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Optimal Grades
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<p>Actually the B&O had the steepest grades on the east. All the railroads that arrived after the B&O tried to moderate thier grades.</p><p>I feel 3% is the max. I have sufficient roster to handle any grade and will break out the BLI ABBA F unit for the worst grades. 3% should work out to about 3 inches climb in about 12 feet of forward travel. 2% is the same climb in about 16 feet which is way easier on the engines.</p><p>My preferred performance standard on a 3% is the ability to stop, hold the train on the grade and then restart with minimal slipping for steam engines by themselves. Anything more, the train gets a helper.</p><p>I did assemble a train that turned into about 50 feet of frankentrain with metal couplers, plastic horn hooks, plastic wheels, metal wheels train set, blue box or all of the combined. The slack when it ran out on starting reached over a foot in length. whew.</p><p>My longest regular train as of right now is about 15' plus 2 feet for the engine. That is about 12 heavyweights, three express cars and the PRR Duplex or roughly 26 freight cars and caboose. I dont have any grades as of right now so I cannot tell you how it runs as a complete unit. Ask me again in a few months after I have tested the entire train on a grade locally.</p>
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