Laying track

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi,

What is the distance apart of yard track centre to centre for HO.

Ken Ison

2

my guess 2 "

B

3

Ken,

The default ‘standard’ for most HO is 2". This is 14’ 6" center to center. Most prototype railroad used anywhere from 13’ to 14’ during the steam era. Because our model curves are so sharp, we usually ‘widen’ the spacing on curves. The NMRA has a pretty good suggested spacing at this URL:

http://www.nmra.org/standards/s-8.html

Most modern railway construction is done with a minumum of 15’ centers(government regulation), and some railroads are using 20-30’ track centers on main lines. This allows MOW crews working on a track to not have to ‘dismount’ while a train passes by on the next parallel track.

Jim Bernier

4

As stated, 2" is the standard… Following prototype practice is nice but in practical terms, 2 inch centers leaves about 3/8 inch between rows of cars making it difficult to find specific ones. Especially if your layout is chest height or above… You may want to condider spacing them a little further apart. These are about 2.25 inches apart.

[image]http://www.rolleiman.com/trains/p1000470.jpg[/image]

Jeff
[8D]

5

Thanks for the information to all.

Ken Ison

6

I think 2.5" is about right(I HAVE FAT FINGERS)

JIM[^][2c]