Hi Rail Helix...

Have you tried the "SEARCH" feature on the forum. There has been lots of talk on this subject over the years. Most of it is probably still on here.

Click the search tab at the top, select forums from the list on the left, type in Helix and hit the search button.

Forum member Susan Deats, at one time had photos of an elaborate, muti layered dual track helix on the forum. She may be of some help, too.

Yellercat,

 

For a small footprint helix, an important consideration is the steepness of the grade.

 

For a circular helix, this depends solely on the diameter of the curves used.

 

For example, if you want a 5.5 inch clearance between turns of the helix the following shows the grade vs. track diameter:

 

027 - 6.5%

031 - 5.5%

042 - 4.5%

 

All would be considered very steep grades, very limiting to train length. These are roughly equivalent to the grades on the Lionel trestle sets - good for a small layout with short trains.

 

You need to go with a fairly large helix to get manageable grades for larger equipment and longer trains:

 

054 - 3.2%

063 - 2.8%

072 - 2.4%

 

This is why many use 072 for their helix despite the large area needed for such a helix.

 

Hope this helps on your planning.

 

Jim

THANKS to EVERYONE... the information Jim posted sends me off in the direction I was hoping for, some numbers I can work with... I'll let you know how it works out, but am going to start with the 042 radius... I do not have any huge locomotives, so that is not a concern... THANKS AGAIN, JJ

My first layout helix had 6' diameter outside track and 5' diam. inside track.

 

 

 

My second and current helix has 10' and 9' diameter curves.

 

 

See Helix Track Design web page

THANKS Susan... your Helix is what dreams are made of... WOW... I will study your photos and construction techniques for some ideas... THANKS AGAIN for sharing, JJ

Here's 036 & 048 FasTrack with a 24" rise. Done in SCARM.

 

NOW we're talking... this is exactly what I need... THANKS again... the sketches will be a great help, JJ

Here's a 6" rise per ring using 4 rings- 4.6% grade

 

Mr. MoonMan... Now we're talking... this is PERFECT... takes a lot of the guess work, trial and error out of the equation... right now this is how I am going to proceed... fixing to make a cardboard template and see if the footprint will work out... THANKS so very much, JJ

You can move the approach and exit 90°. It's around 42" to 45" inch square. Will sit nicely on a 48" wide table.

 

 Set the support ladder rungs at the overlapping heights. Round it slightly for ease of fabrication.

 

I'll do it in the track you are using if you like. That's FasTrack.

THANKS for everything... to expedite some future ??? may I contact you directly via eMail???  You may contact me   YellerCat@gMail.com     THANKS, Jay

Yellercat,

sure, that's why it's in my profile.