Can you buy or bend 3-rail tube track sections or lengths to a radius tighter than 027?

Didn't you just ask the question recently?

Yep, and it appears to have been deleted.  (I can't find it.)

I think I should have posted it in this layout forum, instead of the traditional O gauge forum.  My mistake.

Mannyrock

John Coy’s Glacier Lines has a very tight turn as a reverse loop using Gargraves flextrack. Could be 024.  Very small engine pushing a snowplow. There’s a video on You Tube showing it. Should be fine for a handcar. If you pickup some Gargraves. Purchase new stock if you can. May not hurt to spray the ties with some WD 40 as it let the rails move easier. Just find a flower pot or something the diameter you want to bend it around. When done just reposition the ties and fasten it down.

@Mannyrock posted:

Yep, and it appears to have been deleted.  (I can't find it.)

I think I should have posted it in this layout forum, instead of the traditional O gauge forum.  My mistake.

Mannyrock

If you take an O 27 section of track and fill the rails with sand it will bend easier and not collapse

I have bent Gargraves flex track to something just  under 024 using the method Dave C. outlined above. Use plenty of WD40 and even push some of the ties by hand if need be. I make a bending jig out of ply wood -- 1/4' is fine for this job. I cut a semi circle of the desired radius out of one piece and then screw it to the other piece leaving at least 6" from the outer edge of the radius exposed on the lower piece. Then holding the flex track on the lower piece of wood, slowly pull it against the curved piece to bend it.

You could use EZ Streets 20" radius curved track to meet your radius requirements, and transition back to traditional tubular track.

Thanks to all for the excellent advice.

Jeff, I looked the EZ street O gauge track but I am confused.  The product says that it is not intended to operated powered trains?

What??? 

If an O Gauge handcar can run on it, then that may be my easiest solution, since I will have a dedicated track for the handcar and no O gauge locos will be run on it.

Thanks,

Mannyrock

You can run handcars, most of the popular street cars, the K-line Plymouth switchers, RMT RDC cars (with the coupler removed), etc. Lots of information on this site regarding the Easy Streets/ Super Streets and which power units will negotiate the 16" and 20" radius curves.

@jeffrey O'Brien 082418 posted:

You could use EZ Streets 20" radius curved track...

Radius or diameter?

I have used the inside of a 027 curve as a form for bending gargraves track.  Im not sure if it got down to 024 but my lionel trolley and mth pcc cars ran just fine on it.

Posted yesterday, Gargraves can be bent to 016. This was test to see if one of my trolleys would run on K-Line Superstreets 016. No problem bending the track but the trolley would not negotiate a curve that sharp so I never invested in Superstreets.

Pete

I have bent Gargraves to tighter than O27, though rather than use sand as the filler(which is pretty clever actually,)  I inserted solid copper conductor that was slicked up with grease and then bent the track around a metal trash can with a tapered radius to the desired  curvature.The tie spacing can get crowded/problematic but can be eased with some selective clipping of the ties on the inside rail and centers.  Love those Gargraves wooden ties too, using spikes to fix minor gauge issues.

I think the EZ-Streets would be the easy way to do the trick.

These insights are greatly appreciated because I had not considered this prospect. I’m planning a trolley line with reverse loops and wanted to tighten up the turnaround area.

Dallee Electronics, did a couple of different Trolley (Back and forth) electronic packages.  A couple, with timed station stops.  The back and forth eliminates the need for a tight turn-around.

Basic Requirements:  F/N/R electronics,  12 ft to 15 feet of track.

Thanks Mike for the reminder about Dallee Electronics. I will be using some PCCs, and Lionel bump and go, so I want the movement to be fluid and continuous.

Thanks for all comments.  I'm gonna try the EZ track first.

I like the idea of temporary back and forth fluid motion.  So, I am heading in that direction with my handcar project.  I'm gonna use an Evansdesign motion detector with a 30 second timer, located along one of my lesser used tracks, to turn it on at apparently random times.

Mannyrock