jimikelly Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 What would be an average radius for a OO scale double track helix Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 A lot of people use radius 2 and 3 (if double track) - most "out of the box" stuff seems happy with those. They aren't cheap to buy though - https://modelrailwaysolutions.co.uk/shop/model-railway-helix-kits/oo-gauge-helix-kits (other manufacturers are available) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimikelly Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 I was going to build my own ,so 3rd radius are fine then Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 You may find that a radius 3 will limit you on the length of trains you are able to get up the helix - due to drag caused by the curve and the gradient. It may be that a much larger radius is in fact required, particularly if you are using older steam locos that don't have such a good grip. This video gives a good example of a larger helix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HREpNMY7XWw or it can just get very, very silly... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wevbi_zEmxc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Silver Sidelines Posted September 22, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2014 You should probably ensure that the minimum radius of your helix is the same as the minimum radius on the rest of he layout. This will be particularly important if you are interested in close coupling your rolling stock or want corridor connectors between your coaches. Once you get away from the toy train set you will probably need in 00 gauge to use a minimum radius of 30 inches / 750mm. This is beginning to take up quite a lot of space. Regards Ray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Been doing a lot of research on this, my reccomendation would be to use the new 4rth radius as the outside curve and third for the inside. Beware, they are (helix es) space hungry, which has had me back at the drawing board for a number of months as I try to resolve what I want in the space I have!, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Walters Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 A lot of people use radius 2 and 3 (if double track) - most "out of the box" stuff seems happy with those. They aren't cheap to buy though - https://modelrailwaysolutions.co.uk/shop/model-railway-helix-kits/oo-gauge-helix-kits (other manufacturers are available) **&&%^ fifty quid for the base and another forty quid for each full turn ! Not only are they expensive, they are space hungry as well, 1.2meters to rise 70mm, heck thats half a layout ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 When considering this for a layout in the past, my thoughts ran to the gradient being the limiting factor rather than radius. Taking 1 in 50 as a limit (quite steep and limiting in train length, especially on a curve) and allowing 3" clearance between tracks requires 150" of track for a circuit (i.e. about 24" radius). Obviously quite a lot of space would be necessary (why I dropped the idea). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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