I had thought and planned on getting a Bachmann USRA 0-6-0 switcher.
Can this little steam locomotive manage/ handle going around a 7 or 8 inch curve radii?
I was going to use existing 40' cars. So do I need to convert for these sharp curves?
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
HO Scale recommended 18" min - definitely no
N Scale recommended 11.25" min - doubt it
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
A couple questions to help answer the ones you have. Are you working on a interurban traction layout or heavy inner city street switching freight? Ho or N? If you are doing those in ho. The PRR and Reading used 0-4-0 to switch most of philadelphias street trackage. Alot of those curves were amazingly sharp. The 0-6-0s they had blind drivers. to get a model to do those curves requires a blind center driver. Which requires modification work. Even then i an not so sure it will be sucessful
I am curious as to type of layout you are doing that requires such a tight curve.
Wolfie
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
NVSRR A couple questions to help answer the ones you have. Are you working on a interurban traction layout or heavy inner city street switching freight? Ho or N? ... I am curious as to type of layout you are doing that requires such a tight curve.
A couple questions to help answer the ones you have. Are you working on a interurban traction layout or heavy inner city street switching freight? Ho or N? ...
No. Just a plain simple oval.
N Scale.
An simple layout that goes on a dresser with minimum 19" x 31" inches. The train was to go around a flat screen tv with simple scenery, and a tunnel in the back to be stored. So the cables weren't in the way of the locomotive.
An 0-6-0 should work fine for that in n scale. Some of the equipment might need slight adjustment. test it out before you get to far along.
wolfie
For the freight cars, they will probably will work OK on an 8" N scale radius. You may need to add some weight to get them to track better. Also it probably would be a good idea to stay with 40' or less length on the tight curves.
What timeframe are you modeling? If in the late 1940s or later, a Bachmann 44 tonner might work well on that trackage.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I was able to get an N scale Atlas RS1 (body mounted coupler) with 40' MTL boxcar (truck mounted coupler) around a 6" radius. An Atlas GP7 could get around the curve alone but not with a car.
I had an old America Flyer HO 4 wheel diesel switcher that would EASILY handle 6-8" curves. Getting it to move a car around such curves was another story. Even short cars with body mount couplers are going to be offset, probbaly too far. And truck mounted couplers just like to cause derailments on any sort of curve or turnout.
For such a space, a small N scale switching alyout is more approriate. It's not really enough for HO. Even Tim Warris' CNJ Bronx Terminal, which is an example of the prototype using an extremely tight radius, is significantly bigger than that in HO.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
You can check the NMRA recommended practices RP11 here
It says 40 ft cars need 7.5" in N scale and small 4 driver steam can get around this curve as well.
Individual pieces or modified pieces can sometimes go around tighter curves. So an 0-6-0 with blind center drivers might make it.
9" or 10" radius would really open things up if you could manage it.
Good luck
Paul
I was thinking about a 44 tonner. Or requiring another LL 0-6-0T since my old one is broken. Finding one on EBay can be challenging but it might be worth getting again. Another idea was going to use a FT-F7 but the curves were to sharp.
The timeframe is pre and mid 1950s since I don't want to use any 50 and longer foot cars.
I knew that the freight cars might need filing down but I didn't know about adding more weight.
I will try to do some testing when I do the calculations and etc.