How long of a run does it take to get to 1 3/4" height? Haven't got lots of room on my 30 x 44 inch top. I figured all of the trains should clear 1 3/4", am I right I hope? Thanx, Ronnie
Ronnie: A 2% grade means that the track will rise or fall 2" over a distance of 100". Therefore, to measure the lineal distance needed to change elevation of 1 3/4", divide 1.75" by 0.02. At a 2% grade, you will need 87.5" of travel to get your 1.75" of vertical separation. You should measure the height of your tallest car/locomotive, add some "finger space" (1/4" to 1/2" or more depending on how much the two tracks overlap each other), and then add the thickness of the support and roadbed to get a true confirmation of how much separation is needed. I quickly measured a double stack car and got 1.5" from top of rail to top of container. If you're not running modern equipment, you can get by with less height although "finger space" remains constant. I hope that this answers your questions.
I calculate it will take 87.5 inches to reach 1.75 inches on a 2 percent grade. But I see you already got this answer. Judging by your layout size (and depending on your track plan), it's going to take up most of the real estate (and more) to achieve this.
Please do not forget that if there is a curve somewhere in the incline, it will adversely affect the set 1 to 100 rule. AND please make sure that what you are going to run and pull is going to make it up the incline if you decide to cheat on the length available. Take a long, non flexible piece of wood, attach your rail with push pins at the ends of the ties, lay it level, raise it to the desired incline and see what runs.
I will be using my new kato sde70ace MoPac heritage loco? I think I got it right...3 axles on each end of it. Really won't be pulling more than 8-10 cars with it anyway
Another tool that I use and works simply enough. Use the gauge of 1/4 inch rise for each linear foot or 12"s. Another way to illustrate this: 1/4 inch = .25 is 2% of one linear foot. If that helps.
Thats sounds pretty simple to me Rick an I'm writing it down until I have it safely planted in my brain. Now, is the 2% law for looks, won't pull much any steeper, or the drivers will slip at any steeper angle?
You are a lucky man if you can get a locomotive to pull more then ten (10) train cars up a 2% grade. That's pretty much the max for my equipment. I have some 2.3% and a 2.5% very short segments and most of my locomotives will pull ten cars up and over these grades. Still I'd recommend staying with 2% wherever possible. There is nothing like watching your train make the pull up a grade. Enjoy!
Well, with all the used stuff I am picking up in the next few days it looks like I'm gonna hafta expand in to an L shape now just to have a place to park trains. Just picked up a bachmann empire builder (Steam) new for $50 with extra track. The mans wife said he decided to switch hobbies before it ever got took out of the box last xmas. He went with photography, I bet that'll cost him if he's serious .....
I am with Rick on this one. I use the 1/4 inch per foot formula. My layout is all on the flats. BUT...my layout is in a converted travel trailer. If I ever want to know how many cars a certain loco will pull up a grade...I simply put a 4 foot level on one side with a 1 inch block under the end. I go out...crank up the trailer till the bubble centers...and I have 2 percent grades ! Running dual mains with return track on both sides...that effectively gives me 8 tracks with 2 percent !!! Some are long straights...some are short...some have curves. It's interesting to watch trains strain on the upgrades...and hustle down the downgrades. With that angle...I suppose I even have some 'superelevated' straights and curves...on the side to side tracks...LOL. .
OK, so that leads me to a question from a newb standpoint. One of the things I picked up along the way was a set of Woodland Scenics inclines, but I believe they are 4% grade. I went with 4% because I have a small space for my layout (30" x 60"). Are they basically going to be useless to me? And if so, why do they even make them that way? Does 4% work for other scales?
Talk about the cats meow, you have it there I don't own any house jacks and I'm sure the wife would not be happy to come home an see our house slanted for my train stuff to stay level. Right now I catch holy heck for my 21 ft. radio antenna with 9 ft radials sticking out the bottom of it on the roof. She says it makes the house look like some sorta spaceship.
Back in 1957-8 when I got my first Lionel 027 steamer set I could put some spots of rubber cement on the drivers an it would pull its 5-6 cars up almost anygrade. When yer 7-8 years old you really don't care about train track grades then
4% is too steep for most n-scale. I believe the Woodland Scenics kits are generic for HO and N scales.
I would advise you to stay away from 4% grades. The added stress on the equipment is unreal when you add in curves. A small 3x6' layout was once built by, and then donated by a member of a club I was once a member of. The track was trashed through storage, and I tore it all out and redid it. I found that 4% grades (as were on this layout) were difficult to lay reliably. Curves have to be soldered, unless you want to risk kinks. The roadbed must be as flat as possible, especially on grades. I used a 1' long sanding block, and got rid of high spots on the cork. I filled in low spots,a nd sanded again to ensure all was level. I then took a straight edge along it, looking for anomolies. Even with dead-flat roadbed, the layout was difficult to run reliably. I ran it mostly for the MT State Fair, and letting it run without supervision was asking for disaster. The curves arere tight, and added with the grade, it was tough to run trains. I added a new degree of difficulty, with manned helpers, and long trains on 15-20 cars. It was neat to have 5-7 locos pull the grade. As long as I watched it like a hawk, it ran fine; but the moment I looked away, chatted with a fair-goer, or blinked crosswise, whammo... Here's the layout, and the grade is as severe as it looks.
I have no idea... other then, many of the smaller roundy round layouts needs the 4% grades to get up and over the top of each track. A clearance thing. Seems to me you can stretch them out and you can get a 2% grade. You will have to add filler to support your track or build a long bridge...grin! George...thanks! Hemi, I'm always impressed with your work.
I don't know if you guys ever got into it, but back in the mid 60's when we raced slot cars, we would always re-wind the armatures for speed or torque. Depending on what type of track we would be running on at the next race. Isn't that possible with these little motors? They still do it with HO slot cars an some of those little pancake mtrs make these look giant.
Hemi, that setup looks nice, yet don't look all that steep to me. But thats why I'm just starting an learning also. I thank you fellas here for everything so far. I gotta leave now to pickup my bargain train. will be back shortly. I'm putting the wife in charge til I'm back.....
Hemis's advise is quite solid. If you can lay track smoothly and if you are running short trains, (as behooves a small layout), with diesels then you should - key word "should" - be ok. If you are running steam you might be very disappointed. Over all? I'd avoid them when possible.
