HO angle of rise
- Thread starter universalcabbie
- Start date
Hello universalcabbie, first of all, welcome to the gauge.
As a rule of thumb for H0, keep it to a rise of 1" in 36", better still if you can use 1" in 60" for the climb unless you are making a logging layout in which case 1" in 20" can be used.
Shamus
NARA Member #24
http://www.badger-creek.co.uk
As a rule of thumb for H0, keep it to a rise of 1" in 36", better still if you can use 1" in 60" for the climb unless you are making a logging layout in which case 1" in 20" can be used.
Shamus
NARA Member #24
http://www.badger-creek.co.uk
As Shamus has indicated, the % grade acceptable for a railroad depends on the type of railroad you are building. However, as I read it, you are asking how abruptly you can get into that grade. This is an important point that many beginners learn the hard way. Let me mention that in order to make it easy to calculate grades, I cheat a little. Since a 1% grade would rise 1" in 100", I simplify and convert to 1" in 8', or 96". This is accurate enough for me. I try not to use anything more than 2% on my mainlines. This would be 2" in 8'. Easy to measure with a 2' level by putting a 1/2" block under one end of the level. A 1/4" block yields a 1% grade, and so on.
Back to your question, I cannot state a particular ideal starting grade, I am not an engineer and have never read anything relating to this issue. I am aware that a level track abruptly changing to a 3 or 4% grade will likely cause problems, such as uncoupling or even a coupler pin striking the ties, also steam loco pilots contacting the rails, with resultant short if the pilot is metal. I start my grades with 2' of track at a maximum of 1%. You can then make the next 2' at 2% and continue increasing as required. I think one of the mistakes many people make when designing their first roads is not allowing enough length to rise over another track and winding up with some of the problems I mentioned.
Hope this helps, Gary
Back to your question, I cannot state a particular ideal starting grade, I am not an engineer and have never read anything relating to this issue. I am aware that a level track abruptly changing to a 3 or 4% grade will likely cause problems, such as uncoupling or even a coupler pin striking the ties, also steam loco pilots contacting the rails, with resultant short if the pilot is metal. I start my grades with 2' of track at a maximum of 1%. You can then make the next 2' at 2% and continue increasing as required. I think one of the mistakes many people make when designing their first roads is not allowing enough length to rise over another track and winding up with some of the problems I mentioned.
Hope this helps, Gary
Make the transition between flat and the first part of the rise as easy as possible, in other words if I were to make a run up somewhere I would need approximately 2’ to make the start of the run which would only have risen around ½”. From then on the climb can take place. The end of the climb needs a further 2’ to make the transition back to flat.
If you want to make a track climb over another one, the difference in height from one track to the next depends on the thickness of your roadbed plus the track. 3" clearance is ample for HO rolling stock. Now to get from one height to the next using 1" in 36" would need a run of approx. 108" this does not take into account the roadbed thickness, so lets assume you roadbed is 1/2" thick, this adds a further " overall so now we 1/2" need a further 18" added to the 108 to be able to climb over the tracks at 3" between roadbed and track, plus the 2' either end as discribed above. making a total length of 174" start to finish.
Shamus
NARA Member #24
http://www.badger-creek.co.uk
If you want to make a track climb over another one, the difference in height from one track to the next depends on the thickness of your roadbed plus the track. 3" clearance is ample for HO rolling stock. Now to get from one height to the next using 1" in 36" would need a run of approx. 108" this does not take into account the roadbed thickness, so lets assume you roadbed is 1/2" thick, this adds a further " overall so now we 1/2" need a further 18" added to the 108 to be able to climb over the tracks at 3" between roadbed and track, plus the 2' either end as discribed above. making a total length of 174" start to finish.
Shamus
NARA Member #24
http://www.badger-creek.co.uk
For a transition, level to incline, I've always used a 12 foot radius as a minimum. Was told this somewhere, a whole lot of years ago, but cannot remember where or by whom. But it has always worked for me. It isn't difficult to make a (relatively short) template with a 12' radius, to use as a guide. If using half-inch plywood as a subroadbed, I make the transition subroadbed of two layers of 1/4" ply, sandwiched and glued approximately to the 12' radius.
Remember never to transition from level to incline on a curve, or through a turnout.....
By the way --- if you really want degrees --- a 1% grade is 0.5720 degrees, a 2% grade is 1.1458 degrees, and a 3% is 1.7357 degrees.
Bill
Remember never to transition from level to incline on a curve, or through a turnout.....
