Page 4 - March 2023 Track N Times

FEATURE STORY

Mountain Grades Continued

Little did I know or at that time understand that the next 20 miles was all downhill on steep descending grade and
what the meant to my Superintendent.
Let’s put this in perspective so we have a better understanding on what’s really going on here. RG8 had an A-cab and
a B-cab. Each cab was roughly 146 feet in length, caboose 40 feet, a water car 60 feet, and a BNSF caboose behind
our water. Total length roughly 440 feet and a total combine weight of 600 tons depending how much fuel was on
the machine, and water that was in the water car at the time.
Unlike your car when you go down a long descending grade you can just tap on the brakes to slow you down or if
you’re in a large truck you can shift to a lower gear that will hold your vehicle back from going too fast. Unlike the
railroad if you’re going too fast in mountainous areas with a vehicle and get out of control too fast, there are ramps
that you can take to get you stopped, not on the railroad.

The railroads have rules and strict operating procedures dealing with trains on mountain grades. Failure to follow
these rules and procedures usually end up in very bad situations that are usually catastrophic in nature and in many of
the instances loss of life.

In the front and rear of your machine you have a placard that reads: “Law of Loram”.
(A law is a natural process in which a particular event or thing always leads to a particular result).

Law of Loram
OBSERVE MACHINE SPEED RESTRICTION ON DOWN HILL GRADES

20 MPH / 32.2 KPH Down a 1% Grade
15 MPH / 24.1 KPH Down a 1.5% Grade
10 MPH / 16 KPH Down 2% Grade or Greater

Prior to descending a 2% or greater Grade for one mile or more, a Distance to Stop Test must be performed in ac-
cordance with Operating Rule 14.7. A visual brake inspection must be completed in accordance with Operation
Rule 14.6.

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VOLUME 4 : ISSUE 2