Drops

[52train]

I would like to drop 6 inches a long a straight piece of track 60 inches long, will it work for steam and diesel locos with 5 coaches. Any help please..

[Carltonf]

I think that might be a little ambitious.  That's a 1:10 incline.  I think the maximum recommended incline is 1:20, and 1:30 is getting towards workable.  So over a length of 60", thats going to be a maximum rise of 2 or 3inches.  Do you have any option of adding to the incline around a curve too maybe?  Or decreasing the required rise?

[Chrissaf]

My inclines are 1:30 and my A4 Pacific (circa 2013) wouldn't climb it on its own (no carriages behind) without wheel slip. I had to add extra weight to just about pull three carriages. Your 1:10 incline is far too steep IMHO for modern stock. Older Hornby locos were a lot heavier and could handle somewhat steeper gradients.

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Most on here will advise not to include gradients in the layout design unless the layout is large with long straight climbs and drops, as including a curve section as part of the gradient increases drag. Not only that, but severe gradients (1:10 is very severe) impact on the transition from slope to level and level to slope, if this is too severe you can also get wheel lifts (loss of pickup electrical contact) and it could lead to derailment as well.

[AndyMac1707817969]

If it's one track going over another then I always try to drop one half the distance and raise the upper track the other half. Not always suitable in all cases though

[52train]

I thought i was pushing it so back to the drawing board. The idea was to send the trains to a fiddle yard, but thank you all.

[Carltonf]

I thought i was pushing it so back to the drawing board. The idea was to send the trains to a fiddle yard, but thank you all.

Have you considered a helix arrangement?  If it's to a fiddle yard, then that would be a good option, space permitting?

[37lover]

Operationally I think 1:40 is the maximum but preferably 1:50; a helix can take up a lot of space bearing in mind you may need to use 3rd or 4th radius curves at 70mm drop per circuit.

[LCDR]

 I have heard of a 'lift' to take trains from one level to another, with a section of track which can be raised and lowered but it will need a fair degree of accurate engineering.

 

I have some lift off sections for manually moving and storing whole trains, made from aluminium angle and plastic strip, you could modify this idea.

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[96RAF]

Slightly off topic from the original post but...

 

 I have heard of a 'lift' to take trains from one level to another, with a section of track which can be raised and lowered but it will need a fair degree of accurate engineering.

 

Similar to the commercial product 'Nelevation' but as a single track, which could allow a train to enter and stop, be raised/lowered to a set level and then drive off. The one I saw but can't relocate was based on a vertical rack and pinion drive at each end motorised by a cogged belt drive - taken from a photo-copier or scanner from memory. There are several examples of such mechanisms used as horizontal transversers, so with a bit of lateral (or should that be vertical) thinking the design could be modified to suit.

Rob