Curved Cassettes

[Sam '43003' Tanner]

Hello there guys and girls,

 

I keep bumping into a spare 24" x 24" frame I knocked up for a super detailed diorama based on a crashed Bf109 next to a Southern mainline many years ago. My thoughts keep turning to an 009 tailchaser just to get something up and running. I'd like a bit of variety to my operations rather than just having the same train doing laps all day.

 

It's with this in mind that I ask the question that forms the topic header: Curved cassettes. Are they feasible?

Below should be attached an image to better show the idea. The red section marks what would be the cassette itself and I'd envisage them to slide into place. Do we see it working?

 

Many thanks in advance for any thoughts and/or criticism. 

All the best,

Sam.

[maunsel]

Feasible? Probably. But they can only be used one way round. In other words you can't turn a train around like you can by turning around a straight cassette.

 

One plus point, a curved cassette can be slid into place more easily. But if you have more than one track each curved cassette will only match the radius of one of the tracks.

 

 

Regards

 

Eric

[Sam '43003' Tanner]

Thanks for your input Eric. 

 

"One way working" shouldn't be an issue if the variety is there. Valid point also regarding the varying radius curves, but for the single track theory, it's workable I feel. Only one way to find out I guess..

[edcayton]

I could see problems with balance in handling and storing if they were bigger, but should be OK at just over a foot long. As you said, only one way to find out!

 

Good luck

 

Ed

[Shadow]

Instead of a curved cassette, what about a circular sector plate (i.e. a turntable)

 

A single sheet of ply could be pivoted in the centre, this will allow for two trains to be held.

Make it easily removable for when not in use.

 

Dave

 

[Killybegs]

Stock won't couple as easily on a curve so you may have problems assembling trains.

[Deev]

How about a 4-track horizontal traverser with curved tracks on it like this?:

 

Aligning the tracks may be a bit fiddly, but the automatic motorising technology is out there!

[Happy Hippo]

Although the theory should be ok, I think practically it's not going to work well in the space you are advocating.

 

The diagram you have shown looks like the cassette will be a full quadrant, which is a 90 degree bend.

 

It might work with much larger radius curves, where the cassette is not such a large chunk of the circle, but with tight radii?

 

You could stack them one on top of the other, but they would take up far more space than the conventional 'straight cassette'.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Richard

[shortliner]

There is a similar curved traverser in the second Gauge O Guild Small layouts book, on a layout called "St Wendreds Tramway"

[Kenton]

I've seen this done on a couple of layouts -one was a very good On30 layout I think at the Basingstoke show last year. The baseboard woodwork was stunning enabling each FY track to perfectly align - just wish I could remember its name. So it CAN be made to work.

[locoworks]

i like shadows idea, i think all the traverser and turntable ideas ( and even base board joints ) work best when the track is cut as close to 90 degrees as possible, once you get past a certain angle the rail ends are like chisels.  i think with the use of functional check rails at these joints they could be ok as the check rail would stop the outer wheel going into a chisel pointed rail and probably derailing. by the time the check rail joint is encountered by the inner wheel, the flange of the outer wheel will be past the rail joint and against the outer rail anyway??.    if less of an arc was taken from the circle it may be possible to fit 3 tracks on the turntable. but trains would have to be shorter.   also you could store the trains facing different directions.

 

 

i have a plan to draw up now to test my theory.  i have thought that IF all the tracks exit the turntable at a tangent then by running onto an arc that has its curve set opposite to the circle then you could spin it round an send it the other way???

 

EDIT;

 

had a bit of a play an didn't draw things 100% correct, but i ended up with a turntable the same diameter as the circle of track with the track joins 90 degrees of the circle apart. i ended up havin 3 sets of arcs on the turntable an a single siding that would suit a DMU so there was no obvious front or rear to the train. i have storage for 6 trains and the DMU the way i did it. there are 3 arcs that are the same radius as the main circle and one of these has to be kept free to enable trains to circulate.   i can't save in cadrail in a format i can post straight up to the web, so i need to get to my printer, print it out, and then scan it in and save as a jpeg to upload.   the turntable ends up bigger than the scenic section, but thescenic bit could be enlarged with a passing loop and a siding or two.  indexing the turntable would be a minor challenge an doing it with a motor more so, but the concept is good allowing the six trains an DMU to be run in any direction, you just need to allign the turntable back to a vacant loop before the train gets back to it.

 

DCC would be great for this as the whole turntable could be fed through an auto reverser so it wouldn't matter which way it was alligned to the layout, the power would always sort itself out.

 

 

i will draw it properly now i've worked out how to do it and post up the drawing by the weekend i hope.

[locoworks]

the plan?    all roads that exit the turntable do so at a tangent to the circumference.  obviously there are only 3 possitions where the layout has a continuous run.   so a train can exit the turntable to the layout in either direction but the turntable has to re alligned with the vacant black quadrant of track to allow tail chasing.  with a wider baseboard a twin track continuous run could be achieved by keeping a brown line free next to a black one on the turntable.  having a passing loop on the layout would give somewhere else to park a train while the turntable was shuffled about.

 

the only down side is short trains, but on a layout that size short trains would be ok. the longest train could be stored on the green line when not in use and would also fit in the passing loop ok.

[Ramblin Rich]

That's a brilliant bit of geometry - although rather larger than the original space...

[Joseph_Pestell]

That's a brilliant bit of geometry - although rather larger than the original space...

 

People enjoy problem solving on this forum! But I think that if that much space were available the OP would have gone for a more conventional layout to start with.

[Mallard60022]

This is quite interesting. Joining in 'late':

if you only have a single line 'exit' and limited room to the side of the layout as mine is when set up in the conservatory, with the exit at a diagonal to the back corner of the BB, then a couple of curved (bow shaped) cassette 'shelves', cantilevered off the edge of the BB, would be good. They would extend somewhat to the side and then back where there is room.

At exhibitions there would probably be room for straight versions as I've seen used elsewhere.

P @ 36E

[clecklewyke]

Thank you for raising this topic. I use Chris Pendlenton-style cassettes on my railways but am anticipating the need to squash the main layout into a smaller area. I had never though of using curved cassettes but I think it would work. That's really something for me to chew over when planning starts.

 

Ian

[locoworks]

People enjoy problem solving on this forum! But I think that if that much space were available the OP would have gone for a more conventional layout to start with.

  

 

you are probably correct on both counts, it would suit a 009 type layout better than standard gauge, but if you are one of those people with 2 - 1 wagon to loco ratio ( like me ) then it could have a use.  the handy thing using 90 degrees and tangents at joins as using set track for the black lines makes allignment quite easy. as the whole semi circle is just 4 set track curves and the turntable is the same radius. although i drew the other  curves with short straights on the ends symetrically it doesn't really matter as long as they are at a tangent to the circumference as you don't ever need to line up both ends at the same time. 

 

had another idea to change things and give a bit more storage, back later.  

 

EDIT:    better design of turntable as it gives an extra double ended storage ( and they are a bit longer ) and also a fixed one.  but it only has two continuous running possitions ( it only needs one really i suppose )

 

 

i have seen something similar to this before so that might be why i considered the tri version??

 

 

EDIT 2;    you could even have 2 or 3 stubby sidings for loco's in vacant bits of the loop curves, sort of like cats whiskers on the below image but im not going to draw them up and edit again.