Model Railroading > HO scale incline

Can someone give me information on the what is too steep for HO. Im planning to build a layout and I dont know what is a standard incline. Thank You

Grades (inclines) are universal, applicable to all scales including the prototype. They are figured in percentages, e.g 2" in 100" (or feet for that matter) = 2%. 2% is considered steep by the prototypes. Model RRs get away w/ 4% but sacrifice train length. So it depends on what type of RR you are going to model - long haul transcon (<2%) or local branch line/switching(<5%)

Are you referring to an "incline railroad" like one that go up the side of a mountain with a cog gear or cable mechanism?

try your best to keep the grades under 2%(on a model rr that would be 2 inches in 100 inches or 1" in 50").

i found that a 1/4 inche per foot works really well and looks good........anything more then that and the cars roll down the hill on their own
just my opinion
stuart

I was going to ask the same question. My question is, my RR is going to have 15 car(average) trains pulled by two six axles(kato and atlas). Can I get away with having 4% grades with 24-28 inch curves climbing up a mountain? Will this setup shorten the life span of the locos over a period of time(due to the stress)?

davef wrote:

> I was going to ask the same question. My question is, my RR
> is going to have 15 car(average) trains pulled by two six
> axles(kato and atlas). Can I get away with having 4% grades
> with 24-28 inch curves climbing up a mountain? Will this setup
> shorten the life span of the locos over a period of time(due to
> the stress)?

Yes, you should be fine using 4% grade without any major damage to your locomotives. Depending on your method of construction, I suggest that you take a look at the inclines sets from Woodland Scenics. They have grades available in 2%(4" in 16\'), 3%(4.5" in 12\'), and 4%(4" in 8\').

They are easy to work with and take all the guesswork out of calculating grades.

-sd80mac-