N Scale Acela Doable Radius

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi,

I finally gave in and bought a Bachmann N scale Acela Express. I am fully aware of its flaws, one of them being the minimun 19" radius. That said, I know they can operate on tighter curves, just not as well.

I’m starting to plan my next layout and while I could use 19" curves, I wanted to know how well it operates on 18" and below. I tried it on Kato 12" curves and it was derailing, though it was setup on the dining room table and the track might not have been even all the way around adding to the problem.

So could I have a layout with 18" curves on the mainline and then sharper curves of say 14" onto sidings? I’d like to hear from anyone who has one, what their minimum radius is and how it operates. Thank you.

2

Doesn’t anyone own one of these and have them go through a radius under 19"?

3

On what I found out on another railroad forums, is that it’s a difficult subject.

Some people who bought it said “it could probably run on 15” radius". And Bachmann is trying to sell their own track, 11.5" and 19" curve radius.