I am considering buying an HO Con-Cor Aerotrain. Opinions?
Can it do 18 inch radius?
Jim Hediger did a 2-page review in the Product Review section of May 2008 Model Railroader. He was impressed by the model.
The Review is on line in the Model Railroader News and Reviews section.
Min radius is not noted.
Searched on-line - Found nothing on min radius of HO models.
I did find find comments that the N scale model had tracking problem on radius under 19". This because the cars too light. Adding weight to the cars fixed the problem . One poster was able to run on 11" radius once he added weight. The design did not allow 9.75" radius curves.
Considering that N 9.75 is roughly the equivilient of HO 18" it is likely that the HO model will not operate on 18" radius.
The cars are really short as were the real ones. The only potential problem would be coupling distance. Concor should be able to tell you.
Although the cars are short they have a relatively long rigid wheelbase and the coupling between cars restricted how much they can turn.
It is interesting that I found a lot of comments about the N but virtually none about the HO
Hopefully someone who has actually run them will see this thread and answer the question.
Edit OP on this thread able to get his around 18" radius, but at slow speed. (less than 30 scale mph) Doesn’t state scale but is probably HO.
Now I remember - that was my post. Yes, it is in HO, and it manages 18" radius at slow speeds. I should add that I did these runs on Atlas True-Track. Thus, I am sure that no part of the curve is less than 18".
JW
Thanks guys.