Layout Proposals : Modern day UP/BNSF

[GEfan]

Hi all,
I am new to the forum, and just come back to N gauge modelling after a number of years away. I am UK-based, but have a keen interest in the modern day US railroads. Appreciate that the modern day scene may not appeal to everyone, but does to me! I am fortunate in having an area which is around 21 foot x 11 foot for a layout that can portray long freights running at realistic, not slow, but steady speeds. The area is currently being cleared of rubbish etc, but I am hopeful of getting some track (especially in the hidden sidings) down by Christmas.

The idea is to portray a three different kinda of scenes across what should be around 100foot of scenic running space. Each scene will be separated by a scenic break in some way. The first being something of a canyon area, with the railroad hugging the rock face, which drops down to the river below, another will be a decent sized classification and switching yard, and the third I am looking for a bit of help with. A couple of 'must-haves' are a switching industry, grade crossing for road traffic, and some form of busy town scene.  Can anyone offer any suggestions of suitable industries or prototype locations that could work? I am currently thinking that some kind of scene with a couple of warehouses, and box car deliveries could be the option.

With a very keen interest in keeping my feet on the ground, I don't like much more than a few foot distance between them and the ground, flying is something of a no-no so ever getting over to the US to see these things for real is unlikely! But through the modern day world of webcams I am able to keep a finger on the pulse so to speak. I do tend to have the Barstow or Tehachapi webcams on in my home office whenever possible, so train consists and power will follow a similar theme - mainly UP and BNSF, with 'hired' power from KCS, NS, CN, CP and CSX making the occasional appearance.

I am lucky in that the area available can be used almost entirely for scenic modelling, with the hidden storage sidings being located on a lower level. The eventual aim is to have fun operating it, perhaps introduce a small amount of computer control (being Digitrax DCC that shouldn't be too difficult) and be able to both switch cars while at other times just enjoy the trains passing by.  

What do people recommend as the steepest grade to use in N gauge with modern day trains? US model railroading has an advantage over UK railways as it is rare to see more than one locomotive on the front of a train in Britain, so in many respects, the grade with a longer train, gives a purpose to having multiple US locos up front! Although the grade will not be visible on the scenic area, I don't want to over step it, so any comments from N gauge modellers would be welcome.

I would welcome any views and comments. I'm happy to share the layout, so if there's any interest, I will post pictures and updates as things progress.

Richie

[BigDaddy]

to the forum. Your initial posts are moderated so there will be a delay in seeing your own posts.

I'm not an N-scaler so maybe I should stop right there, but I won't.  A curve increases the effective grade by R/32 where R is radius.

GEfan

Although the grade will not be visible on the scenic area,

At least it won't look weird.  I did an google search for n scale and there are people who claim to have 6.5% grades.  They need multiple engines to do that.  That is certainly compatible with modern railroading where you can see webcams with 6-12 engines on some trains. (Some of that is probably just moving engines from here to there) 

The other factor is train length.  N scale guys like long trains.  If you want something safe 2-2.5% works, if you want to push the limit, use your motive power and your train length and lay some track out on a 2x4 (are they called 2x4's in the UK?) and set up a simple test track with increasing grades. 

[SPSOT fan]

I am an n scaler but all my n scale experience has been with flat layouts, so I can only really guess...

I have one fact to work around: my grandpa recently informed me that he, in HO scale, can get 12 car trains up his 4 percent grade with 2 powerful locomotives (Bowser C363s).

Now N scale is about 1/4th the volume of HO scale, and since cars in both scales use similar materials, N scale cars should have about 1/4th the weight, except in scale terms they will have thicker walls, so they will likely be a bit heavier than that.

Still N scale locomotives are less powerful, but I don’t know how much...

I do know that my Arnold U28C can easily haul 20 cars on flat, so I think that, an HO scale car can haul similar amount of cars to N scale stuff.

So I’ll estimate that 12 cars needs about 2 locomotives at 4% grade, and you’ll likely want longer trains than that, so I’d estimate 2% may be a good option.

You will likely want to test this out before you settle on you grade and start planning your layout grades!

[carl425]

BigDaddy

A curve increases the effective grade by R/32 where R is radius.

That formula is for HO scale.  In N it's R/17.4.

[York1]

I have an N Scale layout with BNSF and UP both running side-by-side.

When I laid track, I put in a grade of 1½ %.  My Kato single locomotives had no trouble with that, pulling 15 container cars.

I wanted a steeper grade, but the locomotive wheels would spin with that number of cars.

Then, I bought several more Kato locomotives.  I now consist two BNSF locos on a container train with 15 cars, and two UP locos on a passenger train with 12 cars.  They will pull a lot of cars with no issues at all.  With that, I believe I could have put in a 3% grade and had no issues at all.  (There are curves involved, also.)

Maybe on my next layout!