When the Lionel AD70Ace first came out the min curve was listed as O31. A CTT review also listed the min curve as O31. In later catalogues O36 is listed as the minimum curve. Anybody actually tried O31 on this model - Thanks.
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I have the engine I believe you are referring to. I thought it was listed as "O Gauge" and did not give a turn radius. It is a fairly big engine.
It navigates ALMOST all my 031 turns. I have quite few 031 turns so my guess is at is my fault in the way I laid some of the turns.
I also have the MTH version and it handles all the turns.
Jeff - thanks for the reply - CTT thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. They are selling at one online site for about $350.
Never operated mine on anything tighter than O36, on which it runs great. The overhang is somewhat extreme, though, which may be a reason why Lionel changed the minimum curve on later versions.
I just gone done running both the MTH Ace and my Legacy Ace. The MTH is from their Imperial line.
I usually favor Legacy sounds over DCS by a large margin. I have the say this DCS has a really awesome full sounding loud horn. Very very nice. It is also smooth and a strong puller. MTH did a great job on this one and kept inexpensive.
One Lionel catalog had the SD70ACe running on O31 curves and one said O36. I emailed Customer Service and they said O31 is correct.
I have one - it runs really well on 31 and pulls very hard - it use it to pull my track vaccuum and cleaning car train, which is heavy and puts up alot of resistance. But on 31 and even 36 it sticks out a lot. It looks a lot better on 42 and wider.
