Mountain railway electrification

The paper is a study of the relative merits of steam and electric equipment for a mountain division of the Southern Pacific R.R. The two slopes to the summit of this division are 49.5 and 18.3 miles long, respectively, with average grades of 1.44 and 1.33 per cent, and ruling grades of 2.2 per cent on each slope. Assumption is made of a 2400-volt, third-rail system using 100-ton electric locomotives capable of handling train units of 500 tons for freight, and 150-ton locomotives for passenger service. On the basis of present traffic it is shown that electrification of this division would not be justified from a financial viewpoint, whether the power was “home-made” or purchased.