I’m think of building an N scale industrial style switcher whish will be two modules each 1X6 feet making a total of 12 Feet of running space. I need to know how much clearance I need to provide an N scale SW-1500 and some modern style cars 50-80 feet long.
Thanks Very Much!
Not quite sure what you mean by “clearance” in this case, but I assume you mean side-to-side. On straight track on my N scale layout I use 15 scale feet between track centres (1 1/8"). It’s a little wider than average prototype, but looks fine and is easy to measure (I built a simple jig out of styrene to help lay tracks at a consistent width). Clearances get critical on curves and the clearance required will depend on the radius of the curve and the length of the equipment being used. Even a 40-foot boxcar going through a no. 4 turnout has more overhang than you might expect–with 80-foot cars you will have to be careful to provide adequate clearance, but, again, how much will depend on the radius of the curve.
If you haven’t read the late John Armstrong’s “Track Planning for Realistic Operation”, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy–it goes into the “math” of track planning in great detail and is an invaluable reference.
Thanks a lot. I live in an area where there is not much interest in trains (Atlanta, GA, USA) I’ve looked for a bunch of great books, but have not found many. Thanks for the info!
Everything you could want to know about recommended clearances is on the NMRA web site (www.nmra.org). For track centers, they are based on curve radius and can be found at: http://www.nmra.org/standards/s-8.html
Even with those, I would lay down the first track and then test the needs of your longest rolling stock just to make sure. Murphy tends to rear his head during this process!