On 460mm (18"+) radius ANY locomotive with a 4-wheel trailing truck is going to have a lot of cab overhang. What you really need is a Pacific (or a Mike, if your railroad used them for passenger power.)
If I was looking for passenger power for curves that tight, I'd try to find a PRR E6 or G5. Too bad Bowser discontinued theirs...
(My short line, which has much tighter curves, powers almost everything with 0-6-0Ts.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
randy hit the nail on the head. even though lateral motion is a big factor, rigid wheel base is usually what determines minimum radius and that really comes in to play where the tangent makes the transition to curve. easements will allow you to get away with a smaller radius curve and help eliminate that "lionel style quick!, turn left here" jerky operation.
grizlump
I have 2 of them. I don't think they'll take 20" and smaller radius. I have 24" radius, they handle that fine. My previous layout was 30 and 32", and naturally there was no problem. With tight curves I'd stick to smaller locos. The key factor is the length of the rigid wheelbase - a smaller loco like a 2-8-2 light mike still has 8 drive wheels but they are smaller than the ones on the T-1 and so the distance from the flange of the first driver to the last is shorter.
It's not so much the overhang, which just looks silly, it's the ability of the loco to even go around the curves in question without derailing or becomign so bound up it stalls. The old AHM/Rivarossi Y6b, and even the Big Boy, could handle 18" radius curves but looked extremely silly. The newer models from other manufacturers might not quite make the 18" curves, but such large locos need somewhere north of 30" to even begin to look 'normal'. FOr steam power with 18" radius curves your best bet is probably one of the smaller locos from Bachmann, the nice Spectrum ones, like the 4-4-0 and 2-6-0.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Hi all!
I am looking for a steam loco. I am looking at the Broadway Limited Paragon 2 units. Our layout has mostly 22" + radius curves. There is one that may go to the small side of 18 or 19 in part of the turn (end of layout loop) We wanted a Y6b but think the overhang will be too much,
So looking at the BLT J1e Hudson 4-6-4 but cannot find it in stock anywhere, Then we see the T1 4-8-4 Reading ... being noobs at most of this we are wondering if the Reading will work? On a 20 " R turn how much stick out and overhang will there be?
Anyone have pics frome above on a smallish curve,
Reall wish the Y6b would work...but have to be a bit realistic...