i am revisiting the train hobby know that i am a father an have found my 1 yr old son will watch a train go in circles for over an hour!
so, i built an 8x8 table for an O gauge layout. i have a box of about 40-50 37" flexible gargraves track pieces and 3 pairs(6 total) of gargraves switches and motors. just need some advice and suggestions. looking to run more than one train at at a time. i would like to run 3-4 trains at once. i planned on keeping my curves between 54" and 42" radius.
i wasn’t sure if adding hieght would be possible on and 8x8 size table or not. i am willing to purchase more track or turnouts if needed. i would rather go slow and do it right. thanks for the advice.
-mike
Hi, and welcome. Before I respond, the discussion group forum next door, Classic Toy Trains, has many more of the fellas that use your type of equipment. This forum has a few, but mostly HO and N scale. If you pose your questions there, you may get a lot more help.
Your ability to get height in an area 8X8 depends on your track configuration and what you mean by “height”. Are we talking 3" or 13"? Will this be in a folded loop configuration, a figure 8, or what? However, I would say that for your scale and equipment size, and for the room that you have, 3" is about all you can hope for without making the whole show look toylike. I know they are toys, but you want to be swept away by the believability, not the incredibility.
Grades up and down are the same in any scale…rise/fall over run (length of track on the grade). But, it isn’t that simple, as always; in order to keep its towing ability throughout the entrance and exit of the grade, the locomotive will do much better if those two places gently transition into and out of the grade. We call such transitions, both into and out of grades and curves, easements. They take up room, by their nature, so you will have to factor that in to the overall curve and grade lengths.