Maximum grade?

[Anonymous]

I am trying to determine what the maximum grade I can use in one spot as I enter a strorage yard area. I intend to build a storage yard inside a building adjacent to my layout. However, I want to mimize the length of the run to bring the track up to the level I must enter the building. This track is not part of normal operation. It is just a way to move my trains between the layout and storage area.
I will be running heavy diesels mostly (Dash 9, SD45, etc)...not the small or light units. May also be pulling 15 or more cars up the incline. I am also considering the use of a yard engine as a helper if necessary.

What is the most grade I can live with?

[Karl Reichenbach]

For ease of operation, I would try to hold the max grade to 2 percent or
less. Karl

[kstrong]

I'd really try to steer clear of anything steeper than 4%. Less is better, but 4% seems to be the maximum which we can run without seriously diminishing our train length or requiring helpers. If it's an out-of-the-way place used simply to get trains in and out, you may be able to increase this to 5%. That's fairly steep, but the large diesels you mention should be more than up to the task with 15 or so cars. I used to run 14 car trains up a 4% grade with little difficulty. (LGB 0-4-0 and powered tender)

My dad's line has a long stretch of 5% grade which is typically helper district, unless the trains are shorter than 5 or so cars. (He runs small locos like the C-16 and LGB mogul) This stretch has a short length of 8% (!) grade, but with a helper, this proves to be no obsticle whatsoever.

Later,

K

[wa1lbk]

I have a 10% (Cass - inspired!) grade on my indoor logging / mining layout, running short (5-car max) trains & Bachmann geared steam locos. My currently under-construction outdoor layout has a max grade around 3%, pretty much determined by the slope of our backyard. The outdoor layout was built mainly to accomodate my Accucraft live-steam Shay, but I plan to run conventional track-powered trains out there as well. In tests so far, the Accucraft Shay will walk a 10 - car train of assorted LGB & Aristo-Craft 8 - wheel cars up that grade without any problem. (I've only got about 50 feet of mainline built so far, so there wasn't much point in running a longer train! [;)]). Furthur construction is on hold until Old Man Winter loosens his grip on New England [V] - and it sounds like we're going to get slammed BIG TIME this coming weekend! [B)] YUK!!!!

Tom

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input guys...your comments are along the line I expected. Just wanted some of your thoughts because I don't have any good way to test and experiment with grades right now.

[cacole]

I have a 15 foot long, 2% grade that I run my trains up and into an outdoor storage shed. I run battery power and the AirWire900 wireless DCC system with a 5 Ah Gel-Cell battery in a trailing boxcar. My Bachmann 1:20.3 scale Consolidation, 2-6-0 Mogul, and Heartland Doozie Railbus can all go up this grade with no problems at all, even with six additional pieces of rolling stock and a caboose.

[Anonymous]

One thing I wasn't clear on in your post, will the track between the layout and the storage building be straight? Or will it be on a curve? If a curve then you may not be able to use as steep of a grade as the curve will add additional friction as well. The tighter the curve, the less grade you can have.

Jon

[Chompers]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jondavis

One thing I wasn't clear on in your post, will the track between the layout and the storage building be straight? Or will it be on a curve? If a curve then you may not be able to use as steep of a grade as the curve will add additional friction as well. The tighter the curve, the less grade you can have.

Jon

My LGB mogul Can Pull allot on my Rail road, but if i put every piece of roaling stock I have on the track and make one long train the engine slips some, but on my R3 curve up a 2% grade it can pull no problem and on a R2 curve it pulls even better.[xx(]

This would be the exact oposit of what you said jondavis[?]

Dose this make sense? I think that because the weels bind a little they put more friction between the tires and the wheels and the engine can pull it self up the grade.[^]

[markperr]

I have a 25 foot ten degree grade that I'm stuck with due to area limitations. I can pull fifteen modern pieces of rolling stock (box cars, tankers, etc.) using a U25B and an RS3. The train actually comes out of a curve and into this climb so much of the rolling stock is still in the curve when the locos crest the peak. I have been able to climb this grade very slowly. Have been able to stop on this grade almost at the top, and have restarted the train from standing. The most impressive part of this is that my U25 has a phoenix 2k2 installed and you can really hear the engine sound like it's working it's buns off to get the load restarted. So, in short, your Aristo Dash 9 or SD45 should have absolutely no problem draggin ten cars up a similar grade and probably twice as many up a grade half that size.

Mark

[Anonymous]

Mark,
10%....that is impressive! I never even considered anything that steep. I thought that 4% was probably about a reasonable limit. I don't think I will go for 10% but I will experiment with 6% or so since that may solve my space issue. As I noted earlier, I just want it to work...don't care if it looks "correct" or not.
Paul D