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Grading an Industry Spur
Ron models OO and writes:
“I’m planning to grade my roadbed down to the benchwork level at perhaps 45cm which I think in US terms is around 18 inches. With a vertical curve, I don’t want coupler issues and wondered if this is too short. What would be the shortest I could go to?”
3 Responses to Grading an Industry Spur
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18 inches should be okay. Be careful to make the transitions at the top and bottom of the slope smooth. Abrupt transitions between level and sloped track is where coupler problems happen.
Due to space constraints between the main and yard track I have done this transition in a foot with success. As mentioned the important step is assuring the top and bottom transitions are smooth and not abrupt.
They are correct, if the angle of connection between cars becomes to severe, the couplers will ride apart. The trick is where the sloping track and the benchwork level track meet, I feel this decending slope should be no more severe than 2 %.
You might have to decend at a faster slope and then ease up to 2 percent so as to not decouple.