For my layout, I’m planning on helper operations starting at the highest track elevation, where the main track immediately enters staging, presumably leading to a mountain pass. It is a great excuse for turntable and engine facilities, with the resultant display and movement of locomotives, without a yard. (The layout won’t have any yards: trains originate and terminate in staging.)
Mark
You stated in your original post that you wanted to run passenger trains too. Using the radii you mentioned above you WILL, not might, but definitely WILL have problems running full size passenger cars on adjacent tracks with a 2" separation between tracks. I’ve tested it. Get some flex track and lay out a 28", 30" and 32" radius curve and run a passenger car on each track. When they pass each other there is NO clearance. NMRA RP calls for 2.25 - 2.5 spacing for curves of that radii and cars of that length.
While you can build whatever layout design you want, watch/running trains in a ‘circle’ gets boring after a short while, even to my 12 year old. he was running on his local NMRA Div modular layout and after 15-20 minutes was bored running in a circle. He found far more enjoyment in switching cars around.
Hi Pennsy Nut,
About the actual Horse Shoe Curve:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Curve_(Altoona,_Pennsylvania)
In HO radii from 83"up to 88".
BTW, my 8 yr old is the very same. Snapping the tracks on the floor on the room is a great son and dad job. Running for 15 minutes; then the real fun starts: trains chasing each other and almost always a near miss.
Paul
Well, I knew some of you would say it would get boring! I have two jobs, and when I finally get home, I would like to just sit there and watch/listen to some of my trains go by… I don’t need another job!
As for the actual scale radii of Horseshoe curve - if I had that kinda space, I wouldn’t be in this dilema…
Thanks to those that gave encouraging comments! I drew out some more detailed sketches today, and was able to get even a litttle more radius out of it in places. As for the passenger car comment - I’m working on that. I am stretching things a bit to gain the little bit I need to run my one passenger train on the outter track. We will see - just brainstorming at this point…
Please share your progress as you go. As you follow your own heart on this, remember to get the mechanics of the layout planned well.
Having a bunch of trains hidden in tunnel staging, stalling and derailing, will seem like another job when you try to access them. Staging behind a backdrop might be a better idea if this is your first layout. It sounds like you’re trying to account for radius, so I would definitely listen to the recommendations of those responders who know about the rolling stock you want to run before you start to permanently attach track to roadbed.
Doughless - Thanks! I have done some experimenting already - several years ago, I started the layout pictured below in the area I’m working with. It is 6’6" on one end and 5’6" on the other, 13ft long and has 30" and 32" radius on one end and 25" and 27" on the other end. So, I have two loops of track that I have been able to see what runs on it already. My passenger train runs only on the outer loop right now.
Here is a sketch of what I am thinking now (this is only one end). By moving pivot for the radii, I opened up the curves to separate for the tunnels a little. And I have also varied the pivot a little to open up the track spacing to address the passenger train issue (they would still only run on the outer 2 tracks). And I would probably use only early diesels on the inner track.
The #6 crossovers would go the opposite way on the other side. And I don’t show it, but I already have a #6 double crossover that I would reuse between the two middle rails in the straight area under the back - that gives me a way to get between all 4 tracks.
Staging isn’t shown either, but would come off of the 28" radius track, crossover the others a