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Hello Ross, Sounds risky to me. Short trains of, say, eight 40-foot cars or less would fare OK with that steep grade and degree of curvature, but longer trains, especially longer cars, will probably find it tough to negotiate. I'd consider reducing the grade by increasing the run, maybe by adding a helix to gain elevation, or rethink my layout design and what it was I was trying to accomplish. Part of good layout design is to make the design accommodate the trains, not the trains accommodating the design. The latter seldom works well, and it sounds to me as if that might be occurring here. Helixes can be difficult to construct, I know from personal experience, but if you have the room I believe you'll find it better in the long run, so to speak, for the elevation gain you're seeking. By keeping the helix gradient to 2.5 percent, which is reasonable, you can use a 28-inch radius to gain 4.4 inches per turn. Four turns of the helix will give you 17.6 inches elevation with a much gentler grade. Regards, Paul Schmidt Contributing Editor Trains.com Ellensburg, Wash.
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