jime Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I am giving our spring Garden Train some thought and was wondering what would be the maximum grade I should have? This will be our first build and all ready my wife wants to know if I can set it up to run along the ceiling in our house and then out to the track in the yard. There is about a 10' difference between the lowest point out side to the level needed inside. We have 22 acres so the yard is big enough. Thank You jime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman4449 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I would say that question will be driven off of how many cars your expect your trains to pull and how many engines you plan for those trains, how heavy those engines are and whether those engines have traction tires. What are you thinking of running on your layout? On my layout my basement ramp from the ground level up is ~1.7% and it works good for the long trains I have to back up it. I do have one rather steep grade that has proven a challenge for some engines and consist but I have never calculated what the grade is. In general I would say if possible I would probably try and target 2% or less if you can although you can certainly get away with more as the situation calls for. You probably can do up to 3% and still not have problems that you can't resolve with weight in the engine. 4% is probably getting beyond what you want to allow. You could to some test setups with a straight of track and see how an engine manages with some cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jime Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 Thank You Rayman4449 At this point we only have 3 long passenger cars and a steam locomotive with tender. We have looked at allot of video's and don't really care for the long trains. That may change as we get track laid though. This may sound dumb but when figuring grade would it be 1.7% = 1 3/4" rise in 1'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman4449 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 To calculate grade take the distance in this case 12" (1ft) and multiply times the grade 1.7% (.017) so 12x.017=.204inches increase/decrease in elevation. What engine (type and who makes it) do you plan to pull the cars with and who makes the passenger cars and what type are they? With trains that short you should have a lot of leeway assuming the engine is up to the task. Another thing to consider is if you have engines with plastic gears, the more level you make the layout the less wear and tear you will have on the gears. One thing I wouldn't get too hung up on a particular number that you can or can't do. Often when you get outside you find other considerations that may cause you to vary some from what you were originally planning. Just use the numbers as a guideline along with maybe some real world testing and you'll be fine. Raymond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jime Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 Raymond Here is what I have. I work at an apartment complex and one of the tenants gave it to me. No track or power supply but 1 extra car. A local hobby shop helped me out with the track and a very nice AC/DC controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Strong Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 With this loco and the trains you want to pull, I'd not go any greater than 4%. That's "typically" the maximum grade recommended for the garden. If you're into longer trains, you'd want to go less than that. Grade is simply rise over run, so a 4% grade is a 4" change in elevation over 100" (roughly 8'). Later, K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainslayer Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I had 3% grade and used the Bachman 10 Wheeler, AristoCraft Alco RS3 and LGB 2-4-0 with little trouble. The LBG unit would only handle about 5 or 6 cars before bogging down. My new layout will also incorporate several live steam units and for that I would keep it no more than 2% grade. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainslayer Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Next time I'm in Branson area maybe I'll look you up. The people at Stoneworks (www.RRStoneworks.com) are in your area at Shell Knob and they have an outdoor layout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jime Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Thanks Trainslayer I am new at Garden Trains and did not pick up on them being so close. Sounds like a day trip coming up. I don't have any thing started yet other than some track on the back porch. But we have a location picked out and I'm working on how to level the grade. The flattest spot we have with in reason drops 31" in 20'. That is the Ozarks Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
du-bousquetaire Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 One thing to keep in mind if you are planning a garden pike is to think ahead: Like: Are you going to try to run live steam locos on your pike one day? If you are then you better not have gradients or very short and ones less than 1% or you will have to have a radio control on your steam engines. and even with that it can still be problematic.Even more so if you plan to run long trains with steam locos. butr if you have wide curves (over 10' radius) and low gradiuents you should be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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