N Scale Layout Idea

[MOB FAN]

SBB1 made this comment on another thread: “What I have in mind is a scenic test track based on the well-photographed, snaking section of line between Burgdorf and Wynigen.”

 

I went the Google Maps and looked at the area mentioned. This looked like something that could be replicated using Kato Unitrack super elevated curves. Has anyone done this or know of track plans that feature snaking curves using Unitrack? Seems like it could get expensive buying track sections to experiment with.

 

I did come across an N scale layout that featured track work like this but was hoping for more detailed track choice from the owner. Perhaps he’ll come across.

Any thoughts?
 

[Frutigen]

I have 2 snaking tracks on my Obermatt layout, but they’re perhaps different from your situation in that they’re single track and I’ve done the superelevation myself.  But it’s Kato unitrack in N so maybe some of the principles will still apply. Basically, I followed 2 rules wherever I could.

 

1. To avoid the ends of your coaches sticking out in opposite directions where the curves reverse, insert a straight section the same length as your longest vehicle. This gives the train (as opposed to the track) a smooth snaking movement through the landscape. In practice I found that the longest unitrack straight just about works fine for Swiss mainline coaches such as EW IV. 

 

2. When designing a curve, use the widest available radius as you come off any straight. You can get gradually tighter as you get into the middle (if it’s a long curve), I have some 180 degree curves that get very tight in the middle but somehow the eye doesn’t seem to mind if there’s at least some attempt at creating a transition effect. Even so, I find I have to drive trains at a restrained speed as they enter any curve to avoid the toy train twitch. Flexi track would let you create genuine smooth transitions but that would be a different project altogether. 
 

This all means that you might have to compromise in other areas. On Obermatt I have some sudden changes in radius at the ends of the showcase snaking tracks but I’ve tried to hide them behind scenic features. There are also two very tight curves, one is hidden in a tunnel but the other is in plain sight at the left hand exit from the station. 
 

Here’s my track plan which might illustrate the ideas better. The level sections show the part numbers, the percentages indicate gradients. 
 

One last comment on using unitrack for a permanent layout, the rail joiners are really sloppy and I found it hard to get smooth and level joints even on a firm base. If I were doing this layout again I’d use Peco joiners and then ballast in the gaps left in the track bed. A bit of weathering would make that visually acceptable I think. 
 

Edited March 7 by Frutigen

[MrTea]

I think that's some sound advice from Keith AKA @Frutigen above.

 

I've also got some sweeping/snaking curves on Veja Megstra that use Kato Unitrack with a degree of homemade super elevation. However as my prototype is the RhB's Albula line again it's single rather than double track.

 

 

I don't see why you couldn't use the double track sections to achieve an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. I know they have easement curves that start with the tracks flat in profile before leading to a banked arrangement. The only disadvantage with the double track pieces is that I believe there are only a limited selection of radii available compared to the single track where there's a really wide variety?

 

From a quick look at the Train Trax website it looks like there are 6 radii:
R282 + R315, R381 + R414, R447 + R480.

 

One of the best layouts I've seen that uses the super elevated double curves is Model Railroader Magazine's Salt Lake Route:

https://www.trains.com/mrr/videos-photos/videos/beginners/the-salt-lake-route-part-1-the-inspiration-for-a-small-layout/

It's US rather than Swiss, but is a great example of 'trains in the landscape' in a fairly modest overall space.

 

 

[Samedan]

I don’t model N gauge, so can’t offer practical advice from personal experience, but I’ve looked into the subject for HO and plan to employ super-elevation selectively. 
I imagine that you’d need to be careful not to overdo it with N gauge, as the actual elevation would need to be pretty small, in scale.

If it helps, there are videos on the subject of SE on OO on YouTube on, if I recall, the Chadwick Model Railways and New Junction channels. 

[Gordonwis]

I have some of the largest radius Unitrack superelevated double track. I will try and put a few sections together and photograph it for the benefit of this thread. However I think even the largest radius is quite tight to represent the Burgdorf - Wynigen section.

[DavidB-AU]

I honestly don't see the point of superelevation in N. It sort of makes sense for Unitrack if you're running a Shinkansen around 381mm radius, but for Swiss standard gauge in N following prototype superelevation the outer rail would be less than 0.5mm higher. 

[Gordonwis]

22 hours ago, DavidB-AU said:

I honestly don't see the point of superelevation in N. It sort of makes sense for Unitrack if you're running a Shinkansen around 381mm radius, but for Swiss standard gauge in N following prototype superelevation the outer rail would be less than 0.5mm higher. 

 

 

In contrast, I do see the point. The superelevation on my layout Chamossaire definitely helps long intermodal and express passenger trains get round the curves into the fiddle yard with less risk of derailment due to excessive drag or buffer lock.

 

. 

[Flying Pig]

For some reason, superelevation seems to mitigate the toylike appearance of trains on tight curves, particularly where bogie vehicles are involved..  Someone on here built a modern British N layout with Kato Unitrack and the effect was very noticeable in the photos they posted.  

[Frutigen]

To my eye, an N gauge train on a flat curve always seems to be leaning slightly outwards, which looks a bit wrong. A touch of superelevation takes that impression away and a little more can flatter the train as it takes the curve. The superelevation on Obermatt is judged more by eye than by any scale calculation, but it typically starts with a piece of thin card under one edge of the Kato trackbed and works up using thicker layers. 

 

This short clip shows a train rounding a long curve that gets up to about 1.5mm maximum elevation - that's at the edge of the plastic trackbed, so the height difference at the railhead will be less.

 

 

As an aside, this train is 28 wagons and genuinely needs 3 locos to avoid wheelslip up the 2% gradients. I reckon to add a loco for every 10 or 12 wagons. Wheelslip is not only annoying, it leaves rubber deposits from the traction tyres on the railhead in places that are hard to clean.

Edited April 11 by Frutigen