Tag Archive: indiana

Madison Railroad Incline Cut – Indiana

Madison Railroad Incline Cut - Indiana

This now defunct section of railroad, known as the Madison Railroad Incline Cut, covers a distance of 7,012 feet rising 412 feet in elevation to achieve a grade of 5.89 per cent, the steepest incline of any standard gage, line-haul railroad track in the country. It was part of the first railroad in Indiana, known as the Madison, Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad (MI&L). The first trip up the Incline Cut occurred in 1841, and was in use up through at least 1942.