[tom h]

Sorry for asking but I have tried to look up previous posts in archives but had no luck, how many inches between tracks, and if you are using 10 ft curved track, is it the same difference between tracks around curves.

Thanks for the help

tom h

 

[Tom Bowdler]

It partly depends on what you're running. If your stock is small locos and four wheeled cars you can get away with less spacing than if you run big K steamers, large modern diesels and long freight and passenger cars which have longer overhangs on curves. On my layout 8" between track centers suffices for just about everything. I have 10 ft radius curves. My old layout had 10 ft diameter curves but most of the cars and locos were smaller back then. I don't remember what the spacing was on that layout but I think it was less than 8".
Take your biggest motive power (or the biggest your friends would bring to an open house) and your longest cars, lay some track temporarily, and push them back and forth past each other in opposite directions so you can see the clearance that will be needed in your particular situation.
Hope this helps,
Tom

 

[NTCGRR]

Agree 100%%
8" on center to center. I use that on 20' dia also to allow for 1:20 friends to run.
Plus GMM cat walks works great on bridges with that.

 

[Trains]

My new layout has 8" track spacing on the passing sidings. The sidings are both on a curve so there is plenty of room. It's better to go a little wider then you might need.

 

[Guest]

i use minimum 6" center to center on straights.
on R1 curves i use 9" center to center. but i got only short stock. my longest car is 16" and my longest loco is the bachmann 4-6-0 from the starter set.

 

[pimanjc]

Tom,
I have double line most of the way around my layout. The width varies.

Crossover Inside rail to inside rail is 9 inches.

10/12ft curves.... separation varies from max of 7inches to min. of 5in., inside to inside.

At location of UP-FA, the tracks are about 7inches apart, inside to inside.

Track in this area varies from a minimum of 5inches [going around a tree] to a maximum of 7inches, inside to inside rail. [Hedgeapples fell just moments before train entered area. No time to stop.]

East end loops ~ 6inches between inner rails, narrowing to minimum of 5 inches where the orange reefer is located. [SD-45 now operated on the New River and Western RR]
My longest cars are Streamliners and SD-45s. There are no problems with them. However, I'm not sure how a pair of opposing direction 1/20, K-27s would do on my narrower locations. My suggestion is to stay at 7-10 inches, inside to inside rails, to play it safe.
Jim Carter

 

[lathroum]

The dreaded osage orange....

Not native here in Maryland, but one yard has a few trees near the road...

As kids we used to roll them down the street under the car tires...

School buses were best...

Philip

 

[rpc7271]

These days real railroads use 25 feet minimum between tracks. Way back in the day it was as little as 15 feet. At 1:24 scale 15 feet is 12 1/2 inches and 15 feet is 7 1/2 inches. I have uses as little as 6 inches but the new railroad in the back yard will have a minimum of 10 inches between tracks.

 

[Greg Vocks]

Here is one of the handiest charts for this type of info:
http://www.urbaneagle.com/data/RRstddims.html

 

[Enginear]

Greg, very nice chart, thanks for posting. I have areas that fall less than 5" between rails and my G gauge challenger running on the inside loop will hit something on the outside. I keep it on the outside for now but the overhang is great. So from now on all curves will have at least 6" between, 8" o/c. When I run a long car like the USA's intermodal on the outside rail, it also hangs inside, a great deal more if used on a 10' curve. Joe

 

[Marauderer]

Thanks for the link for the chart Greg.