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Steve, Grades are a sore spot for modelers because no one wants to take a long distance to climb. I would suggest that you try to limit your grades to around 2%, if you can. To climb to 3.5" at 2% you will need almost 14 feet of run. If this wont fit, I might reconsider the track plan. The exception to this is logging or shortline railroads where short trains and steeper grades were common. The mainline class 1 prototype tried to avoid grades of more than 2% and many grades in this range used helpers. The reasons for using gentle grades are: Operation: locos can't pull long trains up steep grades. Nothing is worse than to discover that you have to double head to pull 5 boxcars up a grade. Some locos barely make it up steep grades by themselves without wheel slip. Scenic: steep grades willl look funny when you try to put buildings and scenic items next to them. A building next to 5% grade will look out of plumb. Do you set the loading dock of a station or freight shed on the track angle or level? Either way it won't look right. I speak from experience. On my last railroad I had 5% grades.....My current layout has 2% maximum. The last railroad was a Marklin layout. Marklin locos have traction tires so pulling power wasn't an issue. Even so, I could never solve the appearance issues.. my 2 cents, Guy
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