Layout Design- Eliminating S Curves

[Ken G Price]

Your "S-Curve " problem came at an excellent time. I am taking time off this Christmas and will be re-doing our layout and we will re-work the "S_Curve"

as you suggest. The S- we currently have does cause problems and derailments

as the speeds approach 50 scale MPH.

Thanks for the tip!!!!!!!!1

Wow, I never run any thing at 50 scale mph. But I have removed and redone any S curves that cause problems Just part of the hobby.

[rogertra]

just wondering how this devolved into an argument over operations? this thread was intended to help others eliminate a problem with their layouts. if you want to debate an unrelated point, start your own thread, don't hijack mine.

Jeff.

I was rebutting your comment about continuous loop railroads.  :-)

Anyway, it's all in the eye of the beholder and if whatever you do on your model railroad makes you happy, then it's achieved its goal.  A theme I constantly repeat.


Merry Christmas.

[pjf]

Hello Jward, I am looking at your post with great interest. It is an elegant solution putting the crossovers on the curves.
I would like to ask you to show us a complete loop with crossovers at booth top ends of the oval.
I have a 4' x 9' +- oval including a reverse loop inside, all EZ-track.
Looking at your drawings I am probably using  the same software. Unfortunately I can not complete the ovals with 3", 4-1/2" and 9" sections. Each loop is off by -+ 1/2" and the reverse section needs to be deformed a bit to fit. Using the crossover the "typical" way all of the sections fit without any distortion.
I hope to see your responce. Cheers pjf

[Doneldon]

pjf-

Don't put in any track arrangement which requires you to deform your track in any way. That is a guarantee of tracking problems with your train. Don't forget that you can shorten a piece of track which is a little too long or cut a short section to fill a gap. Just carefully cut your track and roadbed so you get the correct length. You must have perfectly square, smooth rail ends and use rail joiners at every junction. You will need to cut off the roadbed attachment clips wherever a custom-cut track section joins an intact one. If you need a section which is slightly shorter than what you have, just cut off the excess. If, however, you need something a little longer than what you have you should either piece it with uncut track pieces as close as you can get, and then trim a little off of the longest piece of track in that section. You may find it works best in some circumstances to cut two sections shorter than to end up with a full, uncut piece and one which is less than two inches long.

By the way, this will work on both straight and curved track as long as the curved sections have the same or a very similar
curvature. Things can get stinky if you use radii which are so different that you have different amounts (degrees) of curvature in
two same-length pieces of track. Thus you can use a short piece of 22" radius in an 18" radius curve but you don't want to use track
with greater discrepancy. Ideally, whatever you piece in should be the same as the main part of the curve.

                                                                                                                                                                -- D

[rbryce1]

Don't cut any tracks.  Bachmann sells an Assorted Track Pack that contains (2) 3/4" track segments, (2) 1" track segments, (2) 1.1/4" track segments, and (2) 1.1/2" track segments.  They also sell cards with 2" track segments and 2.1/4" track segments.  This will solve your problem nicely.  They also make 22" half sections, 18" half sections, 18" 1/3 sections and many others.  So far, I have not run into any condition I could not solve using these pieces.

Sometimes you may need to get creative.  1.1/2" + 2" = 3.1/2",   2" + 3" = 5",     1.1/4 + 3" = 4.1/4",   2" + 2" + 3" = 7", ect.

[Jerrys HO]

rbryce

There is nothing wrong with cutting the EZ track. I have done it on my layout. After cutting I usually glue the mating piece to the cut piece to take the place of the connecting plastic tabs.
When you start combining all those little pieces of track you are sure to end up with a rail joiner problem. I myself have lost connection through the joiners and ended up cutting a piece to eliminate all those little pieces.
I try to stay above the 3" piece.

Jerry

[pjf]

Thank you all for the good suggestions. The small add sections come in a pack of 4 or more. Usually one gets used and the rest just stays around. I have cut sections to fit but always cut in the middle and glued that way the locking  ends are preserved. I am hoping that jward will show a drawing that I can compare with mine. pjf

[jward]

i will send some layouts as soon as i get the time to draw them up. in the meantime, here is a plan culled from an old kalmbach layout book from the 1960s, redrawn for ez track. for those interested in tracking down the original, it was called the "verdant valley" and appeared in the original HO railroads you can build. original layout had 15r curves on a 4x6, my version has 18r inner line and 22r outer line, in 4 1/2 x 6.

[pjf]

Thank you Jeffery, that is precisely what I wanted to see. Between each two turnouts the arc needs small pieces of track to be fair. Cheers

[rayport]

It may be timely, at this point in the thread, and especially for those using the short E-Z Track segments to remember the old classic John Armstrong book "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" (Kalmbach Books), chapter 5 has a long discussion on S-curves. There is also a very informative article in "Model Railroad Planning 2005", page 80, by Kenneth Anthony on managing S curves and perhaps more importantly on the smooth flowing/space saving design for pinwheel ladders.

[Jerrys HO]

pjf

You can do the same thing as Jeff with anyrail.com. It can be used for free up 50 pieces of track or you can download the full version for around $50.00. Yes it is a little costly but it has helped me  redesign my layout multiple times.

Jerry

[pjf]

I think the drawings from jward are created on Anyrail and I am using it also. I am amazed, 25 years ago AutoCad was selling for around $4000. This software Anyrail is probably more powerfull than the first version of AutoCad.

[jward]

in my layout drawings i use anyrail for ez track, and atlas rts10 for anything else. when i build my layouts i usually handlay my own track, and my switch tempates are closer to atlas in geometry than anything else.

that said, since my track is custom built i can make things such as curved switches which aren't in any track planning software.

the layouts i post here are anyrail using ez track unless otherwise stated.

[rbryce1]

I think the drawings from jward are created on Anyrail and I am using it also. I am amazed, 25 years ago AutoCad was selling for around $4000. This software Anyrail is probably more powerfull than the first version of AutoCad.

I used AutoCAD 25 years ago and yes, Anyrail is far better than AutoCAD was back then.  In fact, for the purposes we use it for, it is better than AutoCAD is right now!