Pot of coffee for Newbies

[NZRMac]

REX

How do you check the grade??

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Ken Mackay

REX

How do you check the grade??

Good Morning Ken:

I use a 24" plastic level from Lowes Home Improvement; 1) prop the level up level with the high end on the track, 2) measure the distance from the level to the track on the low end, 3) divide the height by 24, 4) multiply the answer by 100, 5) percent of grade. Say that when you get the leveling all done and the measurement is 1/2 inch, divide .5 by 24 and that equales .0208333. When multiplied by 100 it comes out to 2.083333, that means that for all practial discussion you have a 2% grade. You can use a 12" level just take step "3" and divide by 12 instead of 24. All measurements have to be in the same measurement IE: inches, feet, mm, or whatever. When I lay sub roadbed I use two pieces of cork roadbed under the down side of the level and it gives me pretty close to a 2 % grade.

Have a blessed day and remember SANTA FE ALL THE WAY
Bob

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rexhea

Railroading_Brit,

Thanks for the tip. I didn't know that about traction tires. I'll take a look at the Bachman Spec.4-8-2 drivers and see if there's a coating. Can you sand the drivers and remove this or would it scratch them too bad??

I think this would probably scratch them badly - I've not tried this approach as I didn't at first realise that this coating existed - I was puzzled why the loco had more haulage ability after a few hours running until I heard/saw someone else comment on this and say that they'd found this coating. I also had problems with out-of-gauge wheelsets and incorrect quartering on this loco, both might be worth checking out as a potential cause. Hope something here is of help!

[rexhea]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Ken Mackay

REX

How do you check the grade??

I Cheat! [:D]
Nah! I used 3dPlan It software to design my layout. When I want a rise of say 3" between point A to B, it will tell me the % of rise. If it is a greater % than I want, I know that I have to increase the distance of the incline.

After the incline is set the way I want, then I can click anywhere on the track and it will tell me the elevation at that point. I have open grid so I do this at each 16" centered joist or other that I will attach a riser.

The actual work is easy with this information and you can easily see the amount of inches needed in the rise per riser and can adjust for different distances. Curves are very tricky and I usually have to tweak them some. This is where I screwed up as stated in the above post.

I highly recommend 3dPlan It. You can continuously make changes without any trouble and I have made many as I get better ideas. If the plan says its a 24 1/8" radius and 2 3/16" from the other track---you can take it to the Bank.[:)]

Teffy's method is the way to go if you don;t have this software.

REX

[NZRMac]

Hey

Do you guys lay track on homasote board (we call it pinex) or on plywood with track underlay foam or sumfin else??