Turn-outs on 2% grade

[selector]

Just because railroads would prefer level tracks doesn't mean they can lay them often and still make a dollar.  In fact, most track is curved, and most of it is graded.  It stands to reason that the likelihood of encountering bridges, tunnels, crossings, and turnouts on grades or curves is quite high.

Be careful to lay the turnout into the grade so that the through route meets the profile of the main.  I have learned how to have vertical curves start immediately before or after ingress/egress from turnouts on my layouts.  The key is to go gently, especially near the turnout.  The word 'transition' comes to mind...start slowly and then add more change. In your case, you would want the diverging route to begin to deviate from the grade...maybe?   It can be done, but due to the curved entry into the frog, you must be even more careful not to have a wide variance in grade as the train enters on a grade and moves through the frog on the diverging route.  In fact, my advice would be to lay the entire layout flat, and just let the tracks beyond the turnout begin to conform to the changing terrain and the resultant grade.

Crandell

[DigitalGriffin]

Yes I'm more then certain of it as I have seen several in real life.

Although I have no proof, I think it's more common on industry sidings & branchlines then mainlines

[mobilman44]

Hi!

Yes, there are many instances of turnouts on grades, with many on logging/mining RRs at steeper grades.

You didn't ask about the modeling challenges of this but as I have done the same thing (installed 5 turnouts on a 2 percent grade), may I offer the following:

- As long as the turnout is on the same incline as the attached trackage, you should be fine.   Attempting to put the turnout on level ground, with trackage that attaches to it on an incline - well that is a recipe for disaster.

- As with level surface tracklaying, it is very important that the tracks flow smoothly in and out of the turnout. 

Said another way, you want total smoothness both horizontally and vertically where tracks meet turnouts.  And make sure you have smooth transistions if you have curve meeting tangent trackage.

On my layout, I used # 6s for this, and frankly learned the above the hard way. 

[SMOKING TRAIN]

I have an existing railroad and I want to add an addition to my layout, but the only possible way off the current layout is on a 2% grade. Prototypically has this been done ???????