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Although I'm primarily in O gauge, Standard Gauge has been in the family for 40 some years.  Not once in that time did we (my dad & I) try even the slightest grade.  I've never seen more than a L" or 2" rise in any layout -  and that was at the National Toy Train Museum with the train climbing and descending ramps to cross a tinplate bridge.

I'd test it myself but all those trains are packed away at the moment.   My equipment is the smaller series stuff, like #8, 10, and 318.

Anybody out there do grades, or even an over&under figure eight?

 

Perry

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Nation Wide Lines posted:

I would suspect that the engine would not have traction on a significant grade, as the prewar engines were not equipped with magnetraction.  

And of course no traction tires...

they are surprisingly good at climbing grades because they are heavy, but I wouldn’t try an over/under figure eight without a lot of room. A 2% grade to climb 6.5” in O gauge requires 27 feet of track. Standard gauge requires a minimum of 9.5” of clearance depending on the height of the train. That would be around 45 feet of track. I doubt a standard gauge train could climb more than a 2% grade. Even then, it may require a couple of plateaus. Two 2’ plateaus in a climb, mean you would need about 50’ of track up and another 50’ down. That would fill my entire layout space with 42” curves. You would need a 50’ x 30’ space minimum to do it justice.

George

George S posted:
Nation Wide Lines posted:

I would suspect that the engine would not have traction on a significant grade, as the prewar engines were not equipped with magnetraction.  

And of course no traction tires...

they are surprisingly good at climbing grades because they are heavy, but I wouldn’t try an over/under figure eight without a lot of room. A 2% grade to climb 6.5” in O gauge requires 27 feet of track. Standard gauge requires a minimum of 9.5” of clearance depending on the height of the train. That would be around 45 feet of track. I doubt a standard gauge train could climb more than a 2% grade. Even then, it may require a couple of plateaus. Two 2’ plateaus in a climb, mean you would need about 50’ of track up and another 50’ down. That would fill my entire layout space with 42” curves. You would need a 50’ x 30’ space minimum to do it justice.

George

George - almost like real trains ? 

General rule of thumb for original SG/Wide gauge... Train size (#of cars) is HALVED for every 1% of grade in order to maintain a constant speed.  Universal wound brushed AC motors do not have tons of torque and so depend on inertia to get a running start at grades. Inertia + tight curves= Bad   The tractive effort is helped by the weight on the drivers.  As the motors heat up, torque goes down. I had a 1.6% grade on one side(1.8% on the other!)  of the layout and a climb of 8.5".  Most trains, operating with the cars that were in the set, would be struggling as they crested the grade. Adding a car or two would require a run at the grade to make the crest at all.  Goin downgrade...Different story.  Spooky to see trains pick up that much speed on the grade.  Even with throttle moderation... wow!   Again, this is ORIGINAL prewar.  MTH and Lionel Classics are a different story.... modern drivetrains (can motor(s) and traction tires) are a step change again.  BEWARE the additional wear in the gear train due to grades.

GVDobler posted:

Over and under figure eights in 027 have been around forever and I don't recall any problems other than coming down too fast and going off into the next room.😀

True.  But its 0-27  not SG.  SG very heavy. The pucker factor of running SG on 110 trestles is ... breathtaking.   Now, if you want to punch holes in your drywall, SG has that capability! LOL.

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