All the 'N' scale layouts I see have diesels making the inclines. However, I have 50 year old steam locomotives (4-6-4) that need to use inclines. Can these locomotives handle 1 inch or 2 inch inclines? My power to the rail is DC due to age of my locomotives.
Welcome to the forum. Inclines are usually expressed as a percent grade. A 1% grade is a 1" rise over 100", a 2% grade is 2" over 100".
Maybe that is what you mean, maybe not.
While not an N-scale guy.
I would be surprised if 1% would be a problem for even a 50 yo engine. 3% and greater is considered steep in MR, but a grade combined with a curve, accentuates the effective grade. There is a formula for that, and it maybe different for different scales, so I won't spit out a number I am not sure of.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hi Turfmaster and welcome aboard.
I'd have to agree with Henry that a 1% grade wouldn't be too hard on an old locomotive. 2% I'm sure would be fine if you don't pull too many cars behind the old boy.
Grades are the same in all scales. The only difference is the bigger the scale the longer the run you need to achieve the same objective.
I'm in N scale and use an 1/8" rise per foot for a 1% grade. And a 1/4" rise per foot for a 2% grade. That scale is 96/100 and quite close enough to keep things simplified.
With a 2% grade you need 8' of track for the approach to reach a clearance height of 2" for a standard height bridge crossing. And 16' of track for a 1% grade.
2% grades are commonly used because most guys don't have a spare 16' of room all over the place. Unless you're lucky enough to have an empty spare room at your disposal
Have fun with your project. Turfmaster. Don't hesitate to ask questions as you have a great group with a lot of knowledge here
TF
turfmaster5 ... Can these locomotives handle 1 inch or 2 inch inclines? My power to the rail is DC due to age of my locomotives.
... Can these locomotives handle 1 inch or 2 inch inclines? My power to the rail is DC due to age of my locomotives.
Welcome. If your engines run reasonably quickly with full voltage to the rails, there's no reason they can't at least pull themselves up even a 4% incline, but they should have little trouble with four or more cars behind them as well.
So, it depends on what they can do on level track and if they're in good condition and lubricated properly. It also depends on how steep the grade and how many cars you couple to the tenders.
Best thing to do is to temporarily mock up different tracks, different steepnesses, and add more and more cars until you have a good concrete idea of what your old steamers can really do. Shouldn't take more than an hour to do this. Just use lengths of board or plywood that are straight and capable of keeping your track at the same plane along their length. Any dips or humps and you are introducing another variable.
Thank you for your answer to my question. I am just starting to build my first layout. However, I have been collecting my trains since Christmas 1967. I really got into buying locomotives when I was in Japan in 1969. I went into Tokyo to the Kato store and bought five Hudson J3a (4-6-4) locomotives. I was in the Navy at that time and with a small track I could run them during break time. Since then, they have been in their boxes till now. I had the Rapido couplers removed and replaced with Micro-Trains couplers. I have also been purchasing buildings for the layout. I have taken all my engines to a local hobby store that has a specialist in N scale, who has checked them over and lubricated them. He told me they all run just fine for their age. He also suggested that I use Kato track for curves, Atlas flex for straight and Peco for turnouts. Does this sound reasonable? I am also using 20 inch radius on the curves since some of the cars would uncouple on the tighter radius curves. My room size is 13 foot 11 inches wide by 17 feet long. I can go longer or shorter as I build.
Turfmaster
turfmaster5He also suggested that I use Kato track for curves, Atlas flex for straight and Peco for turnouts. Does this sound reasonable?
Not to me. I would just use Kato Unitrack for everything. There's a huge variety of track pieces - turnouts, single track, double track, bridges, etc. that will make building a layout easy and enjoyable. Plus with Unitrack 'click track' you can try out track plans and make changes since the track doesn't need to be fastened down to work properly.
http://www.katousa.com/N/unitrack.html