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Most of us would prefer larger radius's than we can have. If you have the space for it, a 48 inch radius is pretty good. The criteria for what is good and what isn't is determined by the ever present "given and druthers" and the real estate you have for the layout. I have seen some poor - in my opinion - layouts because guys have wanted a certain specified large radius and the ensuing layout results reflect champagne tasted in beer budget area. Sometimes, if space is at a bit of a premium, using smaller radius's like 30 inches then enhancing a certain area with 48 inches will work to expand the layout yet provide the owner with those wonderful visual curves they are after. Of course I have no idea of the parameters of the space you have so if 48 inches works, thats great. The majority of layouts use less than 30 inches if you do an "average." However, when you exclude all the small and medium sized layout spaces, the "average" radius increases - since you don't have smaller layouts "pulling down the average." So if for example, if I said what is the minimum radius for guys that have a 30 by 30 foot space or larger, logic tells you the radius will be substantially higher than the "national" HO radius average, including all layouts. Again to walk on the wild side, I would say that guys who want 48 inch radius's are more interested in a diorama layout with visuals most important and operations secondary. With other guys who are willing to go with smaller radius's in a large area, ops would be more important. But of course, all bets are off if the space you have is very large. PS: I have written this after I realized I missed some posts, in particularly yours describing you 30 by 40 foot area.
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