Quote:
Originally Posted by Busy Bee
^I've never been through Mobile or the Wallace Tunnel, but just looking at photos it looks like it would have more than enough clearance for a double deck coach even with the added foot or so subtracted for top of rail.
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The clearance isn't the problem, it's the grades (possibly up to 6%, some construction could lower it to just under 5%). A consist of Superliners hauled by a loco would never make it out of the tunnel; far too heavy, not enough power, and the power it does have is only on a few axles. On the other hand, a lightweight modern DMU might be able to do it, but I'm not aware of any lightweight modern DMUs that are bilevel.
It's not really worth a lot more thought... can't ever see a billion-dollar rail project connecting
Mobile and Pensacola. But at the very least Mobile should mothball the tunnels for future use.