Could anyone tell me what the minimum radius for the HO Brill trolley car is? I am planning a new traction layout, and can't seem to find this information anywhere.
MM-
I don't know the party line on the minimum radius for your Brill trolley but you can be sure it will go around any curve
you can put in flex track. The only thing which might interfere on a really tight curve would be a trailer. Even then, I
would expect it to easily clear 15", and probably 12".
-- D
Thanks, D. The party line is 15", but 12" does seem reasonable. I was hoping to get away with 8", but that's probably asking for the impossible. I've got a Birney Safety Car that could probably do it, though.
MM-
You might have to hand lay track to get to an eight-inch radius.
Flex track might work if you cut the inside ends off of every
second tie but you will face a serious risk of creating a kink if
you try flex.
-- D
I've been using Micro-Engineering code 70 flex for the trolley line on our club down to 8" radius. It does work, but you need to be careful in doing the bending so that the rails don't pull out of the spike heads in the ties. We're running the Bachmann Birney and the Con-Cor PCC on the 8" curves with no problems thus far. I think the Brill will also pass around the 8" curve, but they don't run as well as the Birney.