(erielack) Dansville Hill, and maximum speeds on pre-merger Erie and DL&W

[A Samostie <quahog_@_sprint.ca>]

Dear Group,

Two questions for you.

1)  I've never seen a line profile of the DL&W main, so this question
may seem obvious to some of you... nevertheless...
What were the grade percentages and lengths of the grade over Dansville
Hill, eastbound and westbound? 
Were pushers (for freight) required in both directions? 
Were passenger consists ever heavy enough to require additional power
over the hill?

2) What were the maximum authorized speeds for passenger trains on the
pre-merger Erie (including both the Hornell-Buffalo line and West End)
and the DL&W?  Where were the high-speed segments located?

I'm assuming that the max. speeds on the DL&W were in the flatlands of
western NY state, but the Binghamton-Corning segment and the NJ Cutoff
could also support high speeds.  Not sure about high speed segments on
the Hornell-Buffalo Erie line, but I'm guessing that high speeds could
be attained across Ohio and Indiana.

Cheers,
Alan <quahog_@_sprint.ca>

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