Large Scale Central

LGB 30” passenger car minimum radius?

I couldn’t find this info on LGB’s website so I was wondering if anyone knows what the minimum LGB radius for these big passenger cars is?

I heard a while back that they make everything to work on R1. But I find that hard to believe for large cars like these.

LGB 30” passenger car

There would be some serious over and under hang on those long cars running over R1’s.

I have 4 30" cars that I made and they overhang on 8’ diameter curves.

At one time they said everything ran on R1. They never said any of it looked good doing it. Didn’t they make an Articulated Mikado that did a crab walk around R1’s ?

I didn’t think LGB made any passenger cars 30 inches long. If they did, or do; they sure would NOT look good on any curvature less than 10 feet in diameter/5 foot radius. And that is rather tight to look even half decent.

At the same time, I have to question the market for Dash 9 locomotives…how many people have the space for a minimum of 10 foot radius curves, to accommodate these locomotives, which, frankly look ridiculous on any sharper radius curves…let alone enough trackage to justify 20-40 car trains to make up a consist worthy of a Dash 9…let alone a pair of them.

To each his own, and as long as everyone is having fun…

Just based on my observations, although I seriously doubt that anyone cares…!!!

Fred Mills

Fred Mills. said:

I didn’t think LGB made any passenger cars 30 inches long. If they did, or do; they sure would NOT look good on any curvature less than 10 feet in diameter/5 foot radius. And that is rather tight to look even half decent.

At the same time, I have to question the market for Dash 9 locomotives…how many people have the space for a minimum of 10 foot radius curves, to accommodate these locomotives, which, frankly look ridiculous on any sharper radius curves…let alone enough trackage to justify 20-40 car trains to make up a consist worthy of a Dash 9…let alone a pair of them.

To each his own, and as long as everyone is having fun…

Just based on my observations, although I seriously doubt that anyone cares…!!!

Fred Mills

Nice to see you posting Matt!!

They probably can do R1 as the Genesis has that awful swing pilot

Fred Mills. said:

I didn’t think LGB made any passenger cars 30 inches long. If they did, or do; they sure would NOT look good on any curvature less than 10 feet in diameter/5 foot radius.

Do the proper curvatures look good sitting on PRESSURE TREATED PLYWOOD or would it look better on the GROUND in a "REAL OPERATIONS LIKE " environment?

The AristoCraft heavyweights are 33" long and run on 8’ diameter curves just fine.

I think the streamliners are 30" long and also run on 8’ diameter without problem.

https://youtu.be/-jmmQb8-8rY

I have a Mikado. It is articulated and it will run on R1 curves as long as the fireman’s walkway plate (not sure what its really called) between the engine and the tender is removed. Won’t look good doing it but it will do it. I just leave the plate off anyway. If you do install the plate, it will derail the tender when the engine starts to straighten out.

Derailed said:

… as long as the fireman’s walkway plate (not sure what its really called) between the engine and the tender is removed. …

Uh oh, the suits won’t like that!

§ 230.81 Cab aprons.

(a) General provisions. Cab aprons shall be of proper length and width to ensure safety. Cab aprons shall be securely hinged, maintained in a safe and suitable condition for service, and roughened, or other provision made, to afford secure footing.

(b) Width of apron. The cab apron shall be of a sufficient width to prevent, when the drawbar is disconnected and the safety chains or the safety bars are taut, the apron from dropping between the steam locomotive and tender.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/230.81

As it happens, several rounds “try it and see what happens” shaping - AFTER installation! - were recently required on an apron I made for a Bachmann HO scale 0-6-0 for exactly the problem you are having; in my case it turned out the apron was impacting the inside corners of the water legs as the locomotive’s long rear overhang swung off and back on to the track centerline.

And here’s after just enough filing to reshape the apron enough to solve the problem, still a realy close call but the problem has stopped,

While the LGB Genesis will go through R1 curves, it will derail the front truck on a freight car as the coupler is outside the rail. I do not know if the passenger cars for this engine will stay on the track.