Track Measurements

[PhatVu]

Hello,

I considering buying the HO Acela Express set and have 2 questions.

1.  If installing 15'' radius EZTrack in a circle, what is the diameter for the outer rim and the diameter for the inner rim?

2.  Can this set run, at a reasonable speed without derailing, on a 15'' radius track?  The set comes with a 22'' track set but won't fit my layout.

Greatly appreciate your time and help.

Phat Vu

[SteamGene]

AFAIK, it will not work on 15" radius.  If it does, it will look awful.  My minimum radius is 30" and 80' passenger cars still hang over too much in curves.
Gene

[Hunt]

1.  If installing 15'' radius EZTrack in a circle, what is the diameter for the outer rim and the diameter for the inner rim?

Roadbed of HO gauge E-Z Track is just a little less than 2 inches wide. Radius is measured to centerline of track.
•   Diameter for the outer rim = just under 32"
•   Diameter for the inner rim = just under 28"

2.  Can this set run, at a reasonable speed without derailing, on a 15'' radius track?

No

19 inch curve radius is the recommended minimum for the N scale Acela Express.

[ebtbob]

Good Morning All,

      As many of you know.....I work partime in a train store.   Over the years,  from talking to customers and from personal experience,   I now believe the best piece of advice I can give is this.....if the manufacturer says the minimum radius is such and such,  add two inches to that minimum.   

Bob

[Bojangle]

Consider the following, quoted from Wikipedia:

"The curve radii used (in HO) are still much less than those on full-size railroads. For instance, a full-size railroad curve with a radius of 800 meters (roughly 2500 feet or about one half mile) would require a radius of a bit over 345 in (876.3 cm), far more than a typical "gentle" curve using hand-laid track on a high-quality layout. Curvature equivalent to that used by real railroads is simply impractical because of the limited size of the layout."

The longest cars I run are 50' boxcars, and they don't look good on the 18" track which I am limited to now.  I am building an addition to my shop/office, but even then I will be limited to 22" radius, so I will continue to limit my cars to 50' .  I can now see why the "purists" hide the curves behind barriers or in  tunnels.  So I guess my "no spin" answer would be, if you are limited to 15" track, don't buy the Acela; it may run, but you probably won't like the appearance.

Bo

[PhatVu]

All,

Thanks a great deal for the help!!

Best regards,
Phat