Hello everybody im a first timer here and im building my first layout,Im going to run DC for now until i have the money to switch to DCC.IM running an E8 with 6 passenger cars as an outer main loop and a freighter on the inner loop.Im going to run 24"radius atlas code 83 track for the passenger and mabe 22 for the inner.Is this a good thought or not.
Hi. I am fairly new at this too. Your radius will work. If you have the ability you may want to give yourself another couple of inches. It is better to be safe than sorry. If you run larger trains a bigger radius is good. I know space is always an issue! We have the same 2 loop track! HO scale with 28 and 30 radius. Our layout is 11 x 13. Good luck and welcome to the best hobby ever!
Welcome to the forums.
As stated above the larger the radius you can run the better your trains will look. Is your 6’x16’ area a table or is it the available space? You could easily do 28" or 30" in that area. I’d suggest laying down a little track temporarily and see if you can be happy with the looks of the cars hanging over the rails.
Also, since you are going to start out in DC and hope to change to DCC, there have been a few articles on wiring your layout to make the change easier. Read some of them and you may save yourself a little time later.
Good luck,
well the 6x16 is the table but i dont have much more room at all.
A couple of observations.
If you are planning a 6x16 table layout you’ll want at least 2 ft and preferably 2 1/2 ft aisles on both sides plus one end. If you don’t have the room for that you could build it on wheels and roll it out from a wall as needed. Or you could build it against a wall but leave the center 2 ft open as an access aisle or about 3 2’x2’ access holes.
Second if doing a table layout 3 feet is a long reach in for construction and maintenance. Try to keep your track within 24" of the edge especially turnouts.
While your passenger cars may operate around a 24" radius curve, they’ll look operate better on a 30" radius curve especially if they are long ones - 10+ inches (prototype 75+ ft).
Since this is your first layout, do some experimenting to see what works for you and what appearance you like. Very few of us happen to get what we really want on a first layout. I’m getting ready for my 8th layout or so and may not have it right yet.
Enjoy
Paul