Easing Into Curves (205)
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2021
- The curves on our layouts are much sharper than almost anything you will find on the prototype, and this can lead to some operational and visual issues. One visual issue with curves is that when long rolling stock and locomotives begin to move from a straight track into a curve it is often done rather abruptly leading to a lurching appearance. This can be overcome to a certain degree by simply laying out your curve with a transition that allows rolling stock and locomotives to ease into the change in curvature with a transition or easement curve. When done correctly this will result in a continuous change in angle or radius from the straight line to the curve itself. So come on along as I show how I create these easements on the Piedmont Southern.
Хобби
Easing a Curve also helps preventing derailments for steam locomotives. It allows locomotives that do not have a guide, to navigate into curves, especially tight ones. Like for example, in N scale Atlas track using a 19" curve before an 11" or even a 9 3/4" greatly helps locomotives go through those curves (11" and 9 3/4" are both 30dg curves, just one is longer then the other to make the two different radi, a 19" is 15dg). Of course you can do all of this as shown in the video if using Flex track to make a custom curve.
You are right Larry, John Armstrong's book is excellent. Mine is so worn, I have had to tape pages together. Thanks for the great video.
Track Planning for Realistic Operation was first published in 1963. You are so right, it is the "Bible" of track planning books. John was a civil engineer by vocation, and he simply applied those skills to model railroad planning. I have owned three copies of TPRO, the first one is long gone, dog eared and falling apart, I replaced it. Copy number 2 is still around, a little worse for wear, copy 3 has the cover the same as the one you showed. There are many other track planning books out there that you can buy, this is the one you should start with. Armstrong's Creative Layout Desigh would be my recommendation for your second purchase!
He passed away in 2004.
Another great video! Thanks Larry
Love the flexible stick method! Worked great for my layout!
Finally an explanation I could actually understand. Thank you Larry. Very easy to follow without any sudden mumbo jumbo thrown in. A recent subscriber, I'm still wading my way through your videos. Must confess that DCC is still a bit confusing, but with your great help I'm catching on. Hoping to start my third layout over the winter. Be assured, your channel will be referred to often. Thank you.
Thank you Larry - this was a very helpful explanation of how to add an easement to a curve. just happen to have an old copy of Armstrongs book, but you video description was really helpful.
Excellent explanation of transition curves as they apply to model railroading. I’ve used transitions on every layout I’ve ever built. Even a much younger version of myself back in the day would always incorporate them even on my sectional track layouts. Including a 22 inch section at the beginning of an 18 inch radius curve always looked better to the eye and the trains appreciated it as well. Later on I used Armstrong’s method by simply pinning a piece of cork roadbed to mark the line for the flex track to follow…
Thanks for all the great informative videos Larry. As always, I’m looking forward to the next one.
Very good video. You explained it very well.
Thanks Larry ! 🐾🚂
thank you for your detailed video
Great workshop
Larry great video, I used this method laying out my curves
John Armstrong covered Easements in my well worn copy of Track Planning for Realistic Operation. He called it the bent stick method. What I do is use a piece of flex track to draw my easement center line using John Armstrong's method and then lay cork on that centerline and then track. Works like a charm. Of course John Armstrong pre-dated RUclips video's so others like Larry can show it. But I highly recommended John Armstrong's book.
Can you imagine if John Armstrong had access to You Tube? Wow.
Good vid, Larry. You can set easements in Anyrail etc but I find the difficulty determining 'how much' the easement should be. It would be great if you could have shown the table for the various scales and radii of curves.
I think if you review the segment starting at the 7:09 mark your concern will be addressed. The rule of thumb is your offset should be approximately 1/2 inch.
Great video. I find it easier to use Tracksetta templates. Keep up the excellent videos which are inspirational!!
An excellent Video Larry, as an ex P. Way Engineer I used to have to calculate Transitions on the real Railway, as well as correcting misalignment in Curves manually, or using an on Track Machine like a Tamper. Also another design Characteristic in Curves/Transitions missing on Model Railways is Cant. In the UK the Max Cant is normally 150mm (6”) though I remember 200mm (8”) of Max Cant was employed on a very high Speed Section of the Main Line. Perhaps you could encompass this in another Programme, always look forward to your Videos, I have just taken delivery of a new NS Genesis SD70M-2 for my Shortline. Keep safe, by the way that book sounds a great buy too. Keep safe.
I had thought about doing track super elevations (canter) on the Piedmont Southern but decided against it for a couple of reasons. First, on most layouts they are purely cosmetic as our models just don’t have the same speed and mass as a prototype train so centrifugal forces aren’t as important. Second, from a cosmetic point of view they are hardly noticeable except on inside curves and at close to eye level. So I never considered them worth the extra effort. I have inly seen them on a couple of layouts and have inly read a couple of articles on installing them. Plastic shims of varying thickness set under the ties (sleepers) is the most recent method I have seen used and beat the old match stick or strip wood approach.
