Min Curve

Best advice, test it. Many times the minimum is dependent upon the switch (turn-out). Running M/U locomotives can't hurt.

That's what I was thinking. Just wanted to see if anyone here had any experience with a similar situation. 

The es44 will bearly make it but the mounted pilot that moves depending on your curve will derail the car right behind on a sharp turn like that 

 I read your previous thread on your layout build. I'm assuming these are scale engines as well as the inter model cars being scale. I'm really not fimilar with them nor am I familiar with Fastrack. I realize you are building a shelf layout and you want to hug the wall. 

 I would suggest as Gilly mentioned. Buy some Fastrack. Set it up on the floor and see how it goes.

  I run body mounted  Kadee couplers on everything. Including 21" passenger cars. Coming off a straight portion of track into an 072 curve. Instant derailment. With a built in easement. A gradual curve entering and leaving your minimum curve. Runs fine. In fact one of my curves in the middle is tighter than 072.

 If the 036 Fastrack has problems. You may give up some tightness to the wall doing this. Ross makes 036 curves.  8 curves make a circle. You could place one curve in the middle part of the corner. You could use a cheap piece of 4x4 plywood to mock it up. Screw the 036 down. Use this as a starting point. Insert 2 pieces of flextrack. One on each end. Then bend flextrack to the desired 90 degree curve. Use fresh Gargraves as it bends easily. Keep tapping the rails with a wood block and hammer to keep them snug with the 036. They will slide through the ties. The curve will start out gradual. Then eventually make its way to an 036. This will give you an easement entering an exiting the curve. This is pretty much it looks good by eye project. There is no ready made jig for this. You should be able to run your trains just by hooking the track up with some alligator clips. Their are plenty of tuturiols on piecing together Gargraves on the Forum.  You will end up with a larger curve. Less than you would by using an 048 though. The Gargraves is more work. Where you mentioned the layout built is in your living space. It will probably be a lot quieter than Fastrack. If you go this route. Trace out the track on the plywood. Then you will have a template.

Thanks for all the tips guys! We will try it and see what happens with an O36 curve in a M/U configuration. 

I was also wondering if it would help to break up the turn with a section of straight track? For instance, to make a turn in the corner, I would have an O36 curve, 10" straight section, and then the second O36 curve to complete the 90 degree turn. 

Do you guys think that would help? Hypothetically the trains rear coupler would only have to navigate one 45 degree turn at a time. 

MDC,

  You bet it will help, if you have the space to do it.  You can also make a custom piece of curved FasTrack, then add a straight short FasTrack section to elongate your curve engineering.  All kinds of different way to engineer it.

I make Custom FasTrack pieces with the Rockwell X2 portable Table Saw, when I need them.

PCRR/Dave

If I remember correctly, the ES44AC will reluctantly go around O36 Curves on its own, but not with anything hooked up to it.  I was able to use it on O48 with cars that had the articulated couplers, and the car had to have some weight to it.  Otherwise the it would derail.  I still have to be careful with O54 curves with what car I have directly behind the engine.  This is part of the reason most of my new rolling stock has been MTH, haven't had any troubles with this issue.  I never had any luck pairing my ES44AC and my SD80Mac (O36min) on anything less that O48.  

This was actually the inspiration of remaking my layout and rebuilding it to the current version.  Now everything is O54 min on my inner loop, and the outer loop is O63 min.  I will look at some of my old videos to double-check my memory. 

MaysDiecast posted:

Thanks for all the tips guys! We will try it and see what happens with an O36 curve in a M/U configuration. 

I was also wondering if it would help to break up the turn with a section of straight track? For instance, to make a turn in the corner, I would have an O36 curve, 10" straight section, and then the second O36 curve to complete the 90 degree turn. 

Do you guys think that would help? Hypothetically the trains rear coupler would only have to navigate one 45 degree turn at a time. 

 

 

My understanding is that inserting a straight section in the middle of the curve may help with following cars but it will not help with the lead locomotive, because it is only lengthening the curve, not reducing its radius. In other words, if the 44AC will not negotiate an O-36 FT curve, it will not do it no matter how many pieces of straight you insert into the middle of the curve.

 My thought is. It seems the abrupt change in direction is where you will have the derailment. The use of easements may let everything settle down and you can get through the lone 036 curve. If you try the Gargraves route. Ross offers 042 also. 

Thanks for the help guys. I might end up selling the 44AC to get something I know will work for sure. Anyone tried Lionel 6-82760 on O36 curves before? They show O31 as the min curve on the site, but the owners manual shows O36. 

I didn't realize O36 was such a tough curve to shop for