3ftx8ft?

[robbostrains]

Is it possible to get an oval on a 3ft wide board?Was thinking of a Peco plan 9 "Upwell and Running",from the latest Setrack book.Like the idea of the village in the centre but not the roadway around the outside hence the 3ft.Would also like to make it 8ft long with the board split in two for storage.Is this a practical idea?Cheers

[DavidB-AU]

15-18" radius is possible but not ideal for OO. Just remember that any solid board like that is going to require 2' of access/operating space all around it. If you plan to split the layout for storage anyway, you'd better off building a 10x5 layout with an 8x3 operating space inside on four modules, two 8x1 and two 5x1. This is an overall larger layout but actually takes up less floor space overall than a solid 8x3 with access space around the outside.

 

Cheers

David

[robbostrains]

Unfortunately even an 8x3 is pushing it space wise,if it was built one end and one side would be right against the walls.Can't see 3ft stretch being a real problem,thanks for input.

[Kenton]

Can't see 3ft stretch being a real problem

For operation (rerailing) maybe but you will require less than that while building it especially when reaching over delicate structures. Place 6 inch cardboard box 2ft on to a table place a carriage and track approx 2" the other side of it and now reach over and try to re-rail it without touching the box. Once possibly now keep doing it for 15 minutes simulating you working on the scenery there.

[Etched Pixels]

8' x 2' is probably a lot more workable in N and would give you more than acceptable curves, for that matter 8'x1' end to end is a decent layout size in N.

 

If you are doing 8x3 in OO one thing to consider depending upon the plan is to make it 8x3 at the ends and angle inwards to a narrower centre on the side furthest from the wall. That may make it easier to reach everything. Cleaning is normally a bigger problem than re-railing I find because you need to be able to reach over, right down to track level and exert pressure. Depending on your size I don't personally think it is a problem although perhaps you need to think hard about where tall or delicate objects would go and also how high you make the boards as obviously if they are fairly low it becomes easier to reach over.

 

Alan