Risers

[Trainiac77]

Has anyone ever used the foam riser kits from woodland scenics for N scale? I was wondering if the 2% grade would be too much?

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[Boilerman]

I used their 2% grade ones and liked them but they are costly.

 

[S class]

Yeah I was thinking of using them because my grade has to be on a reverse curve, but would 2% be too much even for a 5 car train?

whatI really need to justify is the $45 it would cost for a set compared to some scrap plywood and risers i can make myself - any thoughts guys?

 

[Trainiac77]

Because I use hollow core doors as my base, adding more plywood defeats the purpose of making the lightest layout I can for portability. I was looking online and found a hobby shop that will sell me 4 sets for about $75. Is that too much?
If I had a stationary layout I think I would use 1/4 inch luan plywood and make it myself.

 

[Mountain Man]

You can make foam risers yourself for a fraction of the cost.

As for whether or not a 2% grade is too much, the only way to tell is to test your loco with the anticipated load. It's a lot more expensive to build the layout and then find out the loco can't handle it.

I use an eight foot board - 96 inches is close enough for rough calculations - and run a straight test tack on it. Elevate one end, hook up the loaded cars and throttle up. It's easy enough to adjust the grade in order to determine what the loco will take.

You will be surprised which engines are work horses and which ones are wimps.

 

[Trainiac77]

Sounds like a good idea. I guess I could use the pink foam then to make the incline.