Question: If I wanted to have a incline to an upper level, is there a formula for what the grade needs to be? How high over other tracks should it be for clearance?
Thank You,
Mike
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Depends what equipment you are running. A modern scale stack train with containers requires much more vertical clearance than a postwar box car. Say 6" versus 4.5"
Don't ask how we discovered that one. After thinking we were fine...
A good place to start would be 2%. You can pull a pretty good train up that.
What is 2%?
2% is 2" rise over 100" run of track. You can go steeper, but that will limit train length. Not a good idea to go over 4%.
Originally Posted by Big_Boy_4005:
A good place to start would be 2%. You can pull a pretty good train up that.
What is 2%?
2% is 2" rise over 100" run of track. You can go steeper, but that will limit train length. Not a good idea to go over 4%.
So how would someone get an upper level on say just a 4x8 doesn't seem to be enough room just to get a 4.5" clearance let alone a 6" clearance.
Well that's where the classic 110 trestle set comes in. There are countless 4x8 layout plans that use these to do an over under arrangement. When installed according to the instructions it yields a rise of about 6" over a length of about 130" so you are right in that 4% range. With a layout that size, you probably won't be running trains of more than 5 or 6 cars.
Another option is to change the grade of the "under" line to a negative/down hill grade to pass under the elevated intersection of the two grades. This would require a cut in the table top to lower the roadbed/track.
