N Scale Question

VINMAN1513

New Member
I Recently Aquired A Nice Little N Scale Atlas Dcc Engine And Some Misc Cars . I Wondered Into My Hobby Shop And Bought Some Flex Track . Im Used To Ho Scale True Track Snap And Fit Stuff, But This Ones Going To Be Serious. What Is The General Rule On The Radious Of The Turn . Im Sure The Cars Will Bind If Its Not Within A Certain Tollerance . And Also , What Is The Best Way To Join The Flex Track , Do They Make Joiners Or Do I Solder Them . And Lastly. Can You Cut To Fit In Certain Sections . I Notice When You Bend It One Rail Is Either Longer Or Shorter Than The Other . And If You Do Cut It , What Is The Best Tool For The Job... Thank You:d
 

Will_annand

Active Member
Welcome Vinman, let me take your questions one at a time.

1. Turn radius depends on your rolling stock. My layout is based in 1880-1900 therefore my longest car will be a 50' passenger. Freight will be 36'. My minimum mainline curve is 11"R. Another fellow wants to run long trains and 80' passengers, he wants a minmimum of 30"R.

2. I join flex track with joiners. I use metal joiners with feeder leads soldered to the bottom so the wires are hidden, also I use the insulated joiners where I want power blocks (DC wiring here).

3. For cutting track I picked up a "Rail Nipper", Model Power sells some.

Hope this helps.
 

Attachments

  • nippers.gif
    nippers.gif
    19.7 KB · Views: 225

sams

New Member
welcome to the gauge vinman:)
i'll just add to will's...
1. you can check out nmra's guide to min. radii (RP-11 practices/standards...depending on loco and rolling stock size)...
http://www.nmra.org/standards/rp-11.html
2. yep...rail joiners...you can solder the joiners, but remember, if it will be a large layout, then keep a few unsoldered joint to allow for expansion/contraction of the rail.
3. flex can be cut to size...xuron also make a rail cutting tool...
NOTE...when curving flex track...remember to keep the "sliding" rail on the inside of the curve ("fixed" rail to the outside).
 

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
Welcome to the Gauge Vinman. You questions have been answered but I want to add that a Dremel tool with a cutting disk makes nice rail cuts.
 

Bikerdad

Member
Minimum radius is a tricky thing to talk about. There is minimum operational radius, the violation of which results in derailments and other unpleasantness. Then there is minimum AESTHETIC radius, i.e., "it looks funny". That's a more personal thing. In Will's example above, the 30" radius is about looks, because there is NO locomotive or rolling stock in N scale that is restricted to such a large radius. 12" is, AFAIK, a safe minimum operational radius. Run ONLY 4 axle switchers, 70t ore cars and 34' Overton passenger cars and you can go down below 9" radius.
 
Top