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I purchased a 8-foot aluminum straightedge at Lowes. It is sold as a cutting guide for circular saws, and the 8-foot length is designed to help you cut a full sheet of plywood. It comes apart into two, 4-foot sections, which are just dandy for drawing perfectly straight centerlines and laying straight track.
Thanks once again guys for all of your help,oh and great pics too. I understand how to install cork roadbed and track now, it means everything to not have to reinvent the wheel and just to check with all of you who have done this many times. I was also wondering about the size of the radius on the turns as flextrack will let you make your own turn I just dont want to run into any issues with derailing due to a sharp turn. I am sure that there is a trick to this too. LOL ......Thanks again guys.
How much space do you have at the widest point of the layout? That will determine the radius. If you have four feet, the maximum radius is going to be 22". That's 44" of the 48" available to provide you with two inches of clearance on the layout edge. Five feet works the same way. Divide 60 inches by 2 then minus 4. You'd have space for a 26" radius curve. Same formula for any other measurements. 22" curves are really the minimum you should try for if you want to run six axle power or bigger steam engines and even that's pretty sharp. The bigger the curve radius, the better. With flex track, you can make a curve that fits an odd measurement and make the most of it. Sectional track determines how much space you need for the curve since the radius is fixed.
Also, I go ahead and lay 95 percent of a curve and secure it that way, then bend the rails through the rest of the turn and trim. Then I let it go (so it straightens out on the end again) and solder the next piece on (soldering the rail joiners). Then I continue laying and securing the track till I come towards the end of the next piece and repeat. This insures no kinks at the joints.
Jim, I believe the original poster is building a N-scale layout, no? We don't want him to think he needs 22" curves for N-scale. Not that 22" curves wouldn't look terrific! But for N-scale, he should be aiming for minimum 11" radius curves to run six-axle diesel power and big steam.
Jeff, the scale is immaterial, the calculations work the same. My mistake was using an HO example . For N scale, you need 22" plus 4" to get about the same curvature as a 22" radius in HO scale. In this case, a 26" wide layout would suffice. As you can see, the relationship between the space needed for HO and N scale curves is not just a matter of cutting the HO scale measurements in half.
I am working with a 6'6" by 8' layout and you guys hit the nail right on the head the bigger the radius the better. Jim thanks for the math end of this because I think it works out to almost a 28" radious wich will be fine I think. I was just wondering if most trains will run on that radious because in just starting out I am sure I will try many different engines out just to see what ones I like the most. I ended up going to my first railroad show this weekend and man was it overwhelming. I couldn't even get to see everthing thier were so many folks that love this hobby I was just fascinated. I can't wait for the next show I had a great time. In regards to engines I was wondering what makes are the better ones to purchase? the range in price was very dramatic on some engines.I am sure that most people have their own preference as which manufacturer they stick with.Thanks again guys.
I understand how the calculations work, Jim. I was merely concerned that a newcomer would read "22" curves are really the minimum you should try for ..." and assume it was a blanket statement about minimum curve radius that applied to N-scale.
In the context of fitting the curves to available space, you are, of course, exactly right.
Jeff you were exactly right,I thought that same thing as you stated. I didn't get it right away, I forgot I need some extra room so thanks for pointing that out.
Jeff, point taken. John, one of the ways to prevent confusion is to list your scale in your signature, as you see in mine. My memory is not good enough to remember everyone's scale choice. As far as engine choices, my N scale friends tell me that Atlas, Kato, and Walthers Proto N line are all good quality. Kato is usually the highest price but the details and overall quality is better than the other two. Big power Kato engines tend to be tempermental on sharp curves but a 28" radius curve in N scale will handle just about any engine made today.
Here is a web resource that's just great if you want to get a quick opinion about nearly any N-scale engine. Each loco is graded A, B, C, D, or F: Spookshow's N-Scale Locomotive Encyclopedia
The spookshow link is a great resource thats been around a long time. The guy that runs it hangs out on the Atlas forums if you ever need to talk to him. He goes by.......drumroll please.......Spookshow! Nice guy too!
I don't know about HO scale, but Spookshow has recently unveiled a similar resource for freight cars, the N-Scale Freight Car Encyclopedia. He has more than 750 N-scale freight cars listed so far.
Well so far my job has dominated most of my time leaving me chomping at the bit for some rail time. I have managed to set the banboard to the inside of the office walls and cutout the plywood for my layout which ended up going through a wall and circling into the next room. I managed to end up with about a 28" curve which should be ok with any engine as stated. I am too the point where another weekend should put me at the point where I can think about some power to the rails. I could use some help in selecting a controller as there are so many out there. I understand DCC is the way to go but I will stand by for some imput on this subject as well as everything else you guys have done for me. I was also wondering if any of the engines that I have will run on DCC as I am sure they are not DCC ready. Thanks again for all of your help.
Even though some of your locos may not be DCC ready, it should be possible to "hardwire" a decoder in there. What you have to be sure of is that the motor is not grounded to the frame. Unless they're very old engines they're probably OK, but better safe than sorry....
. For N scale, you need 22" plus 4" to get about the same curvature as a 22" radius in HO scale. In this case, a 26" wide layout would suffice. As you can see, the relationship between the space needed for HO and N scale curves is not just a matter of cutting the HO scale measurements in half.
As far as engine choices, my N scale friends tell me that Atlas, Kato, and Walthers Proto N line are all good quality. Kato is usually the highest price but the details and overall quality is better than the other two. Big power Kato engines tend to be tempermental on sharp curves but a 28" radius curve in N scale will handle just about any engine made today.
