Typical minimum radii for EM

[t-b-g]

"If you are going down the compensation route then why put in all the work of p4 for a track gauge that is still wrong?"

 

Is a direct quote from post No 11 (my highlighting). That says that all you need to do for P4 is compensation. We all seem to be agreeing that there is a bit more to it than that, so I will say no more on the matter. If I have misunderstood what folk were trying to say then I apologise but that is what I took that line to mean.

 

Indeed, an informative thread. As I am finding out in so many ways, Rev. Peter Denny cracked many of our modelling problems many years ago and we can all still learn something from his work, especially me. I would never have dreamed of getting a 4-4-0 loco to shunt around ridiculously tight curves chimney first but he did it, as he did with his 0-4-4T. I think the tightness of the curvature through some of the points shows up well in the photos on the Manchester Show thread.

 

As others have said, what can work and what looks good are two entirely different things. I got down to a 3' main line and 2' 10" radius headshunt on Tickhill & Wadworth in EM. I don't think that I would choose to build anything smaller than that and expect it to look even half reasonable. We have run 9Fs round Tickhill with no technical problems and a huge overhang! The normal locos are mostly 0-6-0 and 0-8-0 tender locos (no bogies to emphasise the outward swing on the curve). They get away with it appearance wise. We do have a 4-4-2T on the passenger service and that has to run bunker first as going chimney first causes the front buffer beam to swing out and catch the platform edge. If we had built it like Peter Denny's it would have been fine!

 

So, care in choosing the correct motive power has a big say in the minimum practical radius. Not just size either, the wheel arrangement matters more.

[hayfield]

Reading an old MRJ article about converting OO RTR to EM.... NE 4-6-2s for Retford. Interesting the use of Bic biro slithers as axle spacers. Now I do have some EM axles for a Spam, tempting to try a conversion out, hard bit will be choosing a Spam victim!

 

I have got some Alan Gibson Axle washers which are excellent, for flat sideframes use 30 or 40 thou black plasticard, works a treat.