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Hello, forum denizens!
Our club, the Mendocino Coast Model Railroad and Historical Society, is getting ready to install a 45mm gauge layout at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (near Fort Bragg, CA, about 3.5 hrs North of San Francisco). It will have depictions of many local historic sites related to our area's rail-related history (mostly logging).
I and a couple of other members have many years of live steam experience (1:20.3, mostly), and all that experience tells us "make the curves as large diameter as possible." However, modeling is, of necessity, compromise! We want to ensure that we pick curve sizes such that we exclude as few engines from running on the layout as possible, while not taking up all available layout space with huge curves. We're contemplating minimum diameters of somewhere in the 10' to 16' range, with 12.5' being one of the current favorites.
From extensive googling (gotta love that verb!), we see that the cab forward and Big Boys need 20' diameters (as I recall---don't have the list or that web site open as I type this). We find a *few* larger engines spec'ed to require 12-13' (min diameters). However, the vast majority seem to have min specs of 8'.
I'd like to request the following feedback from this oh-so-well-informed-and-experienced bunch of folks:
1. Recommendations for min diameters (any specific experiences, positive or negative, would be appreciated).
2. Any issues anyone's had with engines/published min diameter specs.
By the way, the layout will have facilities for electric engines as well, so any experience related to specific engine/curve issues would be good to know, too (I know, I know --- I *try* not to wear my live steam 'blinkers', but it's just so *hard* ).
Many thanks, and Cheerio!
Deb Smith
SA #116
Our club, the Mendocino Coast Model Railroad and Historical Society, is getting ready to install a 45mm gauge layout at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (near Fort Bragg, CA, about 3.5 hrs North of San Francisco). It will have depictions of many local historic sites related to our area's rail-related history (mostly logging).
I and a couple of other members have many years of live steam experience (1:20.3, mostly), and all that experience tells us "make the curves as large diameter as possible." However, modeling is, of necessity, compromise! We want to ensure that we pick curve sizes such that we exclude as few engines from running on the layout as possible, while not taking up all available layout space with huge curves. We're contemplating minimum diameters of somewhere in the 10' to 16' range, with 12.5' being one of the current favorites.
From extensive googling (gotta love that verb!), we see that the cab forward and Big Boys need 20' diameters (as I recall---don't have the list or that web site open as I type this). We find a *few* larger engines spec'ed to require 12-13' (min diameters). However, the vast majority seem to have min specs of 8'.
I'd like to request the following feedback from this oh-so-well-informed-and-experienced bunch of folks:
1. Recommendations for min diameters (any specific experiences, positive or negative, would be appreciated).
2. Any issues anyone's had with engines/published min diameter specs.
By the way, the layout will have facilities for electric engines as well, so any experience related to specific engine/curve issues would be good to know, too (I know, I know --- I *try* not to wear my live steam 'blinkers', but it's just so *hard* ).
Many thanks, and Cheerio!
Deb Smith
SA #116