Live steam refers to miniature, working models of steam-powered vehicles, such as locomotives, boats, and stationary...
Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
Live steam refers to miniature, working models of steam-powered vehicles, such as locomotives, boats, and stationary...
A boxfile layout is a creative and compact way to build a model railway within the confines of a standard box file,...
Cleaning your model railway tracks with IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) is an effective method to remove dirt, grime, and...
You understand the importance of authenticity and detail in your models. British Railways (BR) wagon diagrams are an...
Despite the title of this article being a bit scary, we simply want to explore sustainable practices and materials...
When working out the gradient for an incline on a model railway, your research may well uncover advice and tolerances expressed in two different ways.
A good example of this is the many articles written advising that an optimum gradient should be between 1 in 30 and 1 in 50. But then you read another article advising a gradient of between 2 and 4%, and that can be a little confusing.
Fortunately, converting the measurements is easy. Simply divide 100 by the number in a percentage gradient and that will give you the second part of its equivalent fraction gradient. (the first part is always 1).
This is how that might look for a 4% gradient: 100 divided by 4 equals 25. Therefore the equivalent fraction gradient would be 1 in 25.
This time we work out a 3% gradient: 100 divided by 3 equals 33.3. Therefore the equivalent fraction gradient would be 1 in 33, and so on.
This also works for converting gradient measurements the opposite way round. When presented with a fraction gradient, divide 100 by the last part of the fraction to find the percentage. For example, a 1 in 50 gradient would be converted by dividing 100 by 50. The answer (2) is the gradient expressed as a percentage.
Here we see a 1 in 30 gradient converted: 100 divided by 30 equals 3.3. Therefore the equivalent percentage gradient would be 3.3% (this would usually be rounded down to 3%).
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