What's the tightest curve that can be shaped w/ Gargraves Flex Track?
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I had one turn that was about 12" radius on an elevated line of my layout. I've heard reports of some going below 10".
That is one tight curve! Thanks for the excellent info.
Originally Posted by ADCX Rob:
I had one turn that was about 12" radius on an elevated line of my layout. I've heard reports of some going below 10".
Is that roughly the equivalent to an O-10 to 0-12 curve?
In other words is this a tighter curve than standard O-27?
Originally Posted by ADCX Rob:
I had one turn that was about 12" radius on an elevated line of my layout. I've heard reports of some going below 10".
O curves are generally expressed as DIAMETER, which is different than radius.
O-27 track is approximately 27 inch diameter, which is 13 & 1/2 inch radius.
Originally Posted by Copter:
Is that roughly the equivalent to an O-10 to 0-12 curve?
In other words is this a tighter curve than standard O-27?
Originally Posted by ADCX Rob:
I had one turn that was about 12" radius on an elevated line of my layout. I've heard reports of some going below 10".
It would be equivalent to O-20 to O-24. Remember, this designation refers to the diameter not the radius.
Originally Posted by Copter:
Is that roughly the equivalent to an O-10 to 0-12 curve?
In other words is this a tighter curve than standard O-27?
Originally Posted by ADCX Rob:
I had one turn that was about 12" radius on an elevated line of my layout. I've heard reports of some going below 10".
Double the radius to get the diameter, keeping in mind that O-27 is 12.37" center rail radius.
I have bent it to O-27 with great results. What helped was cutting a bending jig from some plywood, which I used as a form to bend the track around. This gave a nice smooth bend with no kinks, but it did take some muscle. Spreading the tie spacing out a bit first also helped.
Their used to be a guy selling tinplate trolleys in the Yellow Hall who had made a tiny circle that was about a foot across, so, that would be 0-12. The trolley zipped around very comically.
