At 5-10 MPH it isn't a thriller, but its the steep

*EDIT: I didnt know the title would cut off like that it is supposed to say steepest passenger railway on earth.

After my SFoG trip in the spring I was happily surprised by the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway. It can't go over 10 miles an hour but I still found it fun from a thrillseekers point of view because looking down it looked like some monsterous wooden drop (1000 feet heh). The grade near the top is 72.7% which makes it the steepest passenger railway on earth. It has been running since 1895. I took a ton of photos including a lot of POVs. I put some of the photos in a feature on this attraction at my website. If you want to look at the photos the link is in my sig. Has anyone else been on this?

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Top Gun: The Jet Coaster Flights in 2001: 34
Coaster Tracks Ridden: 50
www.starcoasters.com *** This post was edited by StarCoasters on 6/8/2001. ***

I can't find the photos you are talking about...

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Let the bears pay the Bear Tax, I pay the Homer Tax.

No the steepest railway is in Katumba (excuse the the spelling)which is in the Blue Mountains in Australia and is very exciting as well. Not a roller coaster instead a real train that goes down the side of a cliff, more like and oblivion from the last century.....

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Live your Life On the Edge
Or Live Life Over the Edge.
Either way make sure its on a coaster

Do you have any facts or anything on that railway. It COULD be that they are tied. Oh and by the way, at the site, click on "Features, Interviews, and Editorials" and that is where you will find it.

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Top Gun: The Jet Coaster Flights in 2001: 34
Coaster Tracks Ridden: 50
www.starcoasters.com

The Welsh Legend is correct, the Katoomba Scenic Railway is the steepest passenger railway in the world with a gradient of 122% or 52 degrees. From the Guiness site; http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/record_catagories/recordhome.asp?RecordID=43859 Also lists other steep railways.

I've been on it many times & it's very thrilling, you can't help thinking "The cable's gonna break!" It has a vertical 'drop' of 587ft. Here's a site; http://info.mountains.net.au/rail/ksr/index.html Take the virtual ride to see what it looks like today & check out the Orphan Rocker coaster as well.

I have heaps of photos on both, am struggling to make my own site & put them up.

That is very interesting but I wonder how the gradient is determined because that one actually looks no more steeper than the one in Chatanooga. And I will have to get them for false advertising ;). And oh yeah, that coasters looks wild.

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Top Gun: The Jet Coaster Flights in 2001: 34
Coaster Tracks Ridden: 50
www.starcoasters.com

The Scenic Railway has a gradient of 122% or 52 degs or 1 in 0.82.

1 divided by 0.82, times 100 = 122%
From this, 72.7% = 1 in 1.375 & using trig = 36 degs.

With gradients, y in x where x is the horizontal distance & y the vertical distance. The Lookout gains a vertical foot for every horizontal 1.375 ft travelled.

Just trying to help you out.

36 degrees? I tend to believe that the Incline is steeper than that. It certainly LOOKS steeper lol.

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Top Gun: The Jet Coaster Flights in 2001: 34
Coaster Tracks Ridden: 50
www.starcoasters.com

Illusions are spectacular aren' they.
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.:| Brandon Rodriguez |:.
http://www.coasters2k.com