Grade
Douglas C. LaRue
Can anybody tell me what is the greatest acceptable grade for an HO layout?
And also how to figure the grade.
Juhana Siren
Hear the words of wisdom from Douglas C. LaRue:
> Can anybody tell me what is the greatest acceptable grade for an HO layout?
> And also how to figure the grade.
The maximum grade depends on many things, the most important being the pulling
capacity of your locomotives and the rolling friction of your cars. It also
depends on track geometry and available space. I consider 4 % a maximum, most
locos can handle that with a reasonable train. Grades should generally be kept
at a minimum.
A grade is measured in percentage, i.e. how many units the track rises in a
distance of 100 units. If you have a distance of 100 inches, and the track
rises 4 inches, you have a 4 % grade. Thus the formula would be
n=(y/x)*100
where n=grade, y=change of altitude, x=horizontal distance travelled.
Hope this helps.
--
Juhana Siren ***** juhana...@oulu.fi **** http://rieska.oulu.fi/~jsiren/
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed above are mine and only mine. OK?
Mike Tennent
Juhana Siren <jsi...@pc164178.oulu.fi> wrote:
>Hear the words of wisdom from Douglas C. LaRue:
>> Can anybody tell me what is the greatest acceptable grade for an HO layout?
>> And also how to figure the grade.
>
>The maximum grade depends on many things, the most important being the pulling
>capacity of your locomotives and the rolling friction of your cars. It also
>depends on track geometry and available space. I consider 4 % a maximum, most
>locos can handle that with a reasonable train. Grades should generally be kept
>at a minimum.
>
And John Armstrong, in "Track Planning for Realistic Operations",
generally agrees with you. His standards call for 4% as the maximum
grade for a helper district, with a maximum of 1.3% on the rest of the
main line. (Fig 5-1, pg 43).
He considers that 4% as an "operating feature", i.e. something planned
in to require helper engines - not as a normal grade for unassisted
trains.
Mike "TriBop" Tennent
WebRunner Running Page -- Southeast USA Race Calendar
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Richard J.Standing
On 19 Jan 1997, Douglas C. LaRue wrote:
> Can anybody tell me what is the greatest acceptable grade for an HO layout?
> And also how to figure the grade.
>
> la...@media-net.net
>
> The grade is simply the vertical distance divided by the horizontal
distance. The greatest acceptable grade depends on the type of trains you
want to run. We have a branch line on our OO layout with a 1 in 20
gradient, but I think we might struggle if we tried sending one of our
express trains up it, although most trains might be able to manage 1:30,
which is an easy one to work out - 1 cm up for every 1 foot along.
However, if you can keep gradients less steep than this, it's better.