Stripping enamel paint from a model can seem like a delicate process, but with the right tools and techniques, it's...
Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
Stripping enamel paint from a model can seem like a delicate process, but with the right tools and techniques, it's...
Servicing your model railway locomotive is an essential part of maintaining its performance and longevity. Regular...
Fixing warped plastic parts on a model can be a bit tricky, but it's a manageable task with some patience and the...
The UK railway scale is called 00 gauge (pronounced "double-O") due to its origins as a smaller alternative to the...
For decades, British Rail (BR) was a symbol of national unity in transport, linking cities, towns and villages across...
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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