Loops and spirals

[AMJ]

I was having a look on the web to remind myself of a journey I did in the 1980's from Hamburg to Rendsburg and there is a loop to gain height to cross the Keil canal.

 

UK only has the one at Dduallt on the Ffestiniog deviation.

 

The most famous ones are the loops on the DHR.

 

There was a long thread on the old forum about triangular stations so add any other loops into here.

[Oldddudders]

Ophir Loop on the 3' gauge Rio Grande Southern - the station at Ophir was at 9,236ft, and the line went up another thousand feet to 10,250 at Lizard Head.

 

Blausee Mitholz doing the same thing on the Bern-Loetschberg-Simplon, as I think the Wassen spiral does for the Gotthard - or is that now history?

 

Also in Switzerland, the Furka - Oberalp Bahn which I've travelled, and I'm sure the Rhatische Bahn, which I haven't.

 

Tehachapi on the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific.

 

Raurimu Spiral in NZ.

 

Kicking Horse Pass in Canada.

 

Zillions more I've not heard of, I'm sure!

[pH]

The Spiral Tunnels on the 'Big Hill' of the CPR between Field and the Continental Divide in British Columbia (these are the 'Kicking Horse Pass' spirals 'Olddudders' refers to above). Here's a diagram of the layout of the tunnels.

 

Williams Loop on the Western Pacific (now Union Pacific) in the Feather River Canyon in California.

 

Hiwassee Loop in Tennessee (the 'Eye' in the 'Hook and Eye line') built by the Louisville and Nashville. It's actually nearly two complete loops round a mountain! Now out of service for regular trains, but there appear to still be excursions run over it.

[Mike Boucher]

Ophir Loop on the 3' gauge Rio Grande Southern - the station at Ophir was at 9,236ft, and the line went up another thousand feet to 10,250 at Lizard Head.

 

Not to pick nits, but Ophir wasn't really a loop. It was a "horseshoe curve"

 

Here's a map:

http://www.ghostdepot.com/rg/mainline/san%20juan%20branch/ophir%20loop.gif

 

There was a 3' gauge loop in Colorado, it was the Georgetown loop.

 

Here's a pic:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Georgetown_loop_1899.jpg

[Oldddudders]

Not to pick nits, but Ophir wasn't really a loop. It was a "horseshoe curve"

 

Here's a map:

http://www.ghostdepot.com/rg/mainline/san%20juan%20branch/ophir%20loop.gif

 

There was a 3' gauge loop in Colorado, it was the Georgetown loop.

 

Here's a pic:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Georgetown_loop_1899.jpg

Ophir Loop didn't cross over itself, it's true, but it was still a mighty long diversion - just to gain height! Blausee Mitholz is the same, of course.

 

EDIT Just to put the RGS climb at Ophir in some sort of perspective, from MP 43.91 before the Butterfly Trestle (BR 44A) to MP 49.03 at Trout Lake i.e. just over 5 miles, the rails gained 706' in altitude, which my Dame Skool maths tell me is not much kinder than 1 in 38 overall, with severe curves over much of it, as shown on the linked map.

[John O'Gaunt]

Just for completeness there are more spiral tunnels on the Gotthard route than have been mentioned so far.

 

In the Wassen area there are the Pfaffensprung (spiral-the track loops over itself), Wattinger (semi-circle full 180 degree reversal of direction) and Leggistein (semi-circle) Tunnels.

 

In the Dazio Grande there are the Freggio (spiral) and Prato (spiral) Tunnels,

 

In the Biaschina, perhaps the most spectacular of all, the Pianotondo (spiral) and Travi (spiral) Tunnels.

 

There are quite a few spiral tunnels in the French and Italian Alps, although, typically, I can't put my hands on the book I want to check in (Railways through the mountains of Europe in case anyone has a copy to hand). I think the Flam line in Norway has several loops, both open and in tunnel.

 

Hopethe above is of use

 

 

 

 

[Frutigen]

There's a spiral tunnel near Toses in the Spanish Pyrenees, starting at 1345 metres and rising to 1375. Confusingly, it's on line R3 of the Barcelona suburban system, operated by RENFE, which turns out to be a 160km single track mountain run over the border into France.

