questions of a newbie to model railroading

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone,

this is my first post on this board. I've deicded to finally create a model railroad. I've wanted to since I was young but there was "never any space" in the words of my father.

anyways I'm planning on N gauge because there still isn't much space but there should be enough.

here are a few questions I have about designing my layout.

1) what sort of track clearance is needed above the track so that trains don't collide with anything overhead

2) since sace is a premium using flex track what is the tightest radius I'd be able to use?

I'm planning on building a layout with coal and lumber being the industries in this fictional little world.

[Seamonster]

Here's the short answer to your questions: 1) it depends; 2) it depends. (Sorry, couldn't resist [:D]. Seriously, the clearance does depend on the rolling stock you'll be using. 2" should clear any N scale rolling stock. If you won't be running any hi-cube boxcars, tri-level auto racks or "big hook" cranes, you'd be able to get away with less than that, although that would limit you in the future--but having an operating restriction can make for interesting operation. The minimum track radius depends on what length cars you will be using, what type of locomotives and how much it bugs you to have the ends of the cars hang out past the rails on curves. You can get track down to 9" radius but that would only work and look good with short (40') cars and 4-axle diesels and short steamers, preferably without leading or trailing trucks. That may work with a coal and lumber based layout. The rule of thumb would be to use the largest radius curves you can. Personally, I wouldn't go less than about 13" radius except in tight industrial trackage. (Yes, I model in N scale.)

Good luck with your layout, and I'm sure you'll get many hours of enjoyment out of both building it and operating it.
...Bob

[Big_Boy_4005]

Be carful with flex track and tight curves, it is very easy to bend it too tight or unevenly and end up with a lot of derailments. Sharp curves might work better with pre-formed sectional track.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the 2" clearance, but: You should also add a couple inches to get your hand in there if there is trouble, like a derailment, that requires manual intervention.

[Jacktal]

It all depends on what you wi***o run on your layout.Since space is limited,I'd suggest that you stick with short locos and rolling stock.Atlas makes 9 3/4 curves that any 4 axle locos and short cars will handle fine and still look good doing it.However,it is true that bigger locos will handle very tight curves without derailing but will look quite clumsy doing so,with most of their body protuding inside the track.For the bigger locos and longer cars,I'd suggest you use 15-16 in. radius curves and for steamers,I'd go with 18+ in. radius curves so that they look great....but this eats up space...real fast.

For your clearance question,I've tried 1 5/8 as a minimum height for my tunnels and bridges and none of my rolling stock ever struck a structure.I do know that some special cars can be pretty high(triple deckers,etc) but since I don't own any of these,I can't recommend a clearance.Since your layout won't be very large,I'd recommend that you stick with standard height rolling stock and avoid excessive overhead clearance,so that your track can cross over itself without having too steep a grade to climb.

[Anonymous]

wow thanks for the replies...

the space I have is 15 inches by 68 inches. Basically a shelf

I guess a 7 inch radius (which would be a 14 inch diameter given 1/2 an inch space from the sides of the shelf.) would be way too tight.... time to re engineer the shelf!

[Jetrock]

You might consider a "dog bone" arrangement with thicker portions at the ends that narrow in the middle if you're concerned about shelf width. 22-24" width should be sufficient if you're using 9-3/4" curves, leaving a bit on either side for clearance.

[Anonymous]

You might take a look at the NMRA website under the tab for 'standards and recommended practices' for information on radii and clearances.

Randy

[Anonymous]

thanks for your help everyone

[Anonymous]

You might also consider some non-standard railroading in order to fit your tight space. Urban electrified lines are not exactly easy to model in N-scale, but there are some ready-made trolley models out there, and these can certainly negotiate a 6" radius curve. Thing is, you'll end up modeling a lot of buildings in order to create a reasonable city, so hopefully you prefer buildings to trees and hills.

If you're really brave, you could model a European route, rather than American. This means a lot of research, but ain't that what the old internet is for? European model makers offer a lot of equipment, and almost without exception any European piece of rolling stock is much shorter than its American counterpart. Smaller means that it can handle tighter radii.

One other option is to model in Z-scale instead of N. Trains in Z-scale can handle a 7" radius curve, though I wouldn't try for tighter than this. Z-scale equipment is a bit more expensive than N, and there is less variety, but you don't have a layout size which will require a huge fleet. Two or three locomotives might be plenty.

An alternative to Z-scale is to model N-scale but on narrow-gauge rails, which would incidentally be Z-scale rails. Actually, there are makers of Nn3 track for this purpose, but I suspect that it is cheaper to just use regular Z-scale track (and bury it beneath enough ballast so that you can't tell). Nn3 is probably more expensive than Z, though. The benefit would be that aside from the track and the tight turns, everything else is N-scale, thus easier to work with than Z.

One final option would be to just model a REALLY OLD-TIMER railroad, as it would have looked in the 1850's. Engines would be 4-4-0's and 2-6-0's or smaller, and all the rolling stock would be shorter than 35 feet. Bachmann makes Old-Timer train sets, which though they may not be the best quality as modesl go, they certainly provide a workable variety of cars and engines. Other manufacturers usually have a few old-timer products in their line. Again, this would require some research, but it could become very interesting: you might even model an ongoing Civil War battle!

[der5997]

What ever you end up building, N or Z, if you are joining flextrack on curves, make all the measurements, cut the rail and trim the ties back, BUT SOLDER THE JOINTS WITHT HE FLEX TRACK STRAIGHT. This way you will avoid kinks, which are more unforgiving as the scale gets smaller.