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I Am Worried About Creating A Siding Off A Grade On My O Gauge Layout. The Grade Is 2.5%, and is about 32 feet long. I Want The Siding, about 90 inches long, To Be Level In The Middle, A Space Of About 50 Inches, As It Will Service A Passenger Station, So What Happens At The End Of The Siding Where The Grade From The Siding Will Become More Than 2.5% But Has To Rejoin The Mainline? Would It Be Prototype To Also Have The Siding On The Same Grade As The Main Track To Service The Passenger Station Which Must Be On Level Grouind?
I'm not quite sure what you're asking. One of the things you can do is not start each word with a capital letter since it makes it hard to read.
Ir sounds like you want to have a siding on a 2.5% grade that dips down to level for a station. As you say, the grade to get down to level and back up to the mainline will have to be more than 2.5%. You'd have to calculate exactly how much run you have from the level are of the station back to the mainline to know the exact grade but I suspect it would be something around 4%, which is too steep for a passenger train.
There are prototype railroads that had passenger stations on grades but they were almost exclusively narrow gauge. Since most stations have team tracks for freight cars, there had to be a reasonably level area to spot cars. If this is just a whistle stop type station with no spurs or sidings, it could be on the same grade as the mainline. The passenger platform, if there was one, would be adjusted to the grade so it was level compared to the track. If it's any kind of larger station with ancillary trackage, I'd urge you to reexamine you track plan to see if you can find a more level spot for the station. In hilly or mountainous areas, it wasn't unusual for the station to be located some distance from town where the grade flattened out and the railroad had a level area for the station and side tracks. If you check out the history of the Barnwell and Searchlight Railroad in Nevada, you'll find an example of where the railroad located the station about a mile outside town to have a flat area and avoid a steep grade into the town of Searchlight.
You answered my question perfectly. The station siding will be a local one with no other trackage involved, so I can make it parallel with the main track grade and as you say, adjust the station platform accordingly. Thanks for your help!
