This is great information. As it happens, today I found a train shop that had the pier sets and they had several set up in their display (which was full of Dept 56), they showed me how the pieces went together and talked about the gradient.  I bought one specifically for On30 and some  extra EZ track. Thank you for that ratio of shimmed to regular piers. 

I have a Christmas set that I put in a Dept. village (engine, tender and two passenger cars). I saw a graduated pier set on Amazon that looked perfect for me to use in a village for a month or so. The reviews on Amazon are mixed on whether it can support the engine and cars and that getting the grade correctly can be problematic. Can someone comment on how to avoid slippage, etc. and go into some detail as to how to achieve the right spacing and gradient? One of the reviewers suggested two sets combined would be better.  I am less than a novice. When Bachmann came up with E-Z track, they were thinking of me. Thank you.