Jim Martin Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Another question that arose during my (strictly work-related) wanderings around the rail network last week.. What is the gradient profile of Brentwood Bank? I came down it in a Class 321 on my way home from Southend and we seemed to be going at a hell of a clip! Certainly too fast to read the gradient markers - of which there seem to be quite a few, so I assume that there are several changes along the length of the bank. I very rarely travel up the bank, because I tend to travel to Southend via the LT&S route, but every time I've come down it seems to be a pretty rapid ride. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulG Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Another question that arose during my (strictly work-related) wanderings around the rail network last week.. What is the gradient profile of Brentwood Bank? I came down it in a Class 321 on my way home from Southend and we seemed to be going at a hell of a clip! Certainly too fast to read the gradient markers - of which there seem to be quite a few, so I assume that there are several changes along the length of the bank. I very rarely travel up the bank, because I tend to travel to Southend via the LT&S route, but every time I've come down it seems to be a pretty rapid ride. Jim From the country end of Harold Wood Station (15MP) the gradient rises all the way to the 19 3/4 MP just before Shenfield Station (20m 16ch). The steepest section is 1: 80 the country side of Brentwood Station. Approx 3 miles are at 1 : 100 or steeper. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 An early report of an accident that occurred in 1868 gave a gradient of 1 in 99 (http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=3949). The line was relaid when widened from two to four tracks and the gradient profile changed slightly. The three miles of Brentwood Bank are the culmination of a rising grade that begins after a level stretch at Harold Wood, gradually steepening to 1 in 103 before Brentwood and then 1 in 85 beyond the station, easing to 1 in 155 towards the summit. A gradient profile appears in this article by CJ Allen, writing in Meccano Magazine in 1937: http://www.darstaed.com/images/famoustrains6.pdf I don't know whether these figures correspond to the current gradient markers, but a video on Youtube quotes the same numbers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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