RAILROAD LOCATION 



Compensation for Curva- 

 ture. The effect of curva- 

 ture on a railroad line is to 

 cause a resistance to the 

 movement of trains. When 30 

 a. curve occurs on a gra- 

 dient, the effect of the curve 

 resistance on ascending 

 trains is practically the 

 same as increasing the gra- 

 dient. It is customary in 

 fixing the final grades to 

 lighten the grade on a curve 

 an amount sufficient to 

 offset the resistance due to 

 the curvature. This opera- 

 tion is called compensating 

 for curvature. The usual 

 rate of compensation for 

 curvature is .03 to .05 ft. *0 

 per hundred feet per degree 

 of curvature. For example, 

 where the maximum gra- 

 dient on tangents is 1%, 

 the maximum gradient on 

 a 6 curve, allowing a com- 

 pensation of .03 ft. per 

 degree, would be 1 (.03 

 X 6) = .82%. If a compen- 

 sation of .05 ft. per degree 

 were made, the grade on a 

 6 curve would be 1-(.05 

 X6) = .70%. 



Final Grade Lines. The 

 establishing of final grade so 

 lines is illustrated in Fig. 3, 

 where the uncompensated 

 grade is 1.3%, and the 

 compensation for curvature, 



FIG. 3 



