radius

[tford]

I have read alot of posts about min radius; My question is this. When someone says that a 22" min radius will work best for a specific engine or specific length passenger car are they talking about realistic appearances or are they saying the engine or car won't work at all? 

[ABC]

It would be the car or locomotive will be able to negotiate the curve most of the time, because in order to look realistic you need 30"+ radius curves. For example a passenger car may have a minimum radius of 24", but look horrible due to the overhang, and probably would not look good on anything less than 30" or so. Often times, a manufacturer may state that it can make 18" radius curves or 22" radius curves, but half the time the loco or car will fail to negotiate the curve without derailing or becoming uncoupled. Not to mention it doesn't look realistic by any means.

[full maxx]

yeah tru dat the over hang is considerable but I don't mind or should I say my engineer don't mind as long as the wheels keep rolling...he's happy

[tford]

That's the real question; is it a question of realistic or is a question of trains wont run. i would think that if a 18" radius was to small for most trains to run on then why would most hobby stores carry more 18" stuff than other sizes and why would most train sets come with 18" radius track?

[ABC]

That's the real question; is it a question of realistic or is a question of trains wont run. i would think that if a 18" radius was to small for most trains to run on then why would most hobby stores carry more 18" stuff than other sizes and why would most train sets come with 18" radius track?

There is a simple answer-space- that is all most people have room for is 18" radius curves, although you can squeeze 22" radius curves on a 4'x8' it is a tight fit and most people just opt with the easy to use 18" sectional track over flex track. Most people are satisfied with a 36" circle of track (18" radius) and running it around the X-mas tree or on a table. Most kids that I know don't care about realism and wouldn't find anything wrong with a DD40 on 15" radius track followed by a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, carrying an articulated auto carrier and an 89' box car. The only problem is that none of these can even rest on 15" radius curves let alone negotiate them. Heck they all require at least a 22" radius just to make the curves half of the time, and probably would need at least 24" radius for reliable running. And these would all require at least 30+ inch radius curves to look even reasonable let alone good.

[uncbob]

I run 2 ovals 18 and 22 on my 4x10
No problem getting the 22 as long as you don't want outside sidings which I don't

My main pleasure is watching them run not seeing how much stock I can have on sidings etc

[jward]

why 18" radius?

it has been a standard size for at least 50 years, abnd dates from an era of 40 foot freis\ght cars and smaller locomotives. most train sets sold use 18" radius, small steam or diesel locomotives, and 40 or 50 foot freight cars. all work well on 18" radius track.

modern railroading is dominated by massive 6 axle diesels, and freight cars up to 90 feet are common. passenger cars are also in hte 80-90 foot range. these are not going to perform well on 18" radius, but most will work on 22. they will look much better on wider radii such as 36" however.

my advice is to use 22 or 24 if possible, but if you can't use the 18. make your railroad represent a time and place where smaller cars and locomotives were the norm, say the 1950s, or ever a branch line winding through the mountains of west virginia in the 1990s, where larger cars and locomotives were prohibited from operating due to sharp curves.

[uncbob]

I don't even run 50 fters on my 22

I think sticking with 40 is better and there are plenty of 40 fters or less out there including gondolas -ore cars and coal hoppers

Funny thing though I can run my Berk on the 22 and it looks ok  and the -Northern even looks acceptable

The only passenger cars that don't look weird on the 22 are the early Overland types which can be run as a fan fare type set up

So I would say you are limited to freight on the 22 and 18

[uncbob]

Here is a pic of my 22 and 18 with 2 sidings off the inside 18

You can see it fits the 48" wide plywood alright
A work in progress with no ballast or scenery yet

[full maxx]

I like the plexi glass border as my 2-8-0 has hit the floor twice but only caused cosmetic damage, still runs great

[uncbob]

Yeah I learned real quick about adding the plexiglass especially since klutzy me  can knock them on the floor without a derailment 

[chaynes]

How is a radius measured in terms of track (I know what radius is)?---From center of track to center of track?  Essentially I am trying to plan how wide an area an 18" radius or 22" radius will consume.

thanks
Chris

[ABC]

center line distance

[jward]

it is measured center to center as you have guessed. i'd add at least 4" to the diameter to ensure the track isn't right on the edge of the table.
thus:18" radius requires a minimum of 40", 22 requires 48".....

[chaynes]

...thank you for the information.  Excuse my ignorance, but if flex track is used, could I not build a curve with any size radius, such as 20", and not use an industry standard like 18 or 22"?  Would there be any potential problem with doing this???

Chris