N Gauge Minimum Radii

Could you please tell me
what is the above for a Big Boy ?

Many Thanks for now

I’ll Be Back

Welcome to the forum! [#welcome]

I assume you are talking about one of those LifeLike 2-8-8-2 Mallets? Maybe not? If you are, while I don’t own any, I’ve heard from other owners that it will actually handle 9 3/4" curves, but looks best on 15" min radius curves.

I’m a diesel era modeler myself, so please excuse any ingonrance I may have of steam engines. [:I]

But at least we’re both in the best scale, right? [tup][swg]

I don’t own one, so I can’t speak from experience, but I’d say that 15" is a workable minimum radius for a large articulated steamer. While it might run on less (I wouldn’t want to put it through anything less than 11" radius), it will look rather awkward. I run diesels, which with their two trucks can handle much sharper curves, and I have even noticed an appreciable slowdown when my six-axle units go around a 12" curve; I’m trying to adhere to a 15" mainline minimum myself.

MABRUCE: You’re right about being in the best scale!

I have a Con Cor Big Boy. When i first got it, I ran it on a small board using Kato UniTrack with a 9 3/4" radius. It will handle that radius with no problem, but it doesn’t look realistic. Broader curves look so much better.