Mainline railroad with good braking in northwest Maryland?

Hi all-

I'm working on a magazine story about a new brake technology for freight trains (ECP), and as part of the story I'd like to see what braking with today's equipment is like. To that end, I'm hoping to spend some time in a locomotive cab in territory where the engineer has to think a lot about braking, including dynamic braking, negotiating hills and curves, etc. Anybody have any suggestions? I'm looking for a stretch of mainline either not too far from Gaithersburg, Maryland, or within a few hours of New York City. Once I figure out where to do this, I'll approach the media office of the railroad(s) in question.

Thanks in advance for your help. Feel free to email me off-line if you'd prefer ([email protected]). Forgive me for posting in multiple forums, but I want to make sure I reach everyone in a position to help.

Best,
Robb Mandelbaum

If you are indeed an expert on locomotive braking technology as you claim you are, it surprises (and puzzles) me to the extreme that you seemingly have not heard of 17-Mile Grade and Cranberry Grade on what today is known as the CSX Mountain Sub, but known in B&O days as the West End. The grades and curves on these two grades set the standards for extremes in evaluating new locomotive power and braking technology, and are the references and proving grounds for testing new locomotives, be it power or braking. 17-Mile Grade averages out at about 2.26 percent of grade, and Cranberry averages out at about 2.6 percent, but can go as high as 2.8 percent.

If new locomotive power and braking technology can pass muster on these two grades, the technology will work anywhere in the U.S. And this is testing the ability of a locomotive to pull or brake on these grades with coal drags averaging 5,000 tons and above.

BTW, both 17-Mile and Cranberry Grades are west of Cumberland, and Cumberland is just 2 hrs. travel time from Gaithersburg. You would need to contact CSX Offices in Jacksonville, FL, or division offices in Cumberland. Try looking for points of contact at their web site.

I also suggest that you get a copy of Pentrex' "CSX Mountain Sub" DVD. This DVD is an excellent tour of that division and gives the viewer a very good idea of what locomotive engineers have to deal with there.