What's the largest turn radius I can use on a 4'X8' table using HO EZ tracks?

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


R

Rob94hawk

New Member
As the question states above I would like to get 2, or even 3 ovals on a 4x8 table using Bachman HO EZ tracks.

I bought my son an Athearn P59 with 3 Sounder Bombardier coaches and I know they have a difficult time with 18" turns so I wanted to get the most out of a 4x8 table that I have.

Plus I have a UP DD40AX that doesn't really like tight turns as well.

So what is the largest turn radius for EZ tracks? 20", 22"? Thanx
 
Getting more then 2 ovals in a 4x8 will require something far less then 18" radius! 22" will just about take up the whole 4' width on its own.
 
Since you have 48" of table in width, the largest practical radius is 44", which means 22" radius curves. The theoretical radius is 24" (half of 48"), but that won't really work because you'll have no clearance for the tracks at the edge of the board. The P59 and the Bombardier coaches will make it around the 22" curves with no problems as long as you're careful and lay out out the tracks so the curve is smooth with no kinks. Each inner loop will be smaller than the outside loop. In real life, the best hope on a 4x8 is two loops, one with 22" radius and one with a 18" radius. Any other loop will be too small to run almost anything and you'll have virtually no room for scenery. Rather than thinking multiple loops, think of having two passing tracks, one on each straight section of the layout. Use #6 switches and you'll be able to have two trains running with DCC and have them pass each other at reasonable speeds. It makes for more interesting operations because you have to plan where the trains will be to set up the meet. It will both involve your son more in the layout operation and teach him something about how real railroads operate. Believe me, it's a lot more fun that just watching them run around in circles.

As for the DD40X, I think you should plan on building a nice display shelf for it and admire it until you get a bigger layout. :)
 


Thanx. I'm going to use EZ tracks so I should get nice consistant turns. As for a bigger layout for the DD40, I'm gonna need a bigger house.

Or use my 2 car garage for a layout...:)
 
You'll need 12 sections of track for a 44" half circle. There's an old modeler's trick you might want to try. Get two 2" sections of staight track. I think Bachmann has these available in E-Z track. Put thm in the center of each half loop. It brings your tracks a little closer to the table edge so you'll need something like a 1" fascia board on the edges in case one of the engines wants to take flight. :) The advantage is that longer cars that will be pulled off the track by the continuous curve have a chance to straighten out for those two inches and relieve the stresses on the trucks and couplers. You can run longer cars more reliably using just this extra 2" section.
 
UP2CSX said:
You'll need 12 sections of track for a 44" half circle. There's an old modeler's trick you might want to try. Get two 2" sections of staight track. I think Bachmann has these available in E-Z track. Put thm in the center of each half loop. It brings your tracks a little closer to the table edge so you'll need something like a 1" fascia board on the edges in case one of the engines wants to take flight. :) The advantage is that longer cars that will be pulled off the track by the continuous curve have a chance to straighten out for those two inches and relieve the stresses on the trucks and couplers. You can run longer cars more reliably using just this extra 2" section.
Click to expand...

So I'll need 24 curves total for an oval, correct?
 
Correct, you'd need 24 if you wanted to make one ginat oval but I'd plead with you not to do that. It's boring, trains won't runn well on it, and it just doesn't look good. Put some straight track in there to separate the half ovals and you'll have a much better layout.
 


It's the terminology that's confusing us. If you want to make a half radius, it takes 3 pieces. If you want to make a full radius, it takes 6 pieces If you want a continuous oval where the train runs in a big circle, it takes 12. If you want two complete ovals, it takes 24.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top