@@TheDCCGuy Thank you for your Reply Larry, yes, I agree, and of course it can introduce Twist which is not so good for electrical Connection, especially on large Steam Locomotives without having any suspension Compensation, mind it does look good on sharp Curves.
I'm lost🙄, but thanks for the video Larry. There has to be a less complexed way of doing this.
And this is the simpler way to do it!
Great idea Larry thanks for this,
Just a thought though.
I may have mis understood something.
Shouldn;t the green transition line run from the centre line of the straight track to the outer line of the wide radius curve?, not the inner line.
Nick Australia
In the video the blue line was the straight track center line and the red was the 36” radius center line. So the green line was the center of the transition track.
I'm a fan but I found the explanation confusing.
The initial 36" template looks like it goes through the center of the tunnel and is roadbed width, but the 36" curve is on the left side of the tunnel. It's not clear if this is a 2 track tunnel. If it's not, the track is not in the middle of the tunnel.
The green line you draw with the bamboo looks to be on top of the line that is there in the beginning, connecting the straight to the curve. After watching it several times, I see that the 36" template comes to the inside edge of the perpendicular line marked offset. I only gathered from another answer that the offset is on the outside of where the curve would have been without an offset. You needed to say the curve would normally be on the inside, but we are moving it 1/2" to the outside. The pre-existing lines and the perpendicular offset which looks to be the same length, on either side of the center line adds to the confusion.
For those of us who don't build fishing rods, there are small diameter dowels at the big box hardware stores that would work.
You are creating a transition from the curve to a straight line.mBasic design rules dictate that you should not have the curve go from an outside position to an inside straight line as it creates an “S” curve. I think one problem was I already had too many lines on the layout and was drawing over them.
Great video, starting to design my own layout, my room is 6.6lm x 4.1lm. I am using AnyRail, this will be my first large layout build. What track centres do you use on your curves and straight track?
For HO I use anything from 2” center to center on straights and 2 1/4-2 1/2” on curves depending on the radius and type of equipment being operated. John Armstrong’s book “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” is a wealth of information on this type of question.
like turning a car steering wheel , transition from straight to more curved. try turning the wheel all at once and feel the difference.
Hi. Larry. It is great show. I am interesting to have the CADRAIL Software, since I this is first time so. I like to have your support to tell me which one zi can use.
Thank you
I suggest you download (www.cadrail.com) their free demo version and the manual in pdf format and give it a try. Some folks have a hard time with computer design programs but for others it is easy. I find it intuitively easy but I have been using it for about 20 years now. I used to review computer software for Model Railroading magazine and Cadrail was one of the first so I have been able to follow its development since it was released in 1990. It is a good stable program that I can’t crash.
Thanks Larry for your support to my e-mail. I am very interesting in your video show #65. My notes the other connecting wire code Red, Yellow, and Green can be attached to the advise Digitrax DS64 For programing. Thank you
Larry - Could you share a diagram of your model layout? It may be right here in your channel and in front of my face but I don't see it if you did publish it. Many thanks for all you do. Regards
Let me see if I can export a pdf or other easily viewable file. It may only produce CAD files.
Do you sent the offset to the inside or outside of the curve?
It is always best to place the easement on the outside of the curve, it gives much better flow for your trains.
Why not just run out a couple of feet of larger radius curve? For example if you have 24" radius why not just plan it out for say 28" radius for the first 18" of the curve? I never understood the point in doing it this way.... I don't understand the difference between this way and just widening the curve toward the straight away..... Is there an advantage to this?
The great hing about easements is they provide a gradual transition from a straight line of infinite radius to one of a set radius. This does a pretty good job of eliminating the lurch effect when going from one set radius to another.
Larry,
I found one aspect of the video confusing. It looks to me that you start initially with the tangent line running directly into the 36" radius of the curve.
John Armstrong's book shows the tangent line running into a wider radius, equal to the curve PLUS the offset. I have trouble explaining this, but it appears to me that you are making (in essence) an very gentle S-curve to veer to the left to reach the offset then back to a right hand curve to transition into the curve, while Armstrong's diagram shows the tangent running into straight into a transitioning right hand curve, as the tangent is offset to the left to start the transition.
I'm sorry I can't make this more clear, but it's hard to explain what I'm trying to say.
Super enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
I think your confusion might have been due to the fact that I predrew the lines to make sure I got it all correct. The straight line section was offset 1/2” to the outside of the 36” radius curve. Then the spiral transition line was drawn between the straight line and the curve over an 18” distance giving a smooth track line between the two.
@@TheDCCGuy That sounds right. Should have known you wouldn't fail to follow Allen's recommendations! Thanks Larry.
Here's your key sentence. "The straight line section was offset 1/2” to the outside of the 36” radius curve." I failed to see that. All makes sense now.
You spiral into the curve and then spiral out of the curve.