Friday, April 28, 2023

Saluda Mountain Safety Switch Saves Another Train, April 28, 1923

Saluda Mountain “Safety” Switch Has Again Saved a Train

Salisbury Post

Railway trainmen of Salisbury and Spencer, many of whom in the past had runs on the Asheville and Spartanburg division, and who have had occasion to watch the operations of the famous “safety” switch on the Saluda mountain grade, will be interested in the following taken from Thursday’s Asheville Citizen:

For the first time in a long while an engine on the Saluda mountain yesterday morning, control of the train was lost after the first “safety” on the mountain grade had been passed but before reaching the second “safety,” the freight train had gained such momentum that the locomotive ran clear off the end of the track of the “safety.”

As chances would have it no member of the crew sustained injury of any consequence and little damage to the equipment was reported.

At intervals along the mountain grade of the railroad track are switches, which throw the train into a track leading up steep grades. These are controlled so that then a train becomes unmanageable, singlas are given and it is diverted onto the “safety.” Incidentally, this plan has proven its worth as a safety measure in previous instances while the trains are generally controlled without difficulty in making the descent.

From page 5 of The Concord Daily Tribune, Saturday, April 28, 1923

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