Why Britain's Trains Can't Climb Hills

0:00 The physics of how trains climb hills by relying on adhesion between steel wheels and rails. 0:20 Lickey Incline 3:33 Shap incline 4:34 Lickey Banker 4:59 class sixty-six locomotives 7:11 leaf-busting trains A train can have all the power in the world and still fail to climb a hill when the rails cannot provide enough grip. I explore why adhesion between steel wheels and steel rails matters so much. I examine the Lickey Incline, the Shap incline, and the steam-era Lickey Banker, explaining how extra weight on driven wheels helped trains tackle steep gradients. I also look at class sixty-six locomotives and the arithmetic behind wheelspin, wheelslide, and traction. Finally, I investigate how rain, leaves, sanding, and leaf-busting trains affect railway safety, including the low-adhesion accident at Talerddig on the Cambrian line.