LOCOS ON 18" Curve Track

[chazx208]

 IM JUST STARTING OUT IN THE HOBBY WITH MY 12 YO SON. WE ARE STARTING WITH A 4' X 8' LAYOUT UNTIL SPACE PERMITTS. MY QUESTION IS.. I HEAR A LOT ABOUT TURNS AND LOCOS NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE THE TURNS.. WE ARE LOOKING TO PURCHASE 3 TRAINS TO START A SPECTRUM DCC/ DASH 8-40CW A EMD SD-45 AND A STEAM 2-10-2. WILL THEY WORK ON THE 18" CURVED TRACK I HAVE IF NOT WHAT DCC IN THE BACHMAN LINE WILL WORK. ALSO IS THERE A WAY TO ADD SOUND TO THE BACHMANN DESILE TRAINS IM PURCHASING

[ABC]

All those locos run best on 22" radius or greater, both diesels have 3 axle trucks (6 axles total), and the 2-10-2 seems too large also with 5 drive axles and lead and trailing trucks. I would suggest any 4 axles diesels as opposed to 6 axle locos, because if I remember correctly my Dash 8-40 CW couldn't make it through 18" curves. There are many other DCC on board locos to choose from.
Here's a nice list of Bachmann DCC equipped locos that only have 4 axles:
EMD GP7, FT-A/B, EMD GP40, EMD GP50, GE 70 Ton, EMD GP35, EMD GP30, EMD GP38-2, Baldwin RF-16 Shark A/B Unit, GE 44 Ton Switcher, GE 45 Ton Switcher.
These will all work just fine on 18" radius.
As far as steam goes a 2-8-0 Consolidation (w/ DCC) should work fine or a DCC Equipped 0-6-0 Saddle Tank Switcher, or maybe a modern Richmond 4-4-0 (w/DCC), but I don't have one so I'm not really sure.
The 2-8-0 and 4-4-0 are available with factory Tsunami sound.
In general 6 axle diesels usually do not work on 18" radius, and steamers with 4 lead or trailing trucks, or more than 6 drive wheels are also problematic on 18".

[Barney R]

Every thing that ABC said I agree with. I have a 4X8 layout and I have found that for Steam, I  have kept to 4-6-2 or smaller. Any Steam with 8 drive wheels may have a problem. With Diesel, I have kept to 2 axle trucks. I hope this helps.

[Robertj668]

Chazx208

I try and use the catalogs that the manufacturer has to help guide me on if it will run on a certain radius.

Some people will probably mention that an engine or car will run on a certain radius but it looks rather odd. For example my Bachmann Heavy Weight Passenger cars run on 18" and when moving they look good (to me) but when they are just sitting there they look a little out of place.

I have for the last 20 minutes tried to find out where I was able to download a Digital (PDF) copy of the Bachmann catalog. But I could not.  It is an invaluable reference!

Enjoy your Rail Road

Robert

[the nitro man]

i run 6 's sd9, 2 sd45's, 4 sd40-2's, a 2-8-4 berkshire, & a 4-8-4 niagara on 18" radius track. they run well on the bachmann roadbed track, but on some old non roadbed track a couple of the sd9's would derail. after i went to the bachmann track it stopped.

[ABC]

i run 6 's sd9, 2 sd45's, 4 sd40-2's, a 2-8-4 berkshire, & a 4-8-4 niagara on 18" radius track. they run well on the bachmann roadbed track, but on some old non roadbed track a couple of the sd9's would derail. after i went to the bachmann track it stopped.

Also, if you have turnouts, often times it will also cause a problem for one reason or another. But, also if you are using E-Z track your track work is likely as perfect as possible. Also, do you have any grades? My track work isn't perfect but pretty good, but it may run for a while on 18", but it eventually derails, but never derails on 22". Likewise the smaller engines always run fine on 18" radius, and never derail on it. Even if some of these may run on 18" radius, they don't look that good (my opinion), and they slow down in the turns considerably. Also, you are probably referring strictly to Bachmann models, but other manufacturers don't tend to tailor all their locos to run on 18" radius like Bachmann does. Take any higher end model equivalent of a six axle diesel or large steam engine and the loco will require a 22" minimum (that is won't run on 18" at all).

[jdmike]

The newly released GP7's would also be an excellent choice on 18" radius track.  The Chessie or Clinchfield engines would be excellent for a small coal hauling layout.  You could put the mine on one side, with a scenery divider in the form of a low mountian down the middle and a small yard or town on the other side.  Smaller steam like the 2-8-4 Berkshire, or 2-8-0 would be much better on tight curves.  You CAN fit 22" curves on a 4x8 layout, it will put the track near the outer edge, then you can put a second loop of track with 18" radius inside that to create a double track main line.  There are some excellent track plans for 4x8 layouts on the net.    Mike

[the nitro man]

i do agree, they would look better on at least 22" radius track. the sd9's don't look funny on the 18", but anything any bigger does look a little out of place. most of my engines are athearn & run pretty good on the 18" radius track. it is very rare that i have a derailment, & when i do 99% of the time it's a car & not the engines. if you like the 6 axle engines you would be better off going to at least a 22" curve. you can always go with a 5x8 layout. that would give you the room you need.

[bobwrgt]

If you have level, smooth, and good track work the 8-40cw, SD45, and SD40-2 from Bachmann will run fine on 18in radius curves. I have no problem with 6 Axel locomotives or the Heavy and Light 4-8-2. Have run at all speeds for several years.
If the first car derails you may have to add a long shank coupler to the first car to allow for the coupler swing.
I agree they all look better on 22in radius but this shouldn't stop you from using them on 18in.

Bob

[ABC]

If the first car derails you may have to add a long shank coupler to the first car to allow for the coupler swing.

That's what I do when I was test them out, I replace the coupler on the first car (usually some 40 or 50 foot car) and loco with a Kadee long shank coupler temporarily (I only have one spare set of long shank couplers), and then it still derails all the same, long shank coupler or not.
Keep in mind that most of the time I do not actually see the derailment because sometimes I leave them running for a while unsupervised while I eat or what a program on TV, and that is when the derailment occurs, as long as I'm there watching nothing usually happens.

[jward]

why not put the long shank couplers on the locomotives?
those of us who use some sort of waybill system don't have the luxury of picking which car goes next to the locomotive.

[ABC]

I had a long shank coupler on the locomotive and one on the lead car, as I only have one pair of Kadee long shank couplers. And my track work isn't the problem because it is never in the same place where the derailments occur.

I replace the coupler on the first car and loco with a Kadee long shank coupler.

[jward]

then your problem is with the car or locomotive. when i build my track, i always run various locomotives and cars to see what derails where, then fix the trouble spots. first things i'd checque would be wheel guage, whether the trucks are on too tight, and whether the couplers swing freely.

[ABC]

I tried about 15 different cars, all to no avail. I don't there is anything wrong with the cars, if they run fine behind smaller locos on 18" radius or on 22" radius. The locos have absolutely no problem on 22" radius, and I went down and checked the gauge of several of the locos that had caused problems and they are all perfectly in gauge with no apparent defects. I think the problem is the locos are grinding through the turns and the radius is a tad bit to tight for them, its what I've been saying all along. Here's what I'll do, I'll set up an 18" radius oval on a flat surface and let a SD45, berk, & Dash8-40CW (each with just 3 40' cars) run for a long while and set up a 22" radius oval on the same surface and see what happens and compare the 2. I'll get back to you when I have a chance to do this and let you know the results.