Hi everyone.
My question is what radius curves will an HO 2-10-2 locomotive handle?
Thanks, Charlie
Charlie, Welcome to the forum.
I think it depends on the model, but my IHC 2-10-2 handles 22" radius with no problems at all. It complains on 18" so I don’t run it there, even though IHC says 18" is OK. It has blind center drivers.
The Spectrum, Heritage and BLI 2-10-2’s would probably be fairly comfortable on a 24" radius, but if you’re thinking brass, I wouldn’t put one on anything less than a 30". Brass locos have a lot closer tolerances than the plastics, and not nearly the ‘give’ in the drivers. Remember, a 2-10–2 has a longer fixed wheelbase than most articulateds. Curves that a 2-8-8-2 or even the newer 4-8-8-4’s can take with ease might bind the drivers on a long-wheel based non-articulated.
I wouldn’t go below a 24", just for safety’s sake.
Tom
I have a BLI 2-10-2 that runs on my 23" radius just fine. I have had to improve some of the track for other reasons because the big steamer is less forgiving than my diesels and derails more often.
Model Railroader Magazine tested the PRR J1 2-10-4 made by BLI and reported that it would negotiate 22" curves despite the accompanying literature claiming the minimum to be 24" for that loco. I agree with MR. HOwever, it can only do it at walking speed…as in, if a brakeman walked beside the locomotive and whispered sweet nothings into its injector overflow…carefully.
The J1’s had 69" drivers, and I have no idea what your prototype would have had, but if it was in the 65" range, and the model was scaled appropriately, you should anticipate that 22" would be okay at yard speeds consistently.
If you want piece of mind, I’d take the advice of the person suggesting that 24 " should be your minimum. Otherwise, you had better be darned good at laying tracks.