth in 1832. A need was seen to be able to move goods and passengers from the growing upstate of South Carolina into the new settlements in Tennessee and the west.
Several different routes were suggested during the planning stages. Eventually the route of the old “overland trail” was chosen as the best way to go with the track. The overland trail was the route that the first settlers used to travel into the new land of Tennessee and on west as the country opened up. In late 1832 surveying began and the track was planned. The chief engineer on the project was Capt. Charles Pearson. The Pearsons Falls waterfall is named in his honor.
Saluda Grade is the length of Norfolk & Southern mainline rail between Saluda, North Carolina and Melrose, N.C. The total length of the track between these two points is 3 miles. The vertical distance however, is 600+ feet. The steepest portion of the grade is 5.03% That makes Saluda the steepest grade on a mainline track in the country.
The railroad has had to take several precautions to make this track safe. It gets a lot of use and needs to be in tip-top shape to handle all that rail traffic. The biggest trains that come through the grade are the coal trains. These originate in West Virginia and are bound for the coal fired power plants in North and South Carolina as well as Georiga. There are hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the trains that travel down this mountain.
Marker Name: Saluda Grade
Marker Type: Roadside
Related Web Link: [Web Link]
Required Waymark Photo: yes
Local North Carolina markers without State Number Designation: Not listed
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