Narrow gauge grades.

N

normhart

Trainz Entry Level
I am having a fine time converting an existing DEM based Route to wood burning operations and wanted to add lumber operations to support wood fuel production. Initially I was just going to have a logging operation along side the standard gauge mainline but, after delving into all the interesting MLOG stuff, I got a bit more ambitious. :)

To test the possibilities I ran a narrow gauge 36" track beside an existing road and then ran a locomotive up it while looking at a HUD display of the grades. The track/road starts at sea level and climbs to 510 meters at the crest of the ridge in a distance of about 5 Km. Most of the track was at a 9% grade but two sections hit 25% and 30%. :eek:

Searching on Google informed me that there are existing adhesion based narrow gauge tourist trains running with grades of 9%-11% but I was unable to discover much about typical logging maximum grades. Since I am focused on wood fired locomotives the only 36" gauge available are a Porter and a 2-2 Shay.

So... what maximum grades can I get away with on a narrow gauge trainz layout?
 
In the real world the Uintah RR had 7.5 % grades and 66 degree curves (thats sharper then 18 in radius in HOn3). They ran a shay, two 2-6-6-2T's and a 2-4-0 (I think).

Ben
 
bendorsey said:
In the real world the Uintah RR had 7.5 % grades and 66 degree curves (thats sharper then 18 in radius in HOn3). They ran a shay, two 2-6-6-2T's and a 2-4-0 (I think).

Ben
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong Ben but the Uintah was a "mainline" railroad wasn't it? Not a semi-temporary logging railroad with much less money spent on grading and laying track.

Edit: I did a little research in the Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History Vol IV (California) and discovered that less than a quarter of the railroads listed had a recorded Max Grade. Of those that did:

Diamond & Calador RR 38mi. 36" 8%
Long-Bell Lumber Co 60mi. 56.5" 10%
Tecopa RR 9.5mi. 56.5" 13%
Yosemite Sugar Pine Co. 39.5mi. 56.5" 8%
 
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I would stick with 2.5% as a max ... You can go ahead and lay track steeper than 5%, but a loco would not be able to pull too many cars in real life, unless it was a shay, climax, heisler ... etc ...

With a DEM you can get rollercoaster grades, but you have to even out the leaps and dips in track gradients, and adjust them, making cuts and fills.
 
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Err...

Must not have read the first post I guess, I would be running Shays and it would be mostly empty skeleton cars headed up the hill. There might be Porters at the top and bottom for switching. The occasional supply run might go up to the logging camps and there might be the occasional tourist run I suppose, both powered by Shays of course. At this point I am leaning towards leaving most of the route as is with grades up to 13% or so and making bypasses (loops or switchbacks) for those sections of the road that hit grades above that. If I am able that is.

I took a quick ride on Clear Lake and it has grades up to 8%.
 
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I'm not sure I'd classify the Unintah as a "mainline" road. Its sole purpose was to haul gilsonite (essentially, oil shale) from the mines to a distribution point. It would make an interesting shortline prototype for modeling, but with limited operating potential.
 
I wouldn't call it a mainline in the usual sense but I suppose you could call it a shortline. It was 3 ft gauge. It wasn't a logging road with super temporary track (by that I mean they moved it every month or so when the trees in the area were logged out). It shipped mostly a product called gilsonite in bags on flatcars. It did have passenger cars (2 or 3 I think) and 2 cabooses (one a wooden bobber - the other more modern). The 2-6-6-2T's are available but not from the DLS. There is a section on it in the book Narrow Gauge in the Rockies by Beebe & Clegg which sez it was 62 miles end to end. There were also some cattle cars which were usually placed between the passenger cars due to the excess passenger car coupler swing on the 66 degree curves. They had a fairly modern private car.

Engine-wise they had:
Two shays.
Two 2-8-0s
Two saddle tank engines (0-6-0's I think). Capacity was 1 combination passenger car (really).
Two 2-6-6-2T's. Photos often show them with what looks like a tender behind them but it was just an auxilliary water car. They eventually went to the Sumpter Valley RR in Oregon where they were converted to true tender engines.

Would make an interesting RR for some Trainzer to model.

Ben
 
The DHR is a 24-inch NG railroad and has grades approaching 12-14%. This is sometimes overcome by using a switchback to gain height even faster. Until the great landslides and flooding damage, the route was only 54 miles long and took around 8 hours to go from bottom (320ft) to top (7405 ft).

Consists were made up of a small steam engine and up to three passenger/freight cars.

Bill
 
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