n gauge - what curve radii for voyagers?

[Black_bear]

I am considering moving to N gauge. I will want to run Voyagers (and Pendolinos whenever they are produced) but not sure of the minimum curve radii to use so that they can go at full speed round a circuit. What would you recommend?

[Karhedron]

For modern stock the absolute bare minimum is usually 10.5" (2nd radius). Some modern models will struggle on anything less than this and you do not want to restrict what you can run. If you can increase that at all it will look far better, particularly with train made up of long modern coaches. For scenic sections I use a minimum radius of 18" which matches Peco medium radius streamline points.

[Kris]

The farish version will run on first radius curves, and I believe that the Dapol one will also do the same, however there is no guarantee that the Pendolino will when it appears. I would suggest thinking of 2nd radius as an absolute minimum but if possible trying to use 3rd radius track or greater radius especially for scenic sections.

[Black_bear]

Thanks for this. I can run the OO gauge Pendolino on 2nd, 3rd and 4th radius with large radius points at max speed (4 coaches). I was not sure how it equated to n scale.

[mjkerr]

I have one of each type of Voyager (BachFar 220, Dapol 220, and Dapol 221)

 

I have several sharp curves (measured at 9" radius) and the BachFar 220 has no issue with these

However, the Dapol ones scream their head off and it is noticeable when they are on these sections, but apart from the noise there is no loss in performance

 

I had more of an issue with the latest Class 47 / Class 57 as I found these were derailing on a very tight S curve I had designed, back to back 9" radius curves in opposing directions, yet the Voyagers were able to cope with this

I had to redesign this small section of track to ensure these models no longer derailed