basic railroading

[HarryHotspur]

how do you measure that from the track to the wood i mean how do you measure the incline?

mk55 -

You measure the length of the track. For example, suppose your loop up the mountain was comprised of an 18" radius curve, then one complete circle would be 113 inches (pi * diameter). So, if your incline was 3 degrees, your track level would rise 3.4 inches in a complete circle.

[loathar]

I used 1x3's to make my risers and then screwed 1/4" plywood to that for my sub roadbed.

Then used screen and plaster for the "ground" around it.

 

[cwclark]

  A 4' x 8' sheet of plywood isn't very much space for inclines less than 2%.  My layout is 23' x 25' and I use a 1/4" rise for every 16" so i'm only coming up 1" every 64" for a 1.5% grade ( and it's still pretty steep for long trains.) One thing you could do is to keep all your track level and build your scenery so that it rises and falls instead of the track inclining and declining.  It can be done on a 4' x 8' sheet but your trains are going to be no more than 4 -5 cars long to make a grade like that on a sheet of plywood.  Most layouts with inclines on plywood sheets use a figure 8 pattern so that the distance from one end of the plywood sheet to the other is maximized.  There was an article a few years back in MR where this guy made his scenery rise and fall and the track stayed level throughout the entire layout. To get the most from a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood this may be the way to go....chuck

[mk55]

how do you measure that from the track to the wood i mean how do you measure the incline?

[mk55]

my scale is ho my board size is 4x8 im trying to design mountains an have the train incline up an around the mountain an back down the mountain but the train will run in a big loop around the board

[mk55]

i have ho scale my board is 4x8 i want to try build an incline without the risers an have it wrap around the mountain it would be a loop around the board up but a climb up an down the mountain

[fsm1000]

im trying to design a layout that i can add a incline to for the mountains.how would i do that?an as for wiring i have a basic dc control would it work for power or do i need to add anything to it?

 

Hello and welcome MK

As you can see, this is a tad dificult without know ing more about what you are doing or planning.

Anyhow, dc from a proper model railroad transformer is fine for most small layout. As for the incline, so long as it is not too steep it also should be fine.

For most modelers 3% is considered VERY steep. Most try for 2% or less.

 

To find the percentage, 1% would be one inch of rise for every 100 inches of length.

2% would be 2 inches of rise for every 100 inches of length etc.

This is about 1 inch for every 3 pieces of 3 foot flextrack for 1%.

 

I hope that helps get you started. :) 

[CPRail modeler]

to the forums! 

I actually have a few questions for you. What:

1) scale?

2) size?

3) plan type?

Answer these and I can help.

[ARTHILL]

Welcome.

Lots of questions first.

Adding an incline to a table top layout , use something like Woodland Scenics risers.

For an open gridwork, we need to talk about L girders and cleats and cookie cutter.

If you have not done a railroad before and you do not have a friend who has, you need a book or two to get the proper questions in mind.

For a simple table top, DC is just fine. As the layout gets complex, the block issues with DC make DCC look better.

Keep looking and asking questions.  We look forward to watching your progress.

[tstage]

mk,

First off: to the forum!  Good to have you aboard!

Second, what size layout are you planning?  Or, what size area do you have to work with?  You need parameters to work in.  These are crucial to know before trying to design something.

Tom

[mk55]

im trying to design a layout that i can add a incline to for the mountains.how would i do that?an as for wiring i have a basic dc control would it work for power or do i need to add anything to it?