locomotives running on 15" track

[ecutrer]

Can all of the other Bachmann ON30 engines run on 15" track? Please advise if you can.

 

[Greg Elems]

IIRC the 2-8-0 needs 18" minimum. Since I don't have any of those I can't say for sure. I do have the 2-6-0 and 15" is workable but tight IMHO. The smaller Porters will do 9" I've been told.

Greg

 

[conrod]

Bachmann Shay on 18 inch

I brought my first 0n30 last week!
Its the 28 ton shay, love it, runs well around a 36 inch diameter circle (18 radius)
But kadee couplers dont seem to want to couple, have built a mining skip as well, can anyone suggest what I have done wrong, or is the curve too tight for kadees???

 

[Greg Elems]

Question. How far does the Kadee overhang on the curve? A car about the same length with body mounted couplers should have the same overhang which should allow it to couple. When I’ve had coupling problems, I try to make sure I do it on a straight section of track. A good question though, since most people worry about derailing the cars they are pulling on the curve. On the prototype they have issues coupling on curves. So you’re not alone.

Greg

 

[fsm1000]

My shay does 12 inch radius with slippage and prefers 15 inches. The 0-4-0 porter I have can do 12 EASILY and has done 9 inches [or was it 8, check my website] with slippage.

It all depends on the wheelbase.
Forneys prefer 22 inches according to someone on another forum. So it depends how big your engine is.

 

[conrod]

Greg;
I inserted a straight and found that if I couple on the straight it works OK around the bends, before your comment I was trying to couple on the radius, now I know what I was doing wrong, many thanks

 

[Greg Elems]

Conrod,

You are welcome. I'm glad to hear you solved your problem and it sounds like adding the straight didn't adversely affect your layout.:thumb:

Greg