Tighter than your trains can take The physical limit of the track bending is the plastic tie molding. The little bridges between the ties (under the rail) has gaps in it every few ties to allow it to flex. This gapping will probably vary by make/scale/style of track, but you can just cut out some more of the bridges if you need a tighter curve than it allows out of the box.
I pulled a section of N gauge flex track to a radius of 9 inches to see how tight a curve my HOn3 Shay could negotiate (they made tight curves in the forest, but probably not that sharp). Y'gotta be careful putting down tight curves if you are going to run a consist of any length because it will pull the train off of the rails in the middle of the curve due to friction resistance on the wheel flanges.
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my question. I`m still learning this hobby.I was asking because I want to eliminate as much sectional track as possible.My last layout [my first] was all sectional track. Due to space limitations I am forced to keep my turns at 22". I have never used flex track before. Do you think it works better than sectional? Thanks again Chip
I'm going to be in the minority I'm sure, but if you're being held to curves that are available in sectional track I vastly prefer sectional track. It's made to fit that way, attach feeders probably every three to 5 sections of track not a problem. You could even solder and file the joints of the track if that is the concern. Just my two cents but I just don't see much if any advantage to using flex track in that situation. now parallel curves, or radii that aren't covered by sectional track, obviously flex track is the best choice.
I agree with Matt - getting rid of kinks in flex at joints in the middle of a curve on a tight radius is tough. But using sectional track sure eliminates that problem.
Don't use sectional track if you can avoid it. Every 9", you end up with a potential poor electrical connection. Use flextrack. It is easy to use and eliminates lots of track joints. Frankly, I am a little surprised to find people suggesting otherwise. In term of radius, flextrack can be bent in half if you want. In other words, the track's minimum radius is not an issue; how tight your locos and rolling stock can go and stay on the rails and coupled is the question.
I recommend sectional track for beginners because of the rail joint kink problem which is so prevalent on sharper curves. Later on as experience is gained it's wise to venture out into the exciting world of learning the ropes of flex track. I do recommend that one of the early skills to master is soldering - and to solder those rail joints between the sectional track. Just helps the beginner get up and running! One thing that helps when laying a curve using flex is to stagger the rail joints - and solder the joints before laying the track.
Use the flex=track for your straight aways but by all means use the 22" sectional for the curves. Being a newby with flex, you'll have all kinds of headaches with it in the curves until you get it right. You can always experiment with pre-soldering curves of flex after the sectional curves are in place and replace them at your leisure
How does someone ever get good at using flextrack if they don't ever use it because they're new with it? The stuff's cheap. Don't be afraid of it.
Please note that I advised that he can put the sectional track down then experiment with flex to make it into presoldered curves. This way, he has a usable layout while he puts the flex curves together. The sectional pieces aren't all that expensive. I'm on a fixed income and can buy it. I have NO flex-track on my layout whatsoever.
And one of the advantages of using the sectional track is that you have it to use in future track planning as a template, and as JW said you have a usable layout while you learn to make the transition to flex. I know of some people that became overwhelmed by trying to use flex and had the problem of kinks in curves at rail joints causing derailments. Another guy I know gave up on model railroading after trying to get started in the hobby by going with DCC, power routing turnouts, and trying to just do too much to fast. I had recommended that he use Kato sectional track and turnouts (because they are ballested) and start with DC, but he ended up frustrated and sold all his equipment at a loss.
Thanks for the input. I have decided to go with sectional in my turns and flex for my straights. Of course I am going to play around with the flex to see exactly what you are talking about. Thanks again Chip
I am new to the whole model railroad world but in my first layout I used a couple of pieces of flextrack... I find you need patience!!! I am not happy how it turned out but this is just my first layout so I am trying a little bit of everything. Experiment and find what works for you... Cheers,
