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Whit; <br />I had to deal with the same issues, one thing to remember: tracks can go DOWN as well as UP. So, you can have 5 feet of track rising up to the bridge and 5 feet dipping below the level of the main track - adding up to 10 feet or a 2.5% grade! I put 22" radius curves into the mix and that required that I re-do some of my track by lengthening the incline. Harder to do after the fact, but I am resourceful. Also, make sure the rest of the track is really level first, otherwise you wind up with 2% in one direction and 3% in the other. That can be OK, but you cannot pull the same length train with the same number of engines. Adding engines is difficult even if bought from the same manufacturer, due to different running speeds. DCC can make this easier, I hear. You can pull more cars by lubing your axles with graphite powder (not oil!) I'll try that soon. I would like to run more than ten 40 foot cars with my small steamers. <br />I used Atlas' Right Track software to do my track planning, it's availble for free download. You are kind of limited to 18 or 22" curves (or flextrack - hard to guess the radius) and #4 or #6 turnouts. On the other hand, the double slip switches and curved turnouts are expensive, and you can approximate track and makes adjustements when you are laying real track. I had to go to 20.5" in one area, no problem, just lay out an 18" curve and splice in a short straight to stand in for those extra 2 1/2". Then, lay flextrack at the real 20 1/2" radius.
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