Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
What you would have is a 4% grade AND a relatively tight curve - not a good combination. Your engine may be able to go up a 4% grade and it may be able to go around an 8' diameter curve, but it may not be able to do both simultaneously. I speak from experience as I have a similar situation. I have one part of my layout where the track goes through a tunnel and then loops around and over the tunnel. I had to raise the track 14" to clear the tunnel. I added some straights to make an oval of about 40' which results in a ~3% grade around an 8' diameter curve. This is the one area of my layout where I have the most problems; for example, my LGB Mogul won't pull more than 2 or 3 cars up that hill. If I try to pull more, the engine wheels start slipping on the track while the engine just sits there. I believe the motor is capable of pulling more; but, there just isn't enough traction. My Aristocraft SD-45 does a little better since it has more driving wheels; but, even it has problems if I try to pull too many cars. Again, it's not because the motor can't handle the load, there just isn't enough traction between the wheels and the track to overcome the friction resulting from the combined grade and tight curve. If I were to do it over again (which I may do someday), I would elongate the oval even more so that I could maintain a maximum 2% grade around the curves and 3% grade on the straight sections. Jon
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag