Hi there,
For Christmas my father purchased an SD45 with a minimum of 0-54. With a mix of 0-36, 0-42, and 0-54 I figured just maybe I could skid by. I have notice the height of the front and rear deck often comes in contact with the rails causing a hault, but hope to be able to accommodate the beautiful Santa Fe SD45. Is anyone aware of modifications I can make to fit the engine.
thanks
merry Christmas
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Please show us picture of your trackwork and a small video of the diesel negotiating the curves. This will give us a hint on how to assist you. Also this will show us your track. Thank you.
Don't know about the engine, but O54 curves on the layout will fix it. 
This sounds more like a gradient issue.
Get a small level and make sure your track is level especially going into and coming out of the curve.
O-36 is tight. Even for Lionmaster diesels that are designed to negotiate it. I'd do whatever you can to modify the layout.
In the long run it will be better for the locomotive. Its not cheap, treat it right.
Your only seeing the obvious. Theres also the unseen stress on the axles grinding through the turn, as well as the possible pulling, pinching, and rubbing of the pickup wires going through the chassis to the trucks.
BTW, mixing radius' through a curve does not change the radius of the curve. Often folks think that if they lead into a smaller radius with a larger one it makes a difference.
My point, and I suspect Rick's as well, if you're looking at larger stuff, you might as well plan ahead. The least desirable option is to start hacking new locomotives for layout deficiencies. Although I don't have a huge space, the layout I'm currently building has nothing less than O72 curves, and most are in the 80-90" diameter. You sacrifice a lot of flexibility with small curves, there's a lot of great locomotives that just won't quite run.
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
