Photos

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When young Fox had committed to paper the results of his investigations, and had evolved his location, he found that he could negotiate the Serra within a distance of five miles. This in itself was an achievement, inasmuch as previous computations had indicated the necessity for a tortuous line of about twenty-six miles to overcome time cliff. But in this short length of five miles a difference in level of over 2,500 ft. had to be overcome.

Such a sharp rise made a continuous adhesion track impossible, unless zigzagging, V-switches, and other intricate devices were incorporated. But this was out of the question on account of the cost, bearing in mind the £2,000,000 limit for the whole of the railway. Since those were the days before rack-and-pinion propulsion, Fox was at a dead end. But he was convinced that there was no easier path through the Serra, and he decided to stick to his location.

Desperate situations demand drastic remedies. So, foiled in his efforts to achieve a gradient not exceeding 1 in 40, the young man, determined to get his trains up, decided to pull them up by a cable.

He divided the ascent into four sections. In this way the trains would ascend and descend the mountain-side in steps. Each section, or incline, was topped by a short length of line known as a bankhead, 250 ft. in length, and descending at a gradient of 1 in 75. At each of these points stationary winding engines were to he placed. In this manner four inclines, 5,842, 6,388, 6,876, and 7,017 ft. in length respectively, were provided, each having a gradient of 1 in 9¾.

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Extracted from "A Gateway to Brazil"
http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r059.html

Today Fox is a street name on Paranapiacaba.

Load trains only go down the Serra currently.