A spiral (sometimes called a spiral loop or just loop ) is a technique employed by railways to ascend steep hills.
4-572: The Batasia Loop is a spiral railway created to lower the gradient of ascent of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in Darjeeling district of West Bengal , India . At this point, the track spirals around over itself through a tunnel and over a hilltop. It was commissioned in 1919. It is 5 km (3 mi) from Darjeeling, below Ghum . There is also a memorial to the Gorkha soldiers of
8-554: The Indian Army who sacrificed their lives after the Indian Independence in 1947. Spiral (railway) A railway spiral rises on a steady curve until it has completed a loop, passing over itself as it gains height, allowing the railway to gain vertical elevation in a relatively short horizontal distance. It is an alternative to a zig-zag , and avoids the need for the trains to stop and reverse direction while ascending. If
12-481: The Tren Turistico Arenal , 10 km east of Nuevo Arenal, Guanacaste. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway originally had five or six spirals but only five in operation at any one time. The line also has six reverses or zig-zags . There are three spirals on the 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) gauge railway line from Kenya to Uganda . This railway has been superseded by
16-557: The train is longer than the length of each loop it may be possible to view it looping above itself. The term "loop" is also often used for a railway that curves sharply and goes back on itself: if the railway crosses itself, then it forms a spiral or helix ; otherwise, it forms the much more common horseshoe curve or bend . Replica of the Brusio Spiral Viaduct at 10°28′44″N 84°49′25″W / 10.47900°N 84.82374°W / 10.47900; -84.82374 on
#592407