How-to Set Model railroad grades

[@Filbert1946]

Hey guy great job at 75 years old and I am building my last layout I think. Boy do I wish I had u tube 50 years ago great tips enjoy all your videos thanks young man keep up the good work!!!!

[@JonBanquer]

This is a very helpful video that's extremely well done. The quality of your work is also superb. I do wish you used dimensional lumber like 1x4 pine. I prefer it over plywood. I'm old school and prefer L girder construction. Your videos show a true love and gift to the model railroading community. Respect! Jon

[@MRBenchwork]

Thank you for the kind words. It's taken a long time to get to where I'm at and I'm honestly still learning and finding new tricks and techniques. I'm glad KZbin has provided the opportunity to share all of this with others as I believe the journey is just as important as the end result. I very purposely do not use Dimensional lumber for a number of reasons but it's pretty easy to copy most of my techniques with dimensional lumber, at least the nicer stuff like clear pine or hardwoods. For me it's all about ease of use, dimensional stability and really cost, as Lumber that's not garbage quality usually ends up being more expensive than a sheet of Baltic Birch plywood ripped into strips. As for L girder, It's a great method until you have to move a layout or someone leans on it in the wrong spot so generally I'm not a fan.

[@JonBanquer]

@@MRBenchwork Your hardwork and constant striving to be better has paid off in spades. To anyone paying attention this is obvious... even if they love L girder construction and pine it's impossible to ignore. You certainly deserve continued success.

[@barnfulloftrains]

Thanks for showing your ideals.- Gary

[@BALD8BIL]

You have incredible tips thanks for sharing with us

[@RattleSnakeScaleModeler]

looks awesome Ondrew !!

[@MRBenchwork]

Thanks!

[@scottsmith7051]

Great tip!

[@MRBenchwork]

Thanks for watching!

[@HumancityJunction]

Yes, I like these videos!

[@ChrisSgaraglino]

I am assuming you leave the track plans on the plywood lay track over it. What/how do you glue that paper down?

[@MRBenchwork]

Usually yes I glue it down. Ultimately it's covered by cork anyway so it's really a non issue.

[@file1man]

Im building a 2 track elevated oval above my main board.My engines are mostly premier mth, o gauge, both diesels and steam loco. Im leaving about 1 inch overhang from where the tracks ties end, on each side. For 2 tracks, its lionel tubular,side by side, 1 an outside o72 oval, and an inside 054 oval. Therefore,the actual elevated board is 9 inches wide. Im nervous since its 14 inches high and if a $800 premier engine derails, its disaster. Is a 9 inch board width enough to avoid catastrophic falls those 14 inches? Should I be worried.

[@file1man]

Im building a 2 track oval, elevated 14 inches above my main board.

[@adibis.vanced]

Question about the top of riser: for, say 4% grade, won't the flat top of riser be at an angle to the subroadbed? Or is that negligible? Also, what do you do if you need riser between bench supports?

[@MRBenchwork]

with a 4% grade yes there can be an issue with a flat topped riser. You can do one of three things, cut the top of the riser at an angle, install a shim or just leave the screws a little loose. My preference is to leave the screws a little loose and shim only where necessary as there's no added value for the extra time needed for cutting angle topped risers. If I need a riser between benchwork supports I add a new piece of support framing or in some cases (clearance issues typically) I will screw a longer piece of 1x2 under the segment of sub roadbed turning it into a T beam that bridges a gap.

[@adibis.vanced]

@@MRBenchwork thanks! I was wondering if you use miter saw then would a jig to cut a slope when cutting the risers be fast enough and also provide the necessary slope on top of risers? Like at 13 inches 4% would be half inch of height. So just screw a stop block at that height and cut the angles?

[@MRBenchwork]

A half inch rise in 13 inches would be more equivalent to a 16% grade. I don’t even recommend this in o gauge so I’m not going to share how I’d do this as I never would.

[@adibis.vanced]

@@MRBenchwork err, 0.5/13 would lead to 3.85% grade. Am I missing something?

[@crazymanjnorcross1]

On a O scale layout how much feet do you need to go up 6.5 with a 2%

[@MRBenchwork]

A 1" rise over 100" is a 1% grade. 325 inches = 27ft is your answer. Keep in mind that O scale can take steeper grades so don't rip your hair out over this. here's a grade calculator if need be: www.modelbuildings.org/track-grade-calculator/

[@mikecharles7037]

I'm in Florida, designed new HO layout, ready to start, how far from Tampa are you? Mike Charles

[@MRBenchwork]

About 40 minutes with no traffic

[@DonDyer-t9r]

Everyone is good about telling me about what I don't want to know how about telling me what I need to know like how steep a grade can an o train travel how wide should the base be etc

[@MRBenchwork]

O gauge will take larger grades than smaller scales but it depends on how long/heavy the train is. I’ve found 6% or less is the sweet spot for O. The width is 4 inches for single track and 8.5 for double track typically.

[@darricktatum5245]

Hi how do I contact you I would like to have something like that built please let me know thanks in advance

[@MRBenchwork]

modelrailroadbenchwork.com

[@bobkohl6779]

This does not explain how to set grade! How do you ser a 2 degree grade????

[@MRBenchwork]

1” over 100” is 1%. 2” over 100” is 2%. In a lot of cases people are just winging it with a starting and ending elevation so it made sense to show people how to connect the two elevations. Besides, it’s better and more reliable to set the start and end of a grade and just connect the two verses trying to do some sort of complicated junk with a level as there’s too much opportunity for error in that method. I think I posted a grade table in the comments of this video, it’s a google drive link. If not let me know and I’ll add the link.

[@bobkohl6779]

Please add the link