Minimum radius N-Scale GS4 or S2 4-8-4?

[Anonymous]

I've checked Con-Cor's website and Walthers and I cannot find the minimum radius for the 4-8-4 with Tender (GS4 is what I'm designing for, but the S2 is the same chasis).  Can anyone help with that?

 Thanx

[cchnguage]

I don't know what the minimum radius is. But, you could take a piece of flex track and start with a tight radius like 9" and see if it will run. If not make the radius larger until you determine what radius you need.

Craig

[Anonymous]

I don't own one yet.  I'm just in the planning stages of a garage RR.

[Anonymous]

Practical N scale min radius is 12" with 15" a being a better choice. Forget the 9", its WAY too tight.

[Occams Razor]

General consensus from the owners of that locomotive (the Con-cor GS4) that I know is that it will grudgingly go around an 11" radius most of the time and if your track is perfect, but for good operation you want 15-16", with 18-19" or greater being greatly prefferred.

[Anonymous]

Thank you.

[spidge]

 I have a Concor GS4 and I used it to help define the minimum radius on my layout. I took some old (used) pieces of flextrack and built a reducing raius spiral to see how the locos would run on vareous radiis. The GS4 would grind around the curves until it hit the 16" radius. So I use 16" with easements and don't have problems with it at all.

[R. T. POTEET]

I've checked Con-Cor's website and Walthers and I cannot find the minimum radius for the 4-8-4 with Tender (GS4 is what I'm designing for, but the S2 is the same chasis).  Can anyone help with that?

 Thanx

Con-Cor has probably engineered this to operate on 9" radius curves but I would only operate mine in the dark - so I didn't have to groan looking at it.  A more appropriate radius would be 13.5" which is three times the length of the engine. If you are going to drag 80' passenger cars along behind this monster then that becomes the defining factor in operating radius and that is 18" and it will look fantastico at that.