Tightest HO radius you can buy

What is the smallest radius for an HO set you can get? I found 15" but am trying to use a 27" wide x 72" table layout for a christmas setup; I see Atlas makes flex track. Will that work without creating derailing head aches?
Thanks
Danny b&0addict

It all depends what engines & cars you have as far as what radius they can take,I wouldnt go below 18r

A 27" table width doesn't give you much space to work with. I agree that a 15" radius is the bare minimum for HO. Even then, you wouldn't be able to run anything more than a 4 axle switcher and 40' cars. With your space limitations you ought to consider a short point to point switching layout.

Ron Mele

Solution;

Get a 4 X 6 piece of PLYWOOD, put it on TOP of the table. Now you can use a minimum of 18" radius making a semi-circle on the ends. Screw a piece of HOMASOTE to the board, you can nail down your track, spray snow over the Homasote, and REUSE the layout board each Christmas.

Whaddyathink?

15" radius snap track was made for those tiny Bachman TROLLYS.

D/

You mentioned trolleys, streetcars. I once made a layout for a friend that had a small apartment and had to store the layout under his bed. We went with trolleys and streetcars and hand bent curves, very tight. The trolleys took them really well. Really nice layout for the four wheel trolleys, and the eight wheelers had some problems. The Birneys did really well.

A 36" x 80" hollow core door works well, especially for a portable HO layout that might get banged around. The 18" curves will fit nicely on the ends, with little room outside of the rails on the long sides of the door. I run a Bachmann RS1 (B-B trucks) on my portable layout, with few derailments.

The trollys are virtually a single-truck vehicle. Anybody know how a PCC car navigates a 15 incher? I have two of those IHC modern light rail Boston trollys, I figured once the main layout is going, I can add them. With trolllys running, Aurora slot car track won't look so out of place.

D/

Speaking of radius, is the track measured center to center, or outside edge to outside edge or inner rail to inner rail. I would assume center to center, but who the heck knows, right?

----> Mark

Trolley cars, streetcars, were able to negotiate the tight ninety degree turns going from a street to an avenue, etc. This was done by making the trucks with lots of movement available. Not too uncommon to see an old two truck trolley with its trucks nearly perpendicular to the body of the car swinging around a tight curve, they often squealed a lot when they did that.

Center of the circle to the center of the tie, I believe. I took a 1"X2", meassured from a nail driven into the center at the bottom, to various points out the strip. Then I drilled holes large enough to snugly fit a pencil or pen, the points measured were whatever radius I desired. Then, figuring where the curve would begin, the pencil went at the rail center, and with a sweeping motion, the ROW was cleanly mapped out on the layout surface, in this case, a large sheet of HOMASOTE.

I did the same to measure and cut strips of oaktag for superelevating the outside of the curve. Cork Roadbed was nailed into place on the inside of the curve first using the drawn line for a guide. Superelevation strips were then stapled or nailed into place on the outside accordingly, then a strip of cork put on top.

If you're still working with SNAP track, try moving up to using FLEX, which you can adapt to ANY workable radius in HO. Stick with ATLAS Flex, the other brands are troublesome to work with unless only using them on straight sections. Working with FLEX is MUCH EASIER than one expects at the outset.

D/

b&0addict wrote:What is the smallest radius for an HO set you can get? I found 15" but am trying to use a 27" wide x 72" table layout for a christmas setup; I see Atlas makes flex track. Will that work without creating derailing head aches?
Thanks
Danny b&0addict

Not much you can do with 27" though I guess if you search enough you can find 18" radius sectional track. I would not go any tighter than 18, or else you'll have problems running your trains and keeping them on the track. Check with your local hobby shop for some starter kits.

-otto-

The general rule that I've always heard is a minimal Radius of 20". But I'd say for your situation, try to bump the layout, to a width of 38". That would be the minimal table width I'd be comfortable with a 18" Radius curve. If you try to use a 27" board, you'd wind up with a Maximum of 13" curves, which *could* be fine for Trolleys, but downright useless for real Trains.

I already had a layout,like 3' large by 6' long..it was slidable under my bed and that was saving space,cause I was on a smal room before and to play my trains,Think I had need to do it!

I was with 15" radius curves and that was not too bad,I was able to run my HO Athearn GP38 and tryed a SD40,but the SD40 was very tight on the curves and have been derails lot of times,so I took it off.
I was getting 15" curves and some 12" curves that I used only with my switcher and 40' boxcars,cause a little bridge over the layout was hard to use with more thant 40' boxcar and small thanker car,I was also used some Athearn Bidd RDC ont it without any problems..

But at 12" curves,you can run only SW1XXX engines,MP15 engines and 40 feet boxcar and less longer cars..

Or you can use old timer pasengers car,maded by Roundhouse,almost the same lengh of a 40' boxcar,en for the engine,why not a steam-tender engine..can be looking great with an old-timer train on the small layout..

have a look for the old timer passengers car
http://www.roundhousetrains.com/Product ... D=RND84311

and a little steam for it
http://www.roundhousetrains.com/Product ... D=RND84750


or use a SW1000 and few freught cars.

Go as WIDE as possible where VISIBLE, and as TIGHT as your equipment will permit out of sight in tunnels, etc.

D/

b&0addict wrote:What is the smallest radius for an HO set you can get? I found 15" but am trying to use a 27" wide x 72" table layout for a christmas setup; I see Atlas makes flex track. Will that work without creating derailing head aches?
Thanks
Danny b&0addict

I wonder if we'll ever hear from our original poster again...