Will these cars work on an 18" radius curve?
I know the box states that it recommends 24" but I was wondering if anyone has tried these cars on a smaller curve & with what results?
I want to buy some , but I have an 18" curve that I can’t modify without a whole lot of destruction to a large section of my layout.
Thanks
Gordon
if you run really really really slow they’ll probably barely make the 18" curves, but they recommend 24" to keep derailments down. oyu might be able to get by with 22" curves, but if they’re recommending 24" minimum, i’d stick with that.
these are long cars and need wide turns, just remember that a 1’ long, or ,longer, car trying to make an 18" curve is bound to derail as the trucks get pushed to the limits.
I have some of their cars and they don’t run very good on 18" radius.rambo1…
Thanks for the info! I’ll go with plan ‘B’
Gordon
What happened to the old Walthers Fun TO Build kits, they were the greatest. they had almost any type of heavy weight pass. car there was. I guess no one wants to build anything any more.
I have several Walther’s passenger cars, to include FOUR
Viewliner units. To state this from experience, these will
not handle tight curves. The swing is too great and not only
derails but uncoupling problems will persist if not ran on a
wide curve. DO NOT get them if your system has anything less
than 22’ curves !!! Try to stick with something shorter.
I’ve bought Amtrak Superliner cars from Walthers and I can tell you for sure–18" radius curves just don’t cut it. One modeler above indicated that Walthers recommends a minimum of 24" and he’s right. They look best on even broader curves as they make the sweep–the arc of the cars looks realistic as they turn and the spacing between the cars from a concave viewpoint looks super.
My Budds run on a 22" after I changed the coupler to an extra long KD shank, the # 26 but it’s not perfect.
I have not tried the KD #454 that has a wide lateral swing.
I know how it can be with limited space. What you can try is mixing 22" and 18" radius curves to give you a bout a 19-20 inch radius curve. My Walthers Cars perform well on those curves and this is without any modifications to the cars themselves.
Hope this helps!!
To simplify…for appearances sake and best operation, go with the largest possible radius you can get into your space, and don’t skimp on the easements either. My Rivarossi and Walthers combined 15 car GN Empire Builder will just run on 24"r, but look so much better on 48" to 72" r curves. It is worth sacrificing tangent (straight) for curves if you are going to run any passenger and you will find your freights look better, too. Just don’t forget to allow 12" straight between reverse curve easements.
tholcapn Port Townsend,WA