Kato UNITRACK

[J.Albert]

My GUESS is the SD70 will make it around the 19.25" Kato curves.
BUT... you might need to put an extra-long shank Kadee on it so it doesn't pull the trailing car off the rails, as bns mentions above.

 

[Stormboy]

The absolute minimum radius for that engine is 22", and at that radius you'll still have problems with it dragging the first car of a train off the rails on that curve.

Thank you for your explanation. I understand that so much better than just a “NO” as previous answer.

 

[freescopesdad]

I see you still appear to be undecided about HO vs N. My layout is Kato N scale. I have several 4400's and SD's (Kato, BLI) and none have any issues with 11 3/32" radius track, although I try to maximize radius wherever possible. Hope this helps. Ron

 

[Stormboy]

Hello Ron. Thank you for thoughts. I suppose I will be going N scale. I will be doing a 3 x5.5/6 in my available space. This will be in a bedroom I use for an “office “. It will be a little tight but, oh well. What size layout do you have?

 

[freescopesdad]

My layout is in my unheated, detached garage up here in NorCal. Originally it was around the walls (minus the garage door) of my 18x18 garage. Then I sold my Miata last fall and have since added a u-shaped peninsula into the middle. DCC with ESU ECoS control. I started about 3 years ago but a layout is never really finished. My spring project is to redo a lot of the accessory wiring under the benchwork for building and street lights, and add more. Also signal crossings.

You can do a lot in 3x6 feet, but see if you can stretch that to 3x8, then you can use a hollow core door for the surface. There are a ton of published track plans for that online.

 

[freescopesdad]

Stormboy, I see you haven't posted since your last one above on 03/05. Have you any progress to report? Ron

 

[Sir Robbins]

Continuous was my initial desire. May give switching a second look. I’ve been back and forth for the last two months. I have found a layout I like. This is driving me crazy. Lol

I was set on HO and went the switching route. I built a shelf layout in the shape of an L in my room. each section is 8 feet long by 15 inches wide. I feel ya. I love Amtrak and the radius needed to prototypically clear curves is too big for my space.