N scale turn radius help

ga wrote: > what about at normal speed, how tight can you go and still run long

You should easily be able to run 80' cars on 15" at a scale 60mph. Remembering that 60mph in N still looks pretty slow. :)

Cheers David

One thing you can do is get a piece of 30" flex track and a couple 90' passenger cars. Try different radii by tacking down the track in different positions and see how they look to you when you push the cars around it . You can get a wooden yard stick and make a hole in it and use it like a compass to make curves of various radii.

It's generally accepted that 9 1/2" is the minimum radius. However, you can go as low as 8" for short-wheelbase equipment like trolleys. In practice, try to keep your minimum to 11" which gives 2' for a loop. That's small enough for a shelf layout if space is a concern. Yes, longer equipment can look "toy-like" on narrow radius track, but judicious use of scenery (trees, tunnel, cuts and/or buildings) can do a lot to hide that from an eye-level view.

Bill

-- Moderator:

Bill Barr wrote: > It's generally accepted that 9 1/2" is the minimum radius. However, you > can go as low as 8" for short-wheelbase equipment like trolleys.

HO trolleys/trams can easily go as low as 6". Why only 8" for N?

Cheers David

Bill Barr wrote: Yes, longer equipment can look "toy-like" on narrow radius track, but judicious use of scenery (trees, tunnel, cuts and/or buildings) can do a lot to hide that from an eye-level view.

---------------------------------------------------- That's what I did when I constructed my current N scale railroad. Space didn't permit the 19" radius curves I had on my previous layout and I used 11" radius track. I put two tracks at the front of the layout and I store locomotives and cars on these. This creates a "view block" so the tight curves aren't noticed at eye level. I've never been unhappy with this arrangement and it gives me a chance to rotate various cars and locomotives to display and view.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad: