Welcome to this faulous forum and to the best small scale. As it so happens I'm wrestling with the matter of grades right now!

When I planned the layout I'm building now (an elongated figure 8) I didn't really think too much about grades, but thought the 4% maximum recommended by Marklin should be OK. Well, it is for locos running light and for very short trains but not for most long passenger or freight trains.

I'd suggest that for the reliable and realistic main line running of typical mainline freight and passenger traffic you should be looking at about 2% or 2.5% at the most. I've managed to get mine down to 3%, which is still a bit of a struggle for some locos. What you should also avoid, if at all possible for your main line, is to have curves on a grade - a long train going around a curve drags on the loco whether going up a grade or not.

As for branch lines with very short trains like you describe, 4% should be OK. Maybe even more if you're game. To test it out, set up a length of track on a plank and prop one end up to get the grade you want.

In all this, loco weight can be an issue. Just like the real thing, a heavier loco gets better traction.

Which country do you live in? A recommendation - if you can, get hold of the Marklin track planning book, Cat # 0296 for the English version. It's a valuable source for those new to the scale and to the Marklin way.

Also important on a grade: keep the track clean! Specially some grease can cause a lot of problems on a grade.
Märklin has a special DMU to clean the tracks, a well worth investment (Marklin 88021).

The standard recommendation is not to go above 2%. I have found this to be the most reliable for operations. Since you are only looking at running a small loco with 2-3 cars, you may be able to get away with 3% or possibly 4%. I design my layouts so the main lines have not grades. This really goes a long way for operations. I do grade my branch lines and keep them to no more than 2%. This gives me a good mix of trains work over and under the main line.

I agree with keeping the track clean. I use Gaugemasters to help keep the rails in runner order. I love these and have them connected to all of my transformers. It is definitely worth it to add these between your rails and transformers.

Rob

Hi and Welcome to the forum, Enchantkid.