Ok, i just can't seem to wrap my mind around this one, but think i'm halfway there, or halfway stupid, take your pick. lol
If i want an 11 inch curve radius, does that mean the inside rails need to be 22 inches apart?

I've read some stuff on curve radius but i've hit a mental block & it just won't gel in my head. Help!!

Hi All, just new to this hobby and switched from HO scale to N as it seems I will have more room to be creative in a smaller space.

I was wondering if anyone has ever bent a single piece of Peco flex track vertically/horizontally, meaning, making a smooth curved bridge. Kinda like this

___-------____

but out of one piece of flex track if you get what i mean.
the track seems to be able to flex that way to some extent, just wondering if anyone has actualy done it.

Well I must say I was a bit dissatified there, had that problem with the dead CP 1412 engine. I decided since it was screwed anyways that I would take it apart & see what was up. I unsoldered the old wires, put on some new ones from a cat 5 piece of cable I had laying around, and now she's back on track!

I have another problem now that I have to address. the coupler on the back of the engine has broken off, & it's attached to the chasis and not the truck, allready tried with a bit of crazy glue to see if that would work and no luck, still comes off. (and I don't mean just the horn coupler, but the hole bracket that holds the coupler has snapped off the body).

Again, just getting into this, and this was a cheap purchase of an older model, but this "f series" engine as some on here suspect it is, doesn't have much power. It barely makes it up the grade that came with the set for the bridge, and I had to shave down the top of the bridge supports as it kept getting caught in the bottom of the engine truck flanges. All in all, I'm not impressed by this Bachmann train set. Not saying I would not buy another Bachmann set or piece of equipment, but all in all I find this a rather shabby product.

but as my venture into this great hobby is just begining, I will truck on. I'm thinking N scale is the way I want to go, just looks like more space to be able to creat & play with.

So for those of you with broken stuff, take it apart, see how it works, you might just be able to fix it on your
own.

Thanks to those who gave me some ideas, and sorry, but no thanks goes out to Bachmann support.

after finaly getting this loco running, welding all the track etc..., the darn thing went up & died about 4 hours into running it. not a consecutive 4 hours, just in total.
the track has power, i can see little blue sparks when i touch the wheels to it. the light however died about 10 mins prior to the loco failure.
it is the flathead type of motor. anyone got any ideas? was there not a lifetime waranty on these things?
i'm just getting into the hobby and now this!  grrrrrrr
it is the CP 1412 diesel. nowhere on the loco are there any othe markings, except for "Bachmann China"
Help! i'm thoroughly not impressed!

What's the best track joiners for HO scale?
Should the top of the rail and inside also be soldered then smoothed out?
I'm looking for the best possible way to make track connections, obviously so there are no bumps in the track that seem to de-rail my rolling stock.

Again a newbie question. My old Bachmann set that i bought used, has the rolling stock constantly derailling at the slightest glitch in the track. Is this due to the fact that the trucks & wheels are all made of plastic? i tried to add weight to the cars, but that didn't help either. would heavier trucks/cars & metal wheels adhere better to the rails? how much lateral sway should the trucks have? mine seem to have quite a bit.

TIA.

What's the best pc/windows (7 64 bit) software for track design?
and then, what's the best Free one??

Wondering if you would suggest flex track use for a newbie to build his first layout?
It looks to me like there would be way more "flexibility" and way less limitations involved using this track system.

Hi all, new to this model train stuff. I bought an old set the other as a place to start and am having a weird problem with the engine.
When i put the engine on the tracks it does not seem to work. however, if i lift the back wheels off the track then the motor starts to turn, if i put the back wheels back on the track it stops again. anybody have any ideas?
the model is quite old, it was the "King of The Rail - Lightning Express" series.
Hope someone can help. thanks in advance.