Can some one refer me to a location I can get a template on an HO train track tunnel measurements so I can use a template to mark the paneling of my Man Cave to make entrances and exits when I start putting up the wall coverings (one of these days when funds become available). And, to make the entrance/exits through my relay/storage cabinet where I plan laying out the mountain (wall) routes around the Man Cave.
http://www.choochenterprises.com/html/tunnels_.html and click on a tunnel you like and most of them have measurements
Buy a tunnel portal and trace it.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Funny, that is the idea I had yesterday when I stopped by Hobby Town and they were out of HO tunnel entrances... I was going to trace the opening and make my own template. Will have to go back hopefully Thursday and see if they got their next shipment order in stock. That was why I posted this message, hopefully some one had a .doc or pdf file that had the template I could print out and use to trace out the openings.
See http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/s-7.html for clearance diagrams. I suggest reading the notes carefully. To see the basis of these diagrams, see http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/gauge.html. This also explains changes in both model and prototype for modern equpment.
Hope this helps
Fred W
Unless you will going into the wall at 90 degrees, you may need to consider a wider portal. Also if your track will curve entering the tunnel longer rolling stock may get hung up as well.
Just some other thoughts
John
John makes a very good point. Tracing one portal and expecting it to serve you well may be fraught with error. Not all portals have the same dimensions, vertically or horizontally. I found I was able to trim the feet of mine substantially and still get decent clearance, but I did test to make sure. Even so, when I first ran my monster Rivarossi Allegheny, I soon learned that I needed to do some paring of one vertical column on the outer side of a curve.
Verify with trials, and do it on a real train both forward and in revers, towing and shoving. Our hobby couplers let odd things happen between two coupled cars when we change our operating procedures.
Crandell
fwright See http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/s-7.html for clearance diagrams. I suggest reading the notes carefully. To see the basis of these diagrams, see http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/gauge.html. This also explains changes in both model and prototype for modern equpment. Hope this helps Fred W
Use your NMRA guage, and add 1/8" to 1/4" outside of it if you are not going straight in. When I was growing up, we called those mouse holes. We moved 3 times and every house we left had a mouse hole about 4' off the floor. something for the new owners to contemplate.
Phil
Timber Head Eastern Railroad "THE Railroad Through the Sierras"
Hehehehe, that's what I was calling it when I went to the Hobby own looking for an HO tunnel entrance to trace the template... I told them I need to make some mouse holes in the new walls I am going to be building in my Man Cave...
"When I was growing up, we called those mouse holes. We moved 3 times and every house we left had a mouse hole about 4' off the floor. something for the new owners to contemplate." I bet they sure wondered how or why the mouse (or RAT) would have to crawl up the wall to get inside or have to scale down the wall to run and fetch their food or other housing stuff... Hehehehe, I can just see their faces when they saw them... :-)
"Tracing one portal and expecting it to serve you well may be fraught with error. Not all portals have the same dimensions, vertically or horizontally." Good point, but my thoughts are, if you trace a portal and the train fits and pulls it's load through the opening safely without any error, the space before/after the portal is clear and free open space, wouldn't a template suffice for making portals through 1/2" thick plywood walls, 1/8" thick paneling and the standard 5/8th Sheetrock walls with a 3-1/2" wall thickness?
I can see having to widen the width of the portal for a turn on either side of the wall to prevent the cars pulled through from rubbing the side walls on the trailing cars, but what about straight through runs, or a turn 24" or more before the wall or after the wall?
The answer usually is, try it. Do trials to confirm the best placement and orientation for any one portal to see if its utility is acceptable. I also add the caution to beware future contingencies. In my case, I had perfect results on a curve, but the addition of a new Rivarossi Allegheny proved problematic. Some parts of the rear cab roof extension scraped against the curved arch side of the portal. I had to perform some surgery, and not on the H-8.
"Some parts of the rear cab roof extension scraped against the curved arch side of the portal.", so to say the least, make sure the engine and trailing cars are not close to the top of the mouse hole or make sure the side of the engine and trailing cars are not to close to the sides of the mouse holes?
How would you suggest doing a "Do trials to confirm the best placement and orientation for any one portal to see if its utility is acceptable."..."test trial"?
First, you have to have at least one track configuration to test. Say you want to use a layout plan that calls for a 24" curve with the portal somewhere along that curve. You would stand the portal up on its own two legs, ideally on flat plywood or something like that with only the roadbed and track going through it. Nothing glued or nailed just yet, especially the tracks. Power the rails and try running a typical train through the portal. Portal survives with no noise or rocking, then you have a good combination. The portal rocks or falls over, or get knocked off alignment, then you know you have a problem.
So, yes, by all means do trials. It only takes a few minutes, say 15-20 to get it all set up, and then you'll know what will fly and what won't.