Michael Delamar Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Cheers kris Double headded 8fs and 9fs it'll have to be Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Sidelines Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Good Morning (great to be back) Having decided on your gradient , how do you build it? I am attaching a couple of pictures of a device that I put together to check and adjust the gradients on my layout. I had a cheap spirit level and I also had a spare piece of 2 x 1 inch wood. By sticking some narrow strips of stiff card at either end (on opposite sides) I was able to make upstands of 3.5 and 4mm which based on the length of my piece of wood corresponded to gradients of 1 in 56 and 1 in 65. I would have liked to use 1 in 65 but in reality with the lengths of track available I had to settle for 1 in 56. May be some food for thought , Regards Ray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIRR Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Another option for a consistent gradient would be the use of one of the foam gradient sets. They are available in 1%, 2%, and 3%'which would equate to a rise of 1.5", 3", and 4.5" respectively over 12'. A 3% gradient should be possible with modern equipment, even with 18" radius curves. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 That's a neat piece of kit, Ray. I did something similar with three pieces of 12mm ply, 1m long. The centre section is raised 10mm giving a gradient of 1:100. The benefit of of longer length is that it enables you to see any small dips in the trackbed and keep everything flat. Curves are more difficult, so there I use a small digital slope display. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
streak1 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I have recently assembled a spiral produced for me by a Yorkshire based company. This is 21 inches radius curves and 1:45 gradient.The 2 diesels I have , Deltic and 25 from Bachmann have no difficulty with a standard length train of 7 Bachmann Mk1s or 22 wagons. The 9f from Bachmann will also manage the climb with ease as will a recent Britannia and a Clan. An 8F also makes it up with a struggle but every other recent steam loco needs a banker. I expected this so laid things out to allow for bankers and it makes for more interesting operation. Interestingly the old ivatt 2-6-2tank by Bachmann and Hornby Fowler 2-6-4 tank will pull almost as much as the 9Fs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted January 12, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 12, 2012 An often neglected aspect of gradients on model railways is the need to transition into and out of them. Just as with flexi-track we can create transition curves (as opposed to fixed geometry track where our trains lurch from straight to maximum curvature and back again) so we can and if possible should create a gently curved entry to and exit from the gradient. Not curved in the horizontal plane as for a bend in the line but gently curved in the vertical plane. Flexi-track does that as well. Our trains (with possibly a very few exceptions) do not have the benefit of continuous brakes. Only the locomotive is "braked". This has an effect on couplers and can affect smooth operation. A train climbing a gradient (and assuming the powered unit as leading) will have the couplers compress slightly as it enters the gradient since the loco will slow down very slightly. Couplers then extend fully on the uphill section as the drag increases. Reaching the top of a downhill section with couplers extended these compress as the train comes down and extend again as it reaches level track at the bottom. Snatching, over-riding, parting and derailing can all occur (hopefully not on a regular basis!) even with Kadees. Those are not prone to the forward - backward movement of other systems but can part from each other vertically over a change of gradient. When gradients are combined with curves the potential for coupler-related issues to occur magnifies due to the changes in drag and of course if the power unit is not leading the train (such as a push-pull or multiple-unit operation) then the unpowered head of the train tends to be shoved uphill with couplers compressed and runs away downhill with them extended while anything behind the locomotive will show the opposite trend. 90% of the time no-one will notice these effects. But the other 10% can become a nightmare if you are not aware of the possible causes of that persistent wheel off or coupler lock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
streak1 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 this is a very good point and much effort has been expended on the transitions. I also had to change couplings on some coaches to stop them overiding each other when descending the gradient loco leading. Its too early to tell if there will be an effect on the reliability and motor life of the fleet but as I have far too many locos anyway (who doesnt?) it shouldn be too noticeable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2012 For anyone considering a helix have a look at this thread. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/50234-helix-practicalities/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mookie Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Hello, just like to say thank you to all the posts, as there's been some great advice on this blog. I'm in the process of building my layout and I'm building a incline from a potential fiddle yard/storage below the main baseboard. I've worked out that my gradient is 1 in 50 (1 in 49.95). The overall incline length is 6 metres with a semi-circle of a radius of 1.1 metres, dropping 120mm down to the fiddle yard. My layout is potentially 1960's so there's a mixture of steam and diesel, but mainly steam. I've just tested some of locos on a test incline. A Hornby A4, a Bachmann 4F and a Bachmann Class 08. The A4 pulled 6 coaches with a slight slip from a stand still to a slow speed. The 4F managed 4 coaches, but the best performance came from the Bachmann Class 08, which pulled the 6 coaches with room to spare for more weight. I believe it maybe because of it's low gearing. As I'm having a siding to make up my trains on the baseboard, the Class 08 has been given the grand job of bring up all the rolling stock from the fiddle yard. I've looked into using the PowerBase product from DCCconcepts, for gradients with some interest. But I'm planning to used Kadee couplings and I was wandering if the PowerBase magnets would effect the Kadee couplings. If anyone has any comments or experience with the PowerBase product working along side Kadee couplings, I'd be very please to know. Kind regards, Mookie. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 While this is a old thread my latest Incline runs a total length of 4670mm and a climb/drop of 215mm about 1 in 20 the Loco used is a Bachmann 32-787 these loco's have 6 driven axles and when hauling 6 coaches will stop and start at any point in the climb, the normal load is a rake of 4 coaches with a 4th radius curve 8 X ST-235 peco's NCE DCC power Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 While this is a old thread my latest Incline runs a total length of 4670mm and a climb/drop of 215mm about 1 in 20 the Loco used is a Bachmann 32-787 these loco's have 6 driven axles and when hauling 6 coaches will stop and start at any point in the climb, the normal load is a rake of 4 coaches with a 4th radius curve 8 X ST-235 peco's NCE DCC power My old lima 37s struggle up 1 in 14 with 6 mk2s out in the garden but it doesn't look as steep as yours, maybe because there is no horizontal baseboard side to give the effect of an horizon. That's a good solid baseboard, do you have many eathquakes? It might be handy to hide under when Trump starts WW4 next Thursday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Its roughly 5' degrees, i do like to make things on the sturdy side......stair way i made leading to a OO Gauge railway room....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 I am planning a 1 in 37 gradient on my layout. Much of my boyhood was spent watching trains going up the 1 in 37 (and curved) climb from Exeter St Davids to Exeter central. In those days a Z class loco was used as a banker. I don't know if I can get an 00 Z so a Standard will have to do! Here is a bit of nostalgia:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKqptpdLgc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 I am planning a 1 in 37 gradient on my layout. Much of my boyhood was spent watching trains going up the 1 in 37 (and curved) climb from Exeter St Davids to Exeter central. In those days a Z class loco was used as a banker. I don't know if I can get an 00 Z so a Standard will have to do! Here is a bit of nostalgia:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKqptpdLgc There is a resin kit of the Z class body to fit the Hornby 8F 2-8-0 chassis, there were a couple on Ebay within the past couple of months. The original unbalanced wheel E1Rs were used for many years before Z class. W class 2-6-4T s were also used and finally at end of steam banking 57XX panniers were used I understand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Thanks for the tip David. I will keep an eye out. I do have an old Hornby 2-8-0 lying around somewhere! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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