(Moved from Classic Trains forum by selector...hence the message in the second post)
just statring and need a few questions answered to help me to get started. is 24" and 22" radias ok. 4 per cent grade to much. plan on short trains. steam engines. 0-4-0 and 2-6-2 and small ones like that. all help is appreatiated. thanks
You should repost this question in the Model Railroader forum, this forum is for 12" to the foot scale trains.
Assuming you're working with HO scale, the curve radius and grades sound OK for short trains - the grades would be a good excuse to keep the trains short.
choo choo ken just statring and need a few questions answered to help me to get started. is 24" and 22" radias ok. 4 per cent grade to much. plan on short trains. steam engines. 0-4-0 and 2-6-2 and small ones like that. all help is appreatiated. thanks
24 and 22 inch radii are all right for almost anything that would ordinarily be running in conjunction with small steam. 4% is the same grade I am running with (mostly) 0-6-0T locos - which can handle about four small cars without helpers (the equivalent for you would be 3 AAR box cars.)
Your 0-4-0 would probably be best as a yard goat - in a flat yard. My two small 0-4-0Ts are restricted to yard service because they can't take much more than themselves upgrade.
Since I am using hyperflexible, short-bodied rolling stock, the minimum curve on my 'goat trail with rails on it' is 350mm - just under 14 inches. An unmodified Mantua 2-6-6-2T can handle it! Of course, the prototype for that loco was designed to take 68 degree curves - just about 12" radius in HO. The longest car that will ever run on the line is shorter than a 60 foot HO car - and is still a flange-squealer with hideous overhang. Without proper spiral easements, the whole thing would be the impossible dream.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Ken,
Curves sound fine -- a 24" radius is a "conventional" curve by NMRA standards, and 22" is only a little tighter, but it shouldn't get you in to trouble with the equipment you're talking about.
Personally, I would think twice about 4% grades, especially as a beginner. Grades introduce a lot of issues with trackwork, couplers and derailments that you might not have the experience or desire to wrestle with just yet. Also, a 4% grade, while not unheard of on prototypes, is very steep and not contemplated lightly.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford