ON THE COVER
Coming down Saluda Mountain into Melrose, North Carolina, on the Asheville-Spartanburg line, Southern trains descend the steepest main-line grade of any railroad in the country.
Winter snows add beauty to high- rising mountains of the Blue Ridge range in this section of North Carolina. Snow also adds to the challenge presented to railroading the year around by the rugged terrain over which the Southern operates in this region.
With modern equipment skillfully handled by competent train crews the Southern successfully meets the challenge every day.