My epic journey continues 2

RejsendeTrump must have read the message on Trent bridge

RejsendeThe Big Ten Curve is a 270-degree railroad curve, part of Union Pacific's Moffat Tunnel Subdivision, located west of Denver, Colorado, where trains ascend into the Rocky Mountains. Named for its 10-degree radius, the curve was built in the early 1900s to create a grade less steep than a direct route would require. The curve is also known for its distinctive windbreak, consisting of old hopper cars filled with dirt and cement, placed to protect against high winds from the nearby mountains. Today, though, these are hidden in lineside foliage and probably no-one but me notices them. Union Pacific's Big Ten Curve (also sometimes referred to as Big Ten Loop) is an amazing piece of railroad engineering designed to allow trains headed west from the plains of Denver to climb into the Colorado Rockies with as minimal a grade as possible. When the line was originally being built, the tracks needed to gain roughly 300 feet of elevation, but the direct route was only 3,300 feet in distance (as the crow flies). This would have necessitated a grade of roughly 9%, which is essentially impossible for a mainline railroad. Even 3% is considered exceptionally steep. In order to keep the grade to 2% or less, architects of the railroad found a route that, instead of 3,300 feet in distance was about 3 miles, or roughly 16,500 feet in distance! This reduced the average grade of the tracks from 9% to 1.8%.