Entering into large scale model railroading, I was hoping some one could tell me the minimum radius for the Bachmann 38 ton 2 truck shay for a indoor layout.
What they can do and what looks right.
Thankyou
Randy
Randy,
Welcome. They can probably handle an 8 foot diameter curve, but will look better on a 8 foot radius curve. Slower speeds help. And with a Shay that isn’t hard to achieve.
Actually, from having just done it to try it out for ya, the small Shay WILL squeak around a R1 - 4 foot and a bit diameter circle, but it looks pretty dumb doing it and the drive-train is on the limit of the length of the sliding couplings.
Better stick to at least four foot radius - that’s an eight foot diameter circle, as a minimum.
As Ric notes, what looks right is eight foot radius - 16 foot diameter - but most folks I know here in yUK don’t have that much spare space in their house, let alone an an indoor layout…
The Climax s a good bit shorter than the Shay and is a jewel of a loco - have you considered one of them? Always suppecting you can find one, that is.
tac
www.ovgrs.org
Ric;
I was hoping for 6" radius for a indoor layout with a geared locomotive,
Terry;
are Climaxes still available somewhere to buy?
Depends, how big an area are you dealing with? Large basement area or a spare room?
R1(4’ diameter) OK but tight, R2 (5’ diameter) better, Aristo 6’'6" diameter even better but WOW does it eat space…
8’ diameter? unless you have a full basement or a spare barn to house this thing, move outdoors, coming from a guy who’s been indoors for years now. Dont be fooled, wider is not necessarily better.
The problem is the wider you go curve wise, the less track planning options you have so depending on your area you could have 8 foot diameters and be able to run a Dash 9, but your track plan will be nothing but a giant oval with no sidings or passing tracks as the curves have eaten up your entire area. So track planning is very important, don’t fall into the trap that you MUST use wider curves, use the curves that match the space and give you your best track planning options, mor than likely you find yourself using a mix, some 5’ dia, some 6.5’ dia, maybe even some R1s dare I say. 
Randy May said:6" radius is only a one foot diameter circle :O - I don't know of ANY trains that will operate on track like that. I'll assume, therefore, that you mean 6' radius..... :)
Ric; I was hoping for 6" radius for a indoor layout with a geared locomotive, Terry; are Climaxes still available somewhere to buy?
AFAIK the Climax was discontinued a while back and they can only be found now as second-hand. I found a brand-new unlettered one over here in UK last month and posted it in the UK’s forums, but AFAIK it is still there, unsold. Unlettered, it is priced at £250 - a definite no-bargain compared to the prices in the USA.
They DO turn up every now and then from someplace, new and unused, but would need some real TLC before taking into service, as the lube will have gone off by now, IMO. Mine is a precious jewel, and we love it.
Every now and then a model company makes a bad decision - Bachmann’s was to discontinue this beautiful model.
Good luck in your search,
tac
www.ovgrs.org
6 inch? Half of a foot or 12 inches? You might want to look in to switch backs or an 0-2-0. Large scale right?
45 mm track? Wow!
Randy, if you are seriously asking this question, you are really going to be dissapointed. For such a tight space I might suggest you type “Shunting” into a search engine like Google and see what might work.
6 inch radius, hmmm.
Sorry guys!..6" radius?..LOL…I ment 36" radius/ 6’ diameter,
I want to do a Trestle & Trees logging theme of the Pacific Northwest,
that was the theme of my On30 modeling.
The only reasonable sized loco today would be the 38 ton Shay and the Hiesler offered by Bachmann,
the smaller climax is nice, but hard to come by now it seems.
I want to stay in the 1930’s for a time setting.
I’ve been searching out info for suppliers for hand laying rail etc.
it seems code 250 is the preference, not sure yet on the metal,
( for a indoor layout),
I don’t see any hand laid switches available anywhere?
( simular to “Fast Tracks”)products,
my previous experience was with code 83 nickel for On30 work,
any help with products and suppliers for hand laying supplys in this scale would be very welcome.
and hand laid switches if any?
Thanks for the warm welcome here,
Randy
Alright, now I think we are talking something achievable.
http://www.girr.org/girr/index.html
http://www.ozarkminiatures.com/Scripts/default.asp
http://www.cocry.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT
http://www.carendt.us/scrapbook/page62a/index.html
http://www.ironcreekshops.com/contactus.html
http://tuscarorarailroad.blogspot.com/
That should get you started (there may be a quiz).
NOTE-
The radius - diameter - of curves the 3-truck Shay will handle depends on the direction the loco is running going into the curve becuase of the nature of the drive gear.
Example: I run my 3-truck on a logging route that has one 5’ diameter curve. The loco drive system disengages IF the loco is running one way – another way it does not.
Check this out on some track set up to observe before final construction. If the direction is OK, you can also handle the shorter curves is necessary. Much of the products on the market have arrived long after our initial layout design – for me was a pre-Shay design.
Wendell
If you are serious about modeling the logging operations in Washington St., you need to consider that almost all of the logging roads were standard gauge. The logs were just too big for narrow gauge. Read “Logging Railroads of Skagit County.”
Both the 38 Ton 2 Truck and 55 Ton 3 Truck Shays will negotiate an R1 turn. Here are 2 short videos of each:
38 Ton 2 Truck Shay: http://timothydehan.com/redmondcreekrr/videos/Bachmann38TonShay.wmv
55 Ton 3 Truck Shay: http://timothydehan.com/redmondcreekrr/videos/3TruckShayFeature_0002.wmv
Randy,
TD gave you video to show that it works.