 

Well worth the trip, specially if you connect at Ribes with the Swiss style metre gauge rack line up to Vall de Nuria, complete with Stadler GTW railcars and goods wagons attached to passenger trains. At 1964m Vall de Nuria claims to be the highest station in Spain.

 

I've uploaded a few photos of it here (in this case an older unit built in Spain to Swiss design). No spirals on this line though.

 

Keith

[jamie92208]

There is certainly a spiral tunnel of some sort on the Chemin de fer du Provence the narrow gauge line that runs north fromn Nice. I can't remember if it crosses over itself but at one point I could see three levels of track from the cab.

 

Jamie

[Allegheny1600]

I remember a place in the former Yugoslavia (possibly Split?, Dubrovnik?) where there was a town in a low lying valley, surrounded all around by hills and the railway actually managed to drop from high on the coastal route, making two or three passes by my position and then entering the town. I don't know if the railway did any spirals but it certainly had to do loops!

My parents and I were travelling along the coast heading for Greece (& very nearly entering Albania by mistake!) and I remember the railways were most interesting!

They were articulated electric locos in a green and yellow livery, with a sloping front end rather than a 'Krokodile' style nose!

Sorry my memories are so vague, I was only about 11 or 12 and in a very forign country, having passed through many different countries in a matter of a couple of weeks!

If anyone can identify where this was, I would be grateful!

Oh! One last thing - the town had a tower in it's centre that rose up to nearly level with my height, at least 500' if not a thousand feet high!

Cheers,

John E.

 

PS I have looked on google earth etc but can't recognise anything!

PPS This would have been 1977.

[DonB]

I have a vague recollection of a picture of a loop on one of the Indian Railways. Sorry can't be more specific, I'd love to know that my memory is not failing..............

[Franco]

Four spirals on the Cuneo-Ventimiglia which is classified among Europe's most spectacular lines!

[bingley hall]

I have a vague recollection of a picture of a loop on one of the Indian Railways. Sorry can't be more specific, I'd love to know that my memory is not failing..............

The Darjeeling Railway has four loops and pretty sure that one of the metre gauge lines on either the Central Railway or South Central had a loop.

 

EDIT: Found it!

 

The MG networks of northern India (including the north-east via the Assam Rail Link) and southern India (16,690 and 7940 route kms, respectively) remained separate until 1960, when the completion of the Khandwa - Hingoli section connected the two. This link went through Akot, Akola, and Basim, across the Tapti and Purna rivers and had 2 tunnels and 50 major bridges, and a spectacular spiral.

 

http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-gauge.html

 

Possibly another on the North East Frontier Railway in Assam.

 

In Australia there is the Bethungra Spiral between Melbourne and Sydney and Border Loop between Sydney and Brisbane

[Gwiwer]

Those two in Australia are both on interstate main lines and Border Loop is so named as the line crosses the Queensland / New South Wales border while deep inside Border Tunnel negotiating the spiral. Border is correctly termed Cougal Spiral but is invariablby known as Border Loop.

 

Border is also set in spectacular scenery though hard to access other than by a fairly long drive on minor roads. Passenger trains traverse both spirals. Bethungra, where the loop is only traversed by northbound trains, is on the route of the twice-daily Sydney - Melbourne XPT and can thus be travelled in daylight when departing Melbourne in the morning. Border Loop, which is on a single track line, is only served by the once-daily Sydney - Brisbane XPT which always runs north in the small hours of the morning but returns in daylight with an early start from Brisbane.

 

There is regular freight on both routes much of it long and heavy with two, three or more locos heading up to 1500m of train.

[Railpassion]

Superb footage of the Hiwassee Loop in Tennessee

 

[dullsteamer]

Okoba on the Hisatsu line of JR Kyushu has a spiral and a switchback.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okoba_Station

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

 

[Darius43]

Many years ago I went InterRailing and visited a place called Merens-les-Vals in the French Pyrenees.  The SNCF line had a loop in a tunnel on the line there from Ax-les-Thermes as I recall.  There was a distinct squealing of flanges in that tunnel.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Allegheny1600]

How about Mongolia?

copyright: Batkhurel Natsagdorj.

Location: Khonkhor loop, Sukhbaatar  Duureg, 14171, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Allegheny1600
Correct location