Login
or
Register
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Home
»
Model Railroader
»
Forums
»
General Discussion (Model Railroader)
»
Proto Series 2000
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
<p>[quote user="SeeYou190"]</p> <p>If you can rebuild your helix, I strongly suggest making it out of Kato Unitrack and running electrical feeders to each track section.</p> <p>.</p> <p>The only helix I have ever seen that ran flawlessly was made this way. Kato makes a large variety of radius sizes, and something should work. They are manufactured well, so you will not have kinks or bad spots in the track. The one I saw did not fasten the track, but instead used wooden guides glued to the helix base to hold the track in position, but never put it under an stress.</p> <p>.</p> <p>A helix is difficult to repair, and I honestly believe that Kato track is the best solution.</p> <p>.</p> <p>-Kevin</p> <p>.</p> <div style="clear:both;"> </div> <p>[/quote]</p> <p>As a counter point, I have seen many helices (pl. of Helix?) made with flex track. All have worked flawlessly. It is all in the construction technique. The extra thickness will require higher overhead clearance if you have to reach in to extract a piece of rolling stock for whatever reason (say if a coupler box got ripped out or you lost a screw out of a truck <--saw that happen with an Atlas RTR car).</p> <p> </p> <p>Using Unitrack also causes you to be limited in the radius you can use in the helix. If I were building a helix, the radius would be probably 36 or greater, because I would not want the ruling grade on my layout to be in a hidden track. Curvature adds to the effective grade. </p>
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Users Online
There are no community member online
Search the Community
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter
See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter
and get model railroad news in your inbox!
Sign up