pdxrailtransit Wrote:
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> Two other extreme vertical curves; the summit of
> Bailey Hill on the Siskiyou Line, and the summit
> on the Vernonia Branch of the SP&S. Even with the
> short train that the VSP&S ran, the engine would
> completely disappear from sight as seen from the
> rear end.

It sure did. I was the regular SP&S fireman on this engine during '67 and '68 and shared the job with fellow SP&S 700 hogger Greg Kamholz for the '69 (last) season. When sitting in the engineer's or fireman's seat as we crested the hump we could not see beyond the 4th car of the 9 cars in the train.

I took this photo on a day that Greg was firing and in this view you can see a little farther back in the train because I was at a somewhat higher elevation than the enginemen in the cab. There's no telephoto deception here as the 35mm SLR camera had a "regular" 50mm lens on it. The ruling grade in the direction of movement was a 6.4-mile climb of 2.3% up the hill from Manning which increased to 4% ascending the hump at the location of the old, day-lighted, tunnel. The tip-over was severe, going from 4% ascending immediately to a short stretch of 8% descending (according to the VSP&S General Manager Harold Mehlig, who claimed to have measured it) before it lessened to 1.5% for a good share of the remaining distance to Vernonia.

The severe grade change required great attention to the water level. On the 4% we had to have it way above the top of the glass but at the same time trying to keep from working water and after the tip-over it would be below the glass until we got off of the short stretch of 8%. The 44"-drivered, 25,535 lb. tractive effort ex-Oregon-American Lumber Company 105 had all it could handle pulling the 9 cars up the grade from Manning.

[img]http://s1317.photobucket.com/user/700Jim/media/Photos%20for%20discussion%20threads/VSPampS_105_at_hump_zpsdf68cc67.jpg.html]