By the way --- if you really want degrees --- a 1% grade is 0.5720 degrees, a 2% grade is 1.1458 degrees, and a 3% is 1.7357 degrees.
Bill
This is a trestlebridge which is level to incline on a curve and it's 9' long,
I also use a curve going down grade through a tunnel. Never had anything drop off yet.
Shamus
http://www.badger-creek.co.uk
I also use a curve going down grade through a tunnel. Never had anything drop off yet.
Shamus
http://www.badger-creek.co.uk
incline steps
universalcabbie,
I thought it would be OK to just begin the incline straight into the proposed gradient. Do NOT do this. as long freight/passenger cars will derail as they move onto the incline. The long cars begin to be rasied as they enter the incline, raising the level of the car that the following bogie cannot cope with and derails. I had to realign all my incline begins/ends to pad them out to leseen the shock of the incline. This gradual move into the incline should be at least twice the length of your longest car. I just padded my start/begin inclines with varying numbers of sheets of paper to even out the sharpness. I did this for about 1' either side of the incline begin/end. Hope this helps. Also do not place turnouts right at the begin/end of incline declines. Make sure the track is on the same level/incline for at least 6" either side of the turnout.
Hope this helps.
universalcabbie,
I thought it would be OK to just begin the incline straight into the proposed gradient. Do NOT do this. as long freight/passenger cars will derail as they move onto the incline. The long cars begin to be rasied as they enter the incline, raising the level of the car that the following bogie cannot cope with and derails. I had to realign all my incline begins/ends to pad them out to leseen the shock of the incline. This gradual move into the incline should be at least twice the length of your longest car. I just padded my start/begin inclines with varying numbers of sheets of paper to even out the sharpness. I did this for about 1' either side of the incline begin/end. Hope this helps. Also do not place turnouts right at the begin/end of incline declines. Make sure the track is on the same level/incline for at least 6" either side of the turnout.
Hope this helps.
Shamus,
Do I understand you correctly that you have track transitioning from the level to an incline ON a curve?
That's interesting. All the old guys who taught me trackwork years ago always said that was an absolute NO NO. I guess I've never questioned it. If you've done it successfully, that would certainly save some space (well, actually it wouldn't save space, but would lower the percent of grade a bit) on the layout I'm planning.
Bill
Do I understand you correctly that you have track transitioning from the level to an incline ON a curve?
That's interesting. All the old guys who taught me trackwork years ago always said that was an absolute NO NO. I guess I've never questioned it. If you've done it successfully, that would certainly save some space (well, actually it wouldn't save space, but would lower the percent of grade a bit) on the layout I'm planning.
Bill
Bill, YES I have track transitioning from the level to an incline ON a curve. The same principal is applied as I explained above. There has been 100 of curves on inclines built by many modellers, I am not the only one to do this. Many a helix is done this way.
Shamus
NARA Member #24
http://www.badger-creek.co.uk
inclines
I'm in the process of making a new layout, curves, inclines, crossovers, and all that good stuff. I had no problems starting my inclines on curves, I'm using 1" insul-board, and building up with it. I cut the width I want to rise and start going up with it, a gradual entrance to the incline, and a gradual leveling off. An over simplification would be, lay your tracks, cut 3/4-1" on either side of the track and lift it tro whatever level you want. I then block it up and fill in for slopes on each side, or whatever. Then I did a real no-no; I put in a curving turnout on the incline. I didn't think it would fly, but Ive ran over many times and no problems. So, I guess I'll leave it there and finish my track so I can get on with the good stuff. On a 5X11 board, I go from level to high enough to go over another 2 tracks about 2' apart and then back down to base level. I'm not skilled enough to figure % inclines, I go with what works for me to get real close to what I want.
Hope everything works for you
Lynn
I'm in the process of making a new layout, curves, inclines, crossovers, and all that good stuff. I had no problems starting my inclines on curves, I'm using 1" insul-board, and building up with it. I cut the width I want to rise and start going up with it, a gradual entrance to the incline, and a gradual leveling off. An over simplification would be, lay your tracks, cut 3/4-1" on either side of the track and lift it tro whatever level you want. I then block it up and fill in for slopes on each side, or whatever. Then I did a real no-no; I put in a curving turnout on the incline. I didn't think it would fly, but Ive ran over many times and no problems. So, I guess I'll leave it there and finish my track so I can get on with the good stuff. On a 5X11 board, I go from level to high enough to go over another 2 tracks about 2' apart and then back down to base level. I'm not skilled enough to figure % inclines, I go with what works for me to get real close to what I want.
Hope everything works for you
Lynn