Maybe someone else has tried this. Not sure what the Lionel measurements are taken from on the track-center rail, outside rail etc… Thanks
They must be measured from the center rail.You need at leat four foot three inches.Our club extended our modules to four foot six inches to have one inch of border around the edges.
Ed
Thanks, thats a bummer, I already have molding made for my train table-handmade by my father. It would be nice if they made another diameter that would fit on a 4x8.
They do make another size that will fit a 4x8. They make an O-36, that I believe measures 40 inches to the outside edges of the roadbed, this would give 4 inches border on each side.
MTH makes RealTrax in an O-31 diameter, as well as an O-42 diameter curve that should fit on a 4x8 as well.
Doug
You can add a 3/4 " border around the edge of the 4x8 which will provide 49-1/2" width. More problematic but workable and wider, I did it for a neighborhood kid, some years ago**:** Add 1 x 4s----3/4 x 3-1/2" actual] flatwise and laminate additional 1x4s [or ripped plywood or even 3/4 scrap from the Depot’s mistake bin] underneath,equidistant distance from the joint. Fasten the laminated 1 x 4 with 1-1/4" drywall screws and ,importantly, white Elmer’s or brown construction glue. Not necessarily pretty but it is still a part of the young man’s expanded layout. We covered his with 1/2" blue extruded foam which hid the fabrication.
In his case he had it on his Dad’s saw horses which I lengthened with a 1x4 to nearly equal the 55" width of the new platform.
One thing you “could” do if you still wanted to fit it on a 48" wide sheet of plywood is to have 1/4 of the circle 48 curve and the next 1/4 circle 36 curve, then the curve at the other end 1/4 circle of 36 and 1/4 circle of 48. If your picky you might find it goofey looking but this setup does not stick out like a sore thumb.
You’ll need more than 1 1/2 inch. The roadbed is about twice that wide, more if I remember correctly.
I think Boyd is on the right track. But I suggest a spiral curve instead, which will look far from goofy. Use 2 sections of O60, then 2 sections of O36, and finally 2 sections of O60. The width of this 180-degree turn will be 43 inches to the center rails, plus the width of the roadbed, which is certainly less than 5 inches.
You might also consider using Gargraves track ( I believe you can bend it to suit ). Being that you’re building a small layout, not too much trackage would be involved. I don’t know however, if FastTrack is compatible with Gargraves in the event there are Fasttrack switches and accessory tracks involved in your set-up. Maybe someone else will chime in with this in mind.
The Boge
Deleted
You can bend GarGraves track if it is the flexible track that they sell or you will have to remove the little pieces of plastic from underneath the ties that hold the ties in place. GarGraves 042 curves come close to 43 inches for a circle.
Far as adding GarGraves track to Fastrac you will need the Lionel Fastrac adapter to O gauge tubular and GarGraves adapter pins to O gauge track. Just use the 036 curves in Fastrac and add a small straight section, five inch straight or shorter, in between to get it to fit.
Lee F.
You can eliminate the expensive Fastrack to “O” adapter section by using the GarGraves to O adapter pins straight to Fastrack. Just pull the pins from the Fastrack section you are connecting to… it takes a slight disassembly of the Fastrack, but it is completely reversible.
Fastrack matches the height of “O”, so as with matching GarGraves to “O”, you will have to raise it to meet the Fastrack rail height.
Rob
I posted an “improved” spiral yesterday, but then deleted it when I realized that I had gotten one of the track lengths wrong. This one requires cutting track, to get a 60-degree O36 stretch. I erroneously imagined that that could be done with 1 1/2 sections; but it actually requires 1 1/3. That could be made, for example, by splicing together two 2/3 sections, or by combining a full section with a 1/2 section cut down to 1/3, if one were willing. The spiral is 2 O48, 1 1/3 O36, and 2 O48. It is 42 inches wide to the center rails, leaving 3 inches for the half-roadbed on each side.
Yet another idea, this time without cutting: 1 O48, 1 O36, 1 O48, 1 O36, 1 O48. This is about 40 3/4 inches between center rails, leaving 3 5/8 inches for the half-roadbed on each side.
To summarize:
Scheme A: 2 O60, 2 O36, 2 O60, W = 43.029, L = 26.485, M = 2.485
Scheme B: 2 O48, 1 1/3 O36, 2 O48, W = 42, L = 23.196, M = 3
Scheme C: O48, O36, O48, O36, O48, W = 40.714, L = 21.204, M = 3.643
where W is the width in the 4-foot direction to the center rails, L is the length in the 8-foot direction from the beginning of the curve to the center rail, and M is the margin at the beginning of the curve between the center rail and the edge of the board.
Another possibilty but using 036 curves in Fastrac and 4.5 inch or 5 inch straights to get close to the edge of the table. I just bought an expander pack of Fastrac in 036 curves and the size from outside edge of the roadbed to the other outside edge of a circle using only 036 curves is about 39 inches.
Lee F.