Climb the hill

[doctorwayne]

Harry, your grade is going to be pretty steep - over 4%. If it's to be part of your mainline, your trains will need to be fairly short or you'll have a good excuse to buy more locos.

As David notes, the usual method is "cookie cutter" style, but you can cut a separate piece of plywood and graft it into your foam-topped layout, too. You may also be able to cut the foam and use it in the same manner, as long as it's not already glued in place.

For plywood, I'd suggest 3/8" or thicker - the thinner the plywood, the more risers will be required. At the bottom of the proposed grade, notch out the foam, for about 6", to a depth that will place the top surface of the plywood flush with the top surface of the foam. Hopefully, there's something solid beneath the foam, such as a plywood tabletop or a wooden framing member. Drive some screws through the plywood and foam and into the solid base, anchoring the plywood firmly over the entire 6" length. Next, raise what will be the upper end of the grade to the desired height, using either blocks of wood or a riser, as shown in the photos below. Attach the riser firmly to the layout, then screw the plywood subroadbed firmly to the top of the riser. Depending on the thickness of the plywood, you'll need additional risers to even-out and secure the grade. At the mid-point, add a 2" riser, then, at the mid-point between that and the bottom of the grade, a 1" riser and between the mid-point and the top of the grade, a 3" riser. Continue to place additional risers in a similar manner until any apparent sagging is eliminated. The advantage to using relatively thin plywood is that it will give you natural vertical easements (transitions between the grade and the level areas at the top and bottom of the grade). Thicker plywood works, too, but the easements are not as apparent and can be altered by inappropriately-placed risers.







The grade shown is about 2.5%, fairly steep for a mainline. Most trains require doubleheading, as the grades are mostly on curves, which increases the effect of the grade. Here's a chart showing that effect:

RADIUS
24” - 32.0 degrees - percentage of compensation to be added - 1.60%
25” - 31.2 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.56%
26” - 30.4 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.52%
27” - 29.7 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.49%
28” - 28.9 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.45%
29” - 28.2 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.41%
30” - 27.4 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.37%
30” - 27.4 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.37%
31” - 26.6 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.33%
32” - 25.9 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.30%
33” - 25.1 degrees* - 1.25%*
34” - 24.3 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.22%
35” - 23.6 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.18%
36” - 22.8 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.14%
37” - 22.1 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.11%
38” - 21.3 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.07%
39” - 20.5 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 1.03%
40” - 19.8 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 0.99%
41” - 19.0 degrees ---------------------------------------------------- 0.95%

Compensated, my grades equal about 3.77% over most of the 3/4 mile climb, a real test for locos. Your grade, on a 24" radius curve, would equal one of about 5.76% on straight track.

Wayne