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Duce, you're way ahead by going around the walls. You've figured out you have much more railroad in your room than you would have with a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood. But 3 1/2 feet deep is way too much. You really can't reach more than 2 1/2, and that's a stretch. 2 feet will give you plenty of room for a double track mainline, and lots of scenery and buildings, etc, along with right of way. As for the grades, it's really not very hard to make your own risers, and it's cheaper and very satisfying to do that, and you'll find most locos will have much better pulling power on a maximum grade of 2 percent. To make a smooth 2 percent grade, just raise the track only an 8th of an inch in the first foot of the grade, and a quarter inch in every foot after that. At the top end, the final foot should rise only an 8th of an inch again, instead of 1/4 inch. That makes nice transitions so your couplers are not pulled out of line. You'll need to make the clearance between upper and lower tracks about 3 1/2 inches, or tall enough for your tallest car to fit. At 2 percent, that's a grade about 16 feet long. Also, listen to everyone on this fantastic forum, and read a lot of the fun books about model railroading. Good luck and welcome to the world's greatest hobby!
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