Hi all,
I’m building the benchwork for my N scale layout and I’ve run into a problem. There is a spot were a curved track has to go through a vertical 1x3 that is supporting the backdrop. My question is how big of a hole do I need to cut in the 1x3 so there is enough clearance from side to side? The radius of the curve is 12.5" and I would like to run modern Amtrak equipment through this part of the layout. Thanks in advance for any help.
If you get it centered right you should be good with a 1.5" width. I looked at the NMRA track center standards, they don’t go down to 12.5" curves for class 1A (full length passenger cars), so I did some guessing, and added a bit for good measure. See: http://www.nmra.org/standards/s-8.html and http://www.nmra.org/standards/s-7.html for fun!
Quick width test: Use a passenger car as it will probably be the widest rolling stock on your layout.
The issue isn’t so much how wide it is, it is how far it overhangs on the curve. The longest cars will overhang the most, so they are what to test.
Thank you Jeff (Vail & Southwestern RR) for the refinement… longer means more overhang is what I was going for.
Thanks for the reply. 1.5"!![:O][?] Wow this N scale stuff is smaller than I thought!
I would do this but I don’t have anything in N scale at the moment. (Accept for an N&W caboose that won’t be used on the layout.) I want to get the benchwork and some track done before I start buying rolling stock.
Remember, 1.5" is 20 feet in the “real world”, or is that the scale world…hmmmm…
Also, that was for a single track, right?
Yes it is for a single track. This measurement is from the center of the track outward right? So I will have to cut a 3" hole in the 1x3. That might be a problem. [banghead] I kind of misspoke in my first post. I meant I would like to be able to run Amtrak on this part of the layout. I will most likely end up running coalporters and small boxcars in this area.
No, the 1.5 inches is centered on the track, so 3/4 to either side.
Thanks again. I think I got it figured out now.
CSXFan;
I have a stupid question - as opposed to my normally stupid answers/responses.
If you are going to take a 1 X 3 (which is, I believe actually only .75 X 2.5 and you want/need to punch a hole through it to run a 12.5 inch radius curve (and a 1.5 inch width should be sufficient for this purpose) why don’t you just eliminate (or at least reposition) the whole vertical one by since, when you get done, you ain’t gonna have enough wood left to support much of anything?
Its not really a stupid question since it would seem easy enough to just move the support an 1 1/2" one way or the other but it turns out that the 1x3 needs to stay right were it is. If I move it to the right the backdrop won’t be able to separate the two different scenes well enough. If I move it to the left the support will be too close to another track. Maybe a pic will better explain what I mean.
I don’t think this 1x3 needs to support much of anything other than its own weight because the backdrop material weighs next to nothing. I’ll still have 1/2" on each side of the 1x3 to work with after I cut the 1 1/2" hole. This support will be only 20” high and it will have another 1x2 running horizontally along its top. I hope this wasn’t too confusing [:D]!
Whatever!!!