Grade is measured in terms of rise over run, expressed as a percentage. A rise of 8" over a run of 8' (96") is roughly an 8% grade--8" rise over (almost) 100" run. That's about twice as steep as what is considered the maximum advisable grade for model railroads. If you can stretch that to 16' of track to rise up 8", then you'll be at a 4% grade. I recommend trying not to exceed 3% if at all possible. A train of only 4 to 6 cars with the average loco will not have any trouble on a 3 or 4% grade. But that's not necessarily an invite to pull steeper grades. There are internal forces in the gearing of our locos that tend to cause issues on steep grades regardless of how many cars the loco's pulling.
Later,
K
Later,
K
