need help with the helix

[wilsonb03]

I got an idea on how to build a helix but I am not excatly for sure. I am wanting to go up 18" with a HO scale. Can I run the track on top of each other or do I start out with a bigger radius and get smaller. I want two tracks to go up. I want them to pull about 30 cars so I know it can't have to much of a incline. If anyone can I would really appreciate it.

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Hi Wilson, welcome to the Gauge! There have been many discussiond of helix's and alternatives in the past. If you do a search for "helix" ther are several pages of threads.

http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1709&highlight=helix

Here's a link to one of the more thorough ones.

Gary

 

[60103]

Wilson, for years we called it a "spiral", till some bright boy told us that a spiral meant that the radius decreased as you went around. So now we call it a "helix", and it's worth 8 points more in Scrabble.