HO Width Clearance Question

Jul 10, 2004 4 Replies

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Gary 22 years ago

Hi all;

I'm new to the group so cheers to all, and i'm pretty new to Model Railroading.

I have a quick question.

My wife and I are dicussing a housewide layout that will take advantage of unique ledges that exisit through out the entire house.

HO would be our prefered size only because of the variety of settings and cost, etc given the overall size of this layout.

I dont' have any HO around the house here to figure this out so i'm sure someone has some around that hey can measure out for me.

I need to know the approximate width clearance needed for HO track ( including a cork trackbed ). Im looking at the ledges are they seem wide enough for track/bed and some foliage scenery but i want to be sure.

thanks for all the help in advance.

Cheers,

Gary

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Keith Norgrove 22 years ago

I would suggest 3 inches wide for one track then add 2 inches for each additional track, but remember corners need a reasonable radius bend,

2 feet to be comfortable, could be tricky if your ledges have outside corners. Keith

Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.

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Geezer 22 years ago

I suggest you visit the National Model Railroad Association's web site. This group has established several standards which may be of use to you. In particular, try

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Gary 22 years ago

Thanks for the information Keith,

Corners won't be a problem since we will be adding expansion to the corners to facilitate turns.

We will mostly go one track on the ledges, with track changers ( i don't know the official term ) in areas where the ledges widen out.

Ledge is plenty wide for single track plus some for foilage scenery...

God I hope this works : )

Gary

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Wolf Kirchmeir 22 years ago

...snip...

I think you should buy or borrow one of those basic model railroading books. It will tell you all you need to know, including stuff you don't yet know that you need to know. Buy an issue or two of the model railroad mags, too.

Have fun!

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