I am looking to setup an N scale layout & I need to know if the radius listed is to the center, inside or outside of track. I am tring to create a layout on paper first.
Thanks in advance
I believe all those measurements are (radius, track separation, etc.) are to track centers. You could go to either rail on the radius, it would affect your radius only about 3/8" or so one way or the other.
FT
Thats a good point thanks for the info.
The Radius listed is to the center of the rail. You may find a series of pinholes used to nail the track, if you desire. Some modelers use pins to holt it till the ballast glue dries.
For your paper layout, you can set up curves at 2XR to get the Diameter. For bachmann track, if radius is 11.25, Diameter will be 22.5. You may want to keep the rail at least 1.5" from any edge of your plan. A 15 to 18 in curve will be required to run any modern equipment.
You might be interested in trying the free track planning software offered by Atlas. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that commercial programs do, but the price is right. Go to www.atlasrr.com, then click on “Layouts”, and then on “RTS 7.0 Download”. It’s what I used to plan my small N scale layout.
Regards
Ed
I am a member of the great unwashed and I wouldn’t touch this subject again if there was a multi-thousand dollar prize accompanying the best answer.