Any rule of thumb for the transition from level track to a grade?
I don't worry about it. I use 3/4 plywood and it won't allow me to make the transition too sudden. The biggest thing is for it not to be a dip that will ditch your longest base car or loco or cause an uncoupling.
Two things come to mind from my readings here and in books. First is the cookie cutter method, the wood gives a good transition as it bends to the rise, have a reasonable grade. The second is to use Woodland Scenics risers. I have never used them, but a number of posters seem to have had good luck with them.
Good luck,
I have used Woodland Scenics with great success. they give a very gradual transition {incline} to the grade.
They are easy to use, the inclines can be flexed in any configuration and when you reach the height, you substitute the WS risers {also flexible} underneath to put the next incline on..
GOod luck what ever method you use.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
I haven't seen this from any authority in the hobby, Nick, but I would suggest a run of about 6" for every curve leading to a 0.5% grade, and the same for further changes to a an even steeper grade. It depends on the engines, of course, but steamers would want a more gentle approach to a grade so that their (unsprung) drivers maintain at least some contribution to the tractive effort. Four axle diesels will be much more tolerant of sharper vertical curves.
So, from level to a 1% grade should not be much less than a full 12". Testing before committal is always a good thing.
Crandell
I used the 2% WS foam incline with no problems. I did make sure to start the grade about the middle of a piece of flex track.. I did not want the start of the grade to be at a joint and cause a verticle kink in the track.
Caveat. This is HOj (1:80) scale, which approximates HO scale in bulk and lengths.
Running cars in the small-to-medium size range, I allow 500mm of transition length for each 1% of grade change, split equally between the level and the grade. On my, "Track tied in an knot," short line, I only allow half that, but that route is embargoed to long cars and stiff locomotives.
The usual way I achieve the transition is to use cookie-cut plywood, carefully avoiding having any splices (joints) in the portion that actually forms the transition. If I was using pre-formed foam wedges the bottom would require filling (possibly with joint compound) and the top would require some judicious reshaping with a Sur-Form tool.
A nice smooth vertical transition will keep couplers coupled and also look a lot better. A vertical kink is guaranteed to be bad news.
Chuck (Modeling the mountainous terrain of Central Japan in September, 1964)