Grade question

[SteamGene]

I want no more than a 2% grade.  How much elevation is needed every foot for a 1% grade and a 2% grade? 
I know there are math whizes out there who can do this and keep their shoes on.  I'd have to go out with a very large protractor and do it physically. 
Thanks. 
Gene

[Jim Banner]

Measuring grades in 1/8's of an inch per foot is close enough to percent for most practical purposes.  So a 1% grade would be 1/8" per foot of run, a 2% grade would be 2/8" or 1/4" per foot, a 3% grade would be 3/8" per foot and so on.

[SteamGene]

Thanks, Jim.  That's about what I thought, but I wanted to be sure.  The club helix humps bother me as I work on mine. 
Gene

[pdlethbridge]

1% 1 in 100, 2% 2 in 100, 3% 3 in 100, and so forth. The measurements of 1/8 per foot would actually be 1 in 96 or 1.04%

[SteamGene]

I know that it's one in one hundred.  But my risers are a foot apart, so I need the X in one foot equation.  I can live with 1.04 or 2.08.  I can even compensate a bit, I think.
Gene

[Seasaltchap]

Sounds like an outdoor layout.

Stop the messing-about mixing your units!

Get outside the box![/]

Go Metric !

When you know your level:-

1% =  1cm/metre

2% =  1cm/2 metres

etc.

Regards

[Seasaltchap]

2% = 2cm/metre etc. !!!!

[SteamGene]

If I had metric rules I would.  If I could find a surplus aiming circle, I'd use mils and metric.   
(1 mil = 1 meter at 1000 meters)
Gene

[Atlantic Central]

Anyone who needs more acuracy than Jim's formula for this job, needs way more theapy than model trains can provide.

My Sears digital level is very nice for this job, but it seams no more acurate than than a level and a tape measure properly used.

Sheldon

[Seasaltchap]

Some of you obviously haven't tried to buy a yard-stick recently!

There's rough n' ready, and there's rough n' ready!

Regards

[SteamGene]

This was probably used a hundred years ago, but I put in the first three risers the hard way.  Then I took a four foot metal rule, laid it over the fixed risers and clamped the next riser so it touched the rule.  After making sure the riser was level along its long axis I screwed the riser in.  The grade should be uniform.
Gene

[pacifier]

About 10 years ago I downloaded a program named APSCU off the internet. It has been one of the handiest modeling programs I've used. At the time the writer asked $5.00 for it, so it was cheap. The pogram calculates grades, it also calculates proto to just about any scale you could name. Their is only one problem with it, he has since stopped selling it. I don't know what the legality is to copy it for others to use. Maybe somebody with legal knowledge could help out here.