live steam & R1 curves

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davecar

Registered
This is an extract of a post I made recently about the Accucraft couplings and the problems I encountered. The question of live steam and R1 curves was raised and I think it deserves a separate thread. I struggle with R1 curves but still enjoy live steam. See below-

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I would like to reply to a point that Tag has made regarding live steam and R1 curves. I built my garden railway last year and used R1 curves because I didnt know any better. Having said that I have a long and narow garden and only wanted the railway on one side so I have a 23 metre long track with curves at each end going in and out of the water features and trees etc. I soon discovered that I had a problem with R1 curves when I bought a Bachmann big hauler loco (electric) and I certainly wouldnt buy such a loco again. I have managed to keep it on R1 curves by placing lead weights on the front bogie and careful driving. I have a range of small electric locos and they are fine on the tight layout that I have.
When I wanted to buy my first live steam loco I had a lot of advice from this forum and others and I realised that I was limited in my choice of loco. Also I didnt want to pay a lot of money and then find the loco was always derailing. I settled for the Accucraft Ragleth and it copes fine with R1 curves and todate has given me a great deal of pleasure.

Live steam is possible with R1 curves that is my message, but obviously the choice of loco is restricted.
This hobby as with all hobbies is about compromise. I would have liked to have had a bigger garden railway, but I have to have regards to the use of the garden by my wife, children and grandchildren, hence the narrow layout that I have. I also have an indoor 00 layout in a spare bedroom which is very tight. I suppose compromise is the challenge of this hobby and learning to make the best of what you have and can have.

So although R 1 curves are a pain you can get enjoyment out of live steam with them.

Kind regards,

Dave
 
Certainly can! Though it will be easier if you stick to locos with only two driving axles and short wheel-base, that's not to say that more won't go round, just the longer the wheel-base (of the drivers) the harder it becomes.
 
Since most Britsh live steam N.G. locos are made to run on 32mm gauge the wheelbase should be able to cope with 45mm better. The main problems I've seen with running on R1 and R2 are people lossing control or running too fast causing the locos to jump off the track when they hit a bend, not a problem if you always take care but low speed greared locos like Reger make or the Accucraft 2 cylinder Shay would be a safer option. 16mm locos tend to have more shallow flanges than LGB locos which are designed to take R1 at speed so tend to come off more easily especialy if the track is uneven.
 
Certainly it is possible and indeed short wheelbased locos will cope better than big ones ? but it is not the best option possible with restricted space. I have a small garden and, of necessity, employ sharp curves. The bet bet is to use transitional curves in the same way as the prototype does. One easy way of doing this is to use flexitrack for the straight (ish) areas and (if you need to move direction, say 90 degrees) then remove one of the 'fixed curve' sections and 'lead' the straight track into the curve at either end. This way most steam locomotives will cope very comfortably with a tight curve.

I realise of course that if one has already built a line designed originally for electric traction, then this is not always possible and one must live with the compromise and use R/C ? but if one has not yet built a line then this is well worth thinking about ? it is no dearer to do certainly and expands one's motive power options significantly.
 
franks s (aster) and roundhouse SRRL 24 both will run, and do it fine, on R1
that being said
and being someone who actually thinks that R1 has a real purpose
i have run my frank, inside, on a dead flat using R1 without mishap, as well as my SRRL !!

however
in my experience, R1 is not the best for live steam -especially without RC
if you have any grade whatsoever in combination with any inability to adjust steam, simply , excess speed becomes a real issue -and i have become very talented at running very slowly

but physics being what they are, it takes less to go downhill than up, fire and steam vary, as does gas pressure

while my frank s running light can enter an R1 at a goodly speed and not derail-add to this the slightest down grade and/ or buff from even a short train behind it-and it becomes a bit dodgy
potentially very hard on the paint when they derail and or roll-unless youre on grass or soft soil, pine needles etc

when you then consider the price -
it is something to be given careful consideration

transitional curves are a help but not always a solution
cars with drag such as the post car -or other lighting plunger pick ups actually can help
-a bit
 
stevedenver said:
f
transitional curves are a help but not always a solution
Click to expand...
Well no ? the solution is to have six foot radii with transitional curves :). The fact remains that it will make a significant difference ? this is why the prototype does not use fixed curves ? except on very tight tram or dockyard curves where speeds are very low.
 
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