Bill Carl (modeling Chessie and predecessors from 1973-1983) Member of Four County Society of Model Engineers NCE DCC Master Visit the FCSME at www.FCSME.org Modular railroading at its best! If it has an X in it, it sucks! And yes, I just had my modeler's license renewed last week!
Originally posted by 3railguy OK, I'm doing this backwards but today I bought some Athearn 86 foot hy cubes and I'm wondering what mininum radius curves they are comfortable. Try using 33' curves or larger , they will track better. I also use the walthers adapter kits ,because they stay together better. I have 40+ of these long cars. Reply Edit Junctionfan Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: St.Catharines, Ontario 3,770 posts Posted by Junctionfan on Wednesday, October 6, 2004 8:39 PM Should be treated like the Walther's autorack minimum radius which is 24. Andrew Reply BRAKIE Member sinceOctober 2001 From: OH 17,574 posts Posted by BRAKIE on Wednesday, October 6, 2004 5:54 PM Those 86 foot cars will go around a 18" curve.Looks awful and I highly suggest larger curves for better operation and looks. Larry Conductor. Summerset Ry. "Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!" Reply chicirjs Member sinceJuly 2003 23 posts Posted by chicirjs on Wednesday, October 6, 2004 5:23 PM John, Walthers makes a part that screws to the the Athearn underbody that still swings, but is somewhat self-centering and it does not foul the trucks. It is similar in design to the coupler pocket on their 86' boxcars and centerbeam cars. The part comes packaged for two cars per pack. This may not reduce the radius, but the cars will operate a little better and still allow for a little extra coupler swing. http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-997 Reply 3railguy Member sinceMay 2004 From: Kaukauna WI 2,115 posts Posted by 3railguy on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 7:46 PM Joe, I agree on looks. I couldn't resist these cars. Even if just for display. These suckers are longer than Lionel boxcars. LOL..Guilfords suggestion on 24" is about all I have room for at this time. I haven't bult them yet but the couplers appear to swing. John Long Give me Magnetraction or give me Death. Reply jfugate Member sinceJanuary 2002 From: Portland, OR 3,119 posts Posted by jfugate on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 6:34 PM John: You have two issues with long railcars. 1. What curve radius will they negotiate? 2. What curve radius will they easily couple on? Your 86 footers will probably negotiate an 18" radius curve, but they will look like crap. The more appropriate issue will be what curve radius will they easily couple on? Somewhere along the line in my nearly 40 years in the hobby I ran across a rule of thumb for good coupling of a radius that's 5 times the length of the railcar. An 86 footer in HO is about 13" long, so 5 times 13" means a 65" radius curve will be needed for reliable coupling with cars this long. Just for reference, a 50 footer needs a 37.5" radius curve (36" is close enough, and that's what I use, since I model the 1980s and 50 footers are the most common car I use.) You can get away with less of a curve radius if you are coupling an 86 footer to a shorter car, but to couple two 86 footers, the larger the curve the better. As a practical matter, the 86 footers will look okay on a 36" radius curve, and while they may negotiate a smaller radius curve, they will look prettty bad. Joe Fugate Modeling the 1980s SP Siskiyou Line in southern Oregon Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 6:30 PM 22" would probably be the minimum. Of course, they will look and perform better on 24"+ radii. Reply Edit 3railguy Member sinceMay 2004 From: Kaukauna WI 2,115 posts min radius - 86 foot hy cubes Posted by 3railguy on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 6:09 PM OK, I'm doing this backwards but today I bought some Athearn 86 foot hy cubes and I'm wondering what mininum radius curves they are comfortable with. John Long Give me Magnetraction or give me Death. 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
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Joe Fugate Modeling the 1980s SP Siskiyou Line in southern Oregon