Easing Curves

[MangakaRailfan]

Alright.... Is there any way to ease my tight curves with straight pieces so I can run bigger locomotives?

 

[bill937ca]

Which curves are you using?

[MangakaRailfan]

Kato R150

 

[Giugiaro]

Oh dear...

 

That is Pocket Line track. That 150mm radius is much smaller than the currently accepted 280mm radius for most modern rolling stock.

[railsquid]

48 minutes ago, MangakaRailfan said:

Alright.... Is there any way to ease my tight curves with straight pieces so I can run bigger locomotives?

 

 

Define "bigger locomotives".

 

There are certainly some Tomix locos which are happy with quite small radiuses, e.g. ED75:

 

 

[Cat]

A proper easement spirals in gradually to the tightest radius in the curve.  It provides a smoother transition so the cars don't look so jerky entering the corner.
 
The best way to cheat if you have the space is to use a short piece of a wider radius at each end of the curve, a 15º segment of the next larger radius will do.

[bill937ca]

5 hours ago, MangakaRailfan said:

Kato R150

 

Its called R216, R249, R282.  R150 is tram track. Can't run a Big Boy on R150. Maybe it's time to take up knitting.

[cteno4]

Breaking up tight radius like r150 with short straights I doubt would do much and just expand your radius when just using the next radius up of r183 might give much better and smoother results and take up the same space. It’s going to look jerky going back and forth from straight to curve and this is the transition from straight to a sharp curve that can at time cause derailment and decoupling issues (hence why larger radius transitions into tighter curve look and perform better than hitting a tight curve right off straight).

 

As squid notes, many locos and even larger cars can navigate tight radius track, but it can look pretty bad and may have performance issues, so why the usual larger radius suggested track from the manufacturer than what it might be able to squeak out.

 

as you lower the curve radius you also tend to have increased sensitivity to things like the track not being all level or track joints not being smooth due to any imperfections on track ends and/or tweaked joiners.

 

best get a few radii and play some before jumping int9 an big purchases.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[MangakaRailfan]

Quote

 

Whoops! I believe it's actually R183!

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by MangakaRailfan

[MangakaRailfan]

12 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

12 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

Breaking up tight radius like r150 with short straights I doubt would do much and just expand your radius when just using the next radius up of r183 might give much better and smoother results and take up the same space. It’s going to look jerky going back and forth from straight to curve and this is the transition from straight to a sharp curve that can at time cause derailment and decoupling issues (hence why larger radius transitions into tighter curve look and perform better than hitting a tight curve right off straight).

 

As squid notes, many locos and even larger cars can navigate tight radius track, but it can look pretty bad and may have performance issues, so why the usual larger radius suggested track from the manufacturer than what it might be able to squeak out.

 

as you lower the curve radius you also tend to have increased sensitivity to things like the track not being all level or track joints not being smooth due to any imperfections on track ends and/or tweaked joiners.

 

best get a few radii and play some before jumping int9 an big purchases.

 

cheers

 

jeff

Whoops! IT'S ACTUALLY R183! I must've read the wrong lettering!

Edited June 10, 2022 by MangakaRailfan

[katoftw]

Use R216 or R249 instead?

[MangakaRailfan]

Possibly. Althought i'm probably modelling the choshi electric railway, so I don't think it would be a problem.

 

[MangakaRailfan]

52 minutes ago, katoftw said:

Use R216 or R249 instead?

Probably not a problem. I'm modelling the Choshi electric railway in the 50s-60s, so it probably won't be a problem.

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by MangakaRailfan