Flex track for a trolley line?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I am thinking of adding a trolley line to my HO layout. I’ve seen some neat interurban modules at shows that have very tight radius curves. Can you bend flex track to an 8 or 10 inch radius or is there some other way to make these nice tight curves? Lefty

2

http://www.proto87stores.com/p87stores/strass1.htm

It is sectional though. If you want a flex type system, look into the Richard Orr make of girder rail. It still requires you solder the rail to PC board ties.

Unfortunately, there is nothing on the market that is a girder type rail and is flexible like Atlas track.

David B

3

You cannot go wrong by checking out Room 2 at Trolleyville Schoolhouse.

4

You could try something like this Fast Tracks Rail roller it can make curves as small as 1-1/2" is that small enough for ya.

http://www.handlaidtrack.com/fast-tracks-rail-roller-p-429.php

5

For the pit rail of my turntable, I took a section of Atlas flex track and cut it down the middle, so that I had a single rail on half-ties, and then bent it into a 4-inch radius circle. I suspect that I could have done this with a full piece of track, too.

6

I have routinely bent Atlas code 100 flex down to four inch or less radius. When it ‘relaxes’ it approximates the radius I want to anchor to the roadbed - as small as 400mm (<14 inches.)

Three things to remember:

  1. Keep the sliding rail on the inside of the curve.

  2. No rail joints on the curve unless (like my 400mm radius helix) absolutely necessary.

  3. Be gentle!

To simulate girder rail, two strips of styrene can be cemented to the flex to form the flangeways - AFTER the flex has been laid, run-tested and de-bugged.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)