Hey guys, i asked this question on the “other forum” but got only jokes as my replys… So i figure i may get a little more help over here.
Im wondering if any of you guys run longer scale sized locos on tight curves. Does anyone run 4-8-4’s, something like a scale sized daylight on curves of O-42 or O-54??? Im hoping to find some pictures of these larger locos on the smaller curves, so that i can get an idea if i can live with the aparent overhang. Because i simply dont have the room to run anything larger than O-54
So if anyone has some pictures of what im looking for, help me out and post them up, or just share your personal experiance.
I’ve seen a few larger engines listed as for O54 track but haven’t seen them run. Looking at the one’s we/ve had in the showcase at work all that means is that they’ll negotiate the curve but from the look of things you better have a couple of inches clearance along the track.
I am running a 4-8-4 MTH T1 Reading steam loco on 042 Gargraves track and switches, don’t know if it will do regular tubular track 042 as Gargraves curves are about an inch or more over the regular size of conventional tubular track. So a Gargraves 042 curve may actually be 43.25 inches in radius.
^^^ good stuff, how much of an eye sore is the overhang, or is it just something u get over? I really like the look of the bog massive locos, and i think being able to own some one day will far outweigh the fact that they have alot of overhang. They are very impressive.
I will do some searching for spankybirds posts. DO you have an idea what size curves he runs on?
You can find SpankyBird usually on the Sunday photo posts, and he is very helpful. He uses 027 mainly and claims he can run almost anything on 027 track, also 027 track has more than one curve size since it was originally made, now has at least 27 inch & 42 inch curves, there may be other sizes that I don’t know of.
thats intresting… maybe he wil;l find this thread, as im not going to go off topic in trhe sunday photo fun thread. Im going to keep an eye on the sunda photos though.
I guess some engines will run undersize curves but, read the threads on the HWX and you will see it say’s 036 and it means 036. I have a scale Lionel Berk for 072 and it will NOT run around any thing less if I want to keep the front trucks on the engine.
LOL, i dont havy any problems whatsoever… lol… Just been loking around for some visuals. Im hoping to buy a larget loco for xmas next year, and i was just starting to look into how these larger locos apear on the tighter curves!
Another thing I just thought about is track spacing for larger engines on curves if you have two or more curves together, the front and rear end may stick out to differant sizes. I have two GP-9’s that require a large overhang on curves as they will hit anything that is too close, it is the front walkways or handrails for the crew that hit everything.
I run some engines with serious overhang even on 072, but can live with it for the glory of being able to run those particular engines. Just a word of caution- even though you may be able to squeeze through a tight curve, the increased stress may be “over the top” for some drivetrains, so I’ve recently read. The stress damage cultimates over a period of time and results with sudden failure. So the overhang I can live with, but a noticable reduction in speed or jerkiness through a curve would through out some flags for me. (I use tubular)
Tom (Spanky Bird) has a website which can be found by clicking on his profile. He has lots of pictures of his layout and trains on this site.
He has shared on the forum that one of the reasons his layout works with longer trains is because he is using the old K-Line O-27 switches which have a lower profile than the Lionel O-27 switches. This means that items which would hit the Lionel O-27 switch motors are able to pass over the K-Line switch motors.
Unfortunately the K-Line switches are no longer available.
So while a train may be able to negotiate a curve (with lots of overhang), the real issue may be which switch machines the engine can pass over.
Some of the other switch/track companies such as (Gargraves with Z-Stuff switch motors) may be able to let someone accomplish the same thing.
The largest steam engine I run is a Warhorse 773 Hudson. I am running on O-31 and O-42 curves. I guess it does look a little odd, but I’ve been watching 60 foot passenger cars and Lionel hudson’s running on O-31 track for the last 20 yrs., so it looks okay to me.
The GarGraves and Ross Custom switches are extremely low profile and just about everything will pass over a GarGraves or Ross switch, Ross & GarGraves switches are low profile like the H.O. switches.
Lionel’s 027 switches don’t allow much to pass thru them because of being so high and having such a large motor housing on the switch itself.
the largest radius I have now is my tree loop which is O54. the scale L1a I just got needs a minimum of O54, good thing I had that loop. as far as the overhang goes, it looks worse looking down at the floor. but if you get gloser to the level of the track it is not as noticable. I took some pics.
I have run my Lionmasters both the big SD-90s and even my Lionmaster big boy on 0-27 0-42 tracks. They can handle 0-31, but on the Sd-90s I had them on 0-27 track. They just look a little funny on the tight track at the turns. That was on my old layout, now everything is 0-42 0-54 and 0-72 track. Just got to watch the clearances.
Those pictures are fantastic! Thanks for chiming in! What loco is that #1600 you have running there? My eyesmust decive me as it looks dang close to scale, yet my mind tells me no way a scale chalenger would run on O-27. And the blue loco?
On a sidenote, your layout and motive power looks often, and i apreciate you taking the time to chime in. Oh, and once again, great bird!
I run a Rail King Big Boy, Lionel Train Master, F3s, and 773 scale Hudson, 51600 16-wheel flatcars, Lionel Madison cars, Rail King Superliners, 14-inch Williams heavyweights, and Lionel 5-unit TTLX spine cars on O27 track and through Lionel O27 turnouts. I use O27, Marx O34, and K-Line O42, O54, and O72 curves, all in O27 profile.
