am new to on30. am planing a new layout. is 3" enough clearance for centers on curves?
Dear FB,
http://nmra.org/standards/sandrp/s-8.html
Look in the O scale section, use On3 clearances.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik
thanks
Flyboy,
While I agree with Joe's suggestion, you still have to know your equipment. The stated On30 standards may work with most of the available On30 equipment, but you may need more space on centers. I use my On30 railroad as a poor man's On3. I have two K27s with take up considerable space. On curves with parallel tracks, I have between 4-4.5 inches on center.
Thanks Bob. Just what I needed. Looks like I will go with 4"
I have a simple Xmas display (4X7) with two parallel loops: a 2-6-0 pulling passenger cars (inside loop) and a 2-6-6-2 pulling reefers (outside loop). I allow only 2 1/2" center to center on both curves and straight-aways. They are close, but to me it seems to have a realistic effect, plus, in a small platform space is a premium.
In most cases, 3" between centers will be enough, though you could use less on straights. Florida Renegades Module Specs call for a minimum of 3" centers on straights and 3-3/8" on curves (we use sharp 22"-24" radius curves), and so far this has worked well. Like minimum radii, track centers also depend on the equipment you plan to run, and centers that are too big can look out of place. The D&RGW K series locos are probably the largest locos you are likely to encounter in On30, since they are really On3 rather than On30, plus the fact that their prototypes were extremely large for Narrow Gauge (some actually used Standard Gauge boilers). If you have locos with a lot of overhang at their ends (like the Forneys or 4-4-0's), you might want to test them on sample curves for proper clearances before permanently laying and ballasting the tracks on your layout. Also beware that longer cars (such as passenger) tend to swing their middles towards the inside of curves as well as swinging their ends to the outside.
Regards,
Bill
Yes, I agree that the best advice is to try various distances with your trains - since I used the passenger cars on the inside loop (see earlier posting), their inner hang doesn't effect the other train while the 2-6-6-2 articulated & reefers require less space.