Anyone come across an APP for either Iphone or Google Nexus phone that will measure a Grade of rail?
I’m really bad at Math.
I assume you don’t mean an app where you can point a level phone at the grade and it tells the slope in %. A close second would be a webpage where you plug in the rise and the “run” (length) of track and it tells you the grade in %. I don’t know of either.
But it’s as simple as plugging two values into a formula and calculate the answer. The % grade = (Rise / Run) x 100. So a 1" rise for a 50" run = 1/50 times 100, or 0.02 x 100, that is 2% rise. Or a 3.5" rise over a 144" run would be 3.5/144 times 100, or 0.024 x 100, that is 2.4% rise. Etc.
Of course you need to know what the % grade or slope tells you. In HO a 3% grade is considered steep, 2% a typical goal to stay within, with exceptions.
Hope this helps.
Actually I found an app for my iphone that you lay the phone on its side and it gives the degree which just happened to be 1 and 2 degree’s.
Check out Stan’s Handy Converter at StansTrains.com, it’s worth every penny.
http://stanstrains.com/SoftwareHandyConverter.htm
Been using it for over ten years. It’s the model railroaders dream come true for every calculation you’ll ever need.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
All you need is a calculator. A grade percentage is calculated by dividing the rise by the distance traveled to achieve that rise. In HO scale, a 2 inch rise in 100 linear inches represents a 2% grade. In real life, a 2 foot rise in 100 lineal feet is a 2% grade. A climb of 1056 feet in 10 miles (52,800 feet) is a 2% grade.
The British express gradients in terms of 1 in x (i.e. a grade of 1 in 50, which we would express as a 2% grade). The ruling grade in Tehachapi is 2.52% or about 1 in 39.6.
Hope this helps.
Andre
I just tried a Bubble Level app on my Android Samsuung and it neatly reads out in degrees. But then that needs to be converted to percent grade for model railroading terms.
This is I see on my Iphone when I lay it on its side at different places on the decline.
I just figured there may be an APP for these fancy phones, but I always say a picture is worth a thousand words.This is what I got =2.25 %
To be precise, I get 4/166 times 100 equals 0.0241 x 100, or 2.41% (not degrees) grade.
I happen to have the same grade on my modest HO layout. As you know, that takes a significant run to achieve a track crossover without an excessive slope. I found that my first GP9 loco could handle 8 cars. But I usually run consists so can run longer trains.
Yes Paul I agree. I don’t, have never ran trains with more than 5-6 cars but it is fun once in a while to double up on my steam engines or run with an A/B diesel and a few extra cars.[;)]
Aren’t you using XtrackCAD? It will calculate all the grades for you.
There is an iPhone app called “Clinometer” that will do it.
Yes Im using xtrackcad.
Sorry Carl I missed this post, I just tried this but still only gives degrees and not % grade but thats no big deal, just thought there might be something out there for us model railroaders.
The pictures in the apple app store show % grade. I wonder what’s up with that.
100% this. Calculating a grade is about as simple a math as you ever need to do. No need for an app goodness. Just use you trusty calculator.
So question, if I’m using xtrakcad for elevations and I first start at the cross over being level with a gap of 4" from the top of the wood subbed measured down to the lower rail top for clearance , for the rest of the measuring according to xtrakcad giving the measured distance should I measure from top of wood subroadbed down to open benchwork framing ( using open grid style) or place a piece of 3/4" plywood on top of framing to make it same as the cross over 4" spread to top of rail? Am I over thinking this?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.sira.level&hl=en
Note that you have to calibrate the app. I don’t have my phone on at the moment, so I don’t even know if this is the one I have, but you have to lay the phone flat in calibration mode, and tell it to calibrate, then turn the phoone 180 deg and tell it to calibrate once again. With that method, it gets very close to the actual grade, and will measure it in %age if you wish.
Thanks for the tip, I just installed it on my Google Nexus as it is a Google app and not an Apple app so I’m thinking this may not be the one you have. I have both an iPhone and a Google Nexus. Once it was installed I can’t see where it would provide % grade s though.
Lynn, sorry but I’m not following. Are you asking how to use a base elevation and elevated points in XTrackCAD or more basically how to plan grades and clearances. On the former, while I used XTrackCAD for my plan I did not use it for elevations. I just marked up my printout at key locations with the elevations above the lower plywood reference point.
I my case, I did fret a bit about what clearance I needed and how that would affect the grade from the lower level to my elevated crossover point. Most of my track is on cork roadbed and thus the lower railhead is about 3/8" above the lower plywood. Adding the desired clearance (NMRA recommended is 3") from there means that the bottom of the upper crossover would be 3-3/8" above the lower plywood. The upper rail is about 3/4" higher than that point. The 3/4" is the thickness of the truss bridge structure and track that crosses over. So my upper track railhead is 3-3/4" above the lower railhead, and 4-1/8" above the bottom plywood. If I was calculating grade, it would be the 3-1/4" rise in the rails over the length of the run, times 100, which in my case came out to 2.4%. I’m not sure this is worth doing precisely in XTrackCAD versus just marking up a printout at key points with the elevation that provides the desired grade(s) in dif