Some newbe questions...

[Anonymous]

Hello, this summer, I am going to build a garden railroad (G scale) around my house.
I just have a few simple questions:

What is the minimum turn radious (to do a U-turn)?
Can large locomotives run over this without derailing?
And, last, where could I get G scale (LGB is G scale right?) modern Locomtotives (like Norfolk Southern)?

[:D]

[kstrong]

We'll tackle your questions in reverse order, since you have your preferred choice of motive power. (Large, modern diesels.) Aristocraft and USA Trains both make modern diesels. I don't know which exact models they offer, or which ones are available in NS, but a quick check of either of their web sites or the adverts in Garden Railways will answer that fairly quickly for you. (The adverts will also help you locate the cheapest price.)

Having established the fact that you prefer the larger, more modern motive power, we can then tackle the track questions. The "minimum radius" question is usually answered by "as wide as possible given the space allotted. For the large diesels, I'd hesitate to run them on anything less than a 5' radius curve. They may run on tighter curves, but will look bad doing so, and also have more of a tendency to derail. At an absolute bare minimum, I'd stay wider than 4' radius.

Now, you can get track with curves down to a 2' radius, but the large, modern diesels will not run over them. That's why most folks recommend going with the widest possible curves for the space. The wider the curve, the more equipment will run over it.

If you plan on using sectional track, such as that from LGB or Aristocraft, you can get curve sections in 5', 7.5', and 10' radius. You can also get switches in 5' and 10' radius. (The 10' radius is called a "#6" switch, and technically isn't built to a particular radius. It is, though, very wide--on the order of 10'.) You can also buy flex track, and bend curves to whatever radius you'd like.

Later,

K

[John Busby]

Hi brak10101
Just looked at an old aristocraft catalogue they seem to specify a minimum radius of 8'
for there larger modern locomotives.
There are a number of 'G" scale WETI manufacturers all doing there own thing including LGB.
The minimum normal radius is 2' but a lot of the modern stuff just will not go round it.
so as Ken said go for the largest radius curve you can get in to rhe avalable space.
regards John

[kstrong]

Aristo's website specifies 8' diameter, not radius for their large diesels. The catalog John cites could very well have stated "radius." It's a common confusion, compounded by different manufacturers prefering to state their specifications using either standard rather interchangably. (Aristo and LGB tend to prefer "diameter" while Bachmann more often uses "radius.") If you're like many, and can't remember the difference, here's a trick my geometry teacher told us: "Radius" is a shorter word than "Diameter," so it's the smaller distance.

When you buy your track, pay careful attention to how the store labels its curved sections. Aristo sells both a 5' and 10' radius track section. I've seen ads which list the 5' radius sections as "10' diameter" sections, and then list the 10' radius sections right underneath as "10' radius," making it very easy to order the wrong ones.

Later,

K

[markperr]

If you're planning on doing a reversing loop (where the train goes into the loop and exits out of the loop on the same track) then the length of your train will be limited in length to what will fit in the loop. For example, the average length of a "G" scale modern locomotive is between 24" and 30" in length. The average length of a piece of modern rolling stock (box cars, tank cars, hoppers) is between 15" and 18". If you use the recommended minimum 8' diameter track that Aristo suggests for their locomotives, then you have 24' of track to fit your train on. (circumference=pi x diameter). This comes out to around one locomotive and about thirteen to fifteen cars total length if you don't want to collide with yourself. So if your eventually looking to make long trains (say 50 cars or better) , you may want to skip using this method.

IF, however, you are simply going to go around the loop and exiting out of a different track, then the length of your train will be limited by the size of your loop and how much lateral forces are exerted on your cars. If it is too great, the train will want to straighten out in the curve causing the cars to hop off the track. If you have the area and financial means to afford to go with a 12 or 16 or 20 ft diameter, I highly recommend it. You'll be happy in the long run as you'll be easily ably to pull long trains through this type of curve.

Mark