490mm minimum radius - acceptable for OO stock?

[eldomtom2]

See title.

[Dungrange]

Most ready to run stock is designed to negotiate a minimum of "Radius 2" which is 438 mm, so I'd say yes.  It won't look terribly prototypical, but it should work.

 

See - https://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/Hornby-track-planner

Edited December 2, 2019 by Dungrange
Added link to Hornby Track planner

[Zomboid]

Depends what you want to run. 4 wheeled and bogie fitted vehicles will go round some very tight corners if they're well laid.

[DCB]

The trick is to ensure the curve is absolutely concentric, any dog legs and suddenly the 490mm becomes less than 400mm and that is sharper than a lot of modern RTR can get round   Often a nice 2nd radius curve is less sharp than a bit of flexi to a nominal 2ft 600 mm radius.    Old school stuff, Triang, Triang Hornby was designed for 13.5" radius which must be about 340mm, but they used flangeless centre wheels, however as they have sideplay on the centre axle they can't cope with much less than 2ft Radius, 600mm when fitted with flanged centre wheels such as Romfords.. The Set track points are a lot less than 430mm radius through the point blades.    I use Peco Streamline points and have some very short sections of 3rd radius and generally my Romford wheeled Hornby chassis stay on the track.

[jamespetts]

Ready to run stock should generally be able to negotiate a 490mm minimum radius (it is, as noted, mostly designed for a 438mm minimum radius, being 2nd radius) - if properly laid (and be sure to put enough space between the tracks to avoid overhanging carriages colliding with one another), but this will look very poor in the scenic part of a layout as real trains do not negotiate curves anywhere near this tight. In a fiddle yard or other hidden area, of course, it is less of a problem. Of course, realism is to a large degree a matter of taste, so you may find this less problematic than some others,

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

A detail aspect: and where are you locating this 490mm radius?. If it is the inside edge of the sleepers, then the centreline radius will be circa 506mm, practically identical to set track third radius (R3 = 505mm centreline radius). As David Broad has pointed out, a constant radius is preferable to dog legs and other inconsistencies; that many find difficult to avoid when forming curves using flexitrack, aiming at an end result less than 600mm radius. If using code 100 rail, then R3 track pieces may be preferable for this reason.