Charlotte to Chattanooga

Anytime you can stay out of atlanta its a good day.

 

i have a term in Conley and villa rica. so i have no choice

 

Manchester yesterday. Fortunately nothing ever developed but they salted Mounteagle.

 

85 to 321 to 40.

yes, you have Black mtn, but there are some big climbs on 26 also.

321 saves going through all those lights in Shelby,NC. good road.

hey there,Swedish Chef, I live in Charlotte also.

 

Lot of people blow up their engine on Saluda mountain, wont let off the throttle

 

saluda mountain. lol

 

im ready for the shelby bypass to be done

 

Four-wheeler son of a trucker here. I live in Charlotte and travel regularly to Chattanooga to see my Mom. I second the recommendation of 85-321-40. You'll be going up Black Mountain instead of down, and 321 is much better than 74 through Shelby. Except for the small stretch off 85 in Gastonia, it's grade-separated freeway all the way to 40. The Gorge on 40 can be a pain for truckers, but it is beautiful and still not as terrible as going through Atlanta if you ask me. My Dad felt the same when he was still in the rig.

NC 16 to 40 isn't too bad either, but not quite as "good" as 321, IMO.

85 to Atlanta and up 75 looks more direct, but not only do you have the horrors of Atlanta (and probably the worst segment of 285 to deal with - the northern part), but it also can be pretty sucky through Spartanburg and Greenville. Tons of construction, SC drivers that think the left lane is for pacing the slowest car in the right lane, and speed zones that make absolutely no sense.

 

Ive run it. Its steep. But not too bad.

Now in railroad terms it's ludicrously steep for adhesion based engines.

That is also one of the secrets to good mountain work, and a good Mr Pyrometer Gauge to keep yuu from flooring and burning engines out as mentioned.