all my previous layouts where flat. this one is going to have grade on it. i need some help understanding the grades. is a 1% grade 1 inch verticly for every foot horizantily? same with 2%. 2 inches verticly for every 1 foot horizantily?[?]
No. A 1% grade is 1 inch rise for every 100 inches of track. A 2% grade is 2" for every 100 inches of track or 1" for every 4foot two inches.
1" for every foot is an 8.33% grade.
that really screws things up. i have to redesign most of my layout now.
Sorry. I know how you feel. It took several tries before I could get the grades down to reasonable.
Something to throw out there - flat is good. Unless the layout is huge, your model railroad could quickly turn into more of a roller coaster.
As a kid, my dad & I built a couple layouts with too steep of grades. The loco’s would “chug” up the grades, and the cars would shove them down the grades. Until I make a huge layout (nowhere in the foreseeable future), it’s all flat for me.
To put it into perspective, a figure “8” on a 4 x 8 or something similar makes for an insanely steep and unrealistic grade. I only know because I learned the hard way as a kid! My dad was more of a toy-train kind of guy, so I think it bugged me more than it did him! Silly Dad.
Jay, if you would like a primer to help you to compute grades, you can do it one of two ways. First, use a calculator, and divide the height you need to get to, based on your design, by how much length you can take to get up there, again based on your design. So, on a calculator, you would press 1 (for the one inch in height you want), then the divide sign (/), and then press the 1 and 2 (for 12 inches of ramp). You will see an answer of “0.08333333333”. Read that number as a percent by moving the decimal point two places to the right, between the 8 and the first 3. That would mean “Eight point three” percent. I’m sure you don’t want that steep a grade, unless you are using a Shay or Heisler.
Another way is to do it in long division. You’ll divide 1" by 12", and you’ll get the same 0.08333333.
A grade is the rise divided by the run, with the units (inches or feet) cancelling, leaving a numerical decimal that can be read directly as a percentage if you move that decimal point two (2) places to the right. Be sure to use inches and/or feet in both numbers. if you mix feet and inches, your answer on the calculator will be meaningless.
Okay, now say you wanted to get up 4", but wanted a 2% grade. You would ask yourself how long a track grade would get me up to that 4" at a rate of 2% climb? With the calculator, you would divide 4 (the inches of height we need to achieve) by .02 (the decimal equivalent to 2%). We press the 4, then the divide sign (/), followed by the decimal point button, the zero and the two. The calculator will show that it will cost you 200" of track to get your trains up 4" on a 2% grade.
You might wi***o print this out and keep it in a manual or guide that you have.
By the way, if I have read more into your question than I ought to have, and am telling you what you already know, then I am sorry. I mean no offense, but just to help a fellow modeler…
Magnificent answer as always, Crandell.
Ken.
I’m not to worried about it my club has alot of grades in a short space (layout is 50x50 but all teh mains cross over eachother alot) running DCC doesn’t seem that cars don’t seem to make the train go too much faster. i was orginally gonna use a 1% grade. glad i choose 2%
If the object is to have a few places where trains cross over each other, as in bridges over ravines, consider making up half the elevation difference by having the lower track descend from the main level, and half by having the other track climb.
that works every but one place. i have a area that is kinda like a midwestern verison of Cajon pass. if i can find my track plan[xx(] i’ll post a picutre of it. and i’ll show you where i need grades
Thank-you, Ken, for your kind remark. [:)][:I]