There's a story behind this Loop. Short version is that the railroad originally used switchbacks to gain the 400ft of elevation. It required pusher locomotives and a manned station at the bottom. It was the late 1800s so power was steam. The crew in the station heard a train coming up the river and quickly readied their locomotive but a mistake caused a boiler explosion, killing one. That was the beginning of the end for the switchbacks. The loop was designed by T. A. Abner and completed in 1898.Pretty cool video. Reminds me of a TV show that was on where they were building the railways in America. The fellow who was in charge was being chased by bandits or natives. He hid in a lower level of the hill and came up with the idea to circle the mountain with tracks instead of digging tunnels. LOL
I was disappointed they never started another season. Never heard anymore about it.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. ?Video from the morning of Nov. 18th 2020
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