hey guy's i know probablly a stupid question but how many pice's of sectinol track do i need for 22 and 24 inche radius oval's thank's zach.
I can't answer your question, Fatboy because I am a 'hand-layer'. But it might help to know what brand or sectional you are using for someone to help ya out.
http://www.katousa.com/images/unitrack/3-102.jpg The Kato Unitrack picture of an oval shows 16 curved pieces and 8 straight sections. The number of curves depends on how much turn it in each curve. The Unitrack pieces here are 22.5 degrees of turn each.
it'll also matter how long the curves are. The 3" curves will require more pieces than a 9" curve of the same radius. For Atlas track, it's 8 for a half-circle, 4 to a quarter, 16 to a complete oval, and I'll just bet that other mfgrs use approximately the same lengths.
okay thank's yeah it's gonan be either atlast or bachman ez track leaning more toward the atlas thank's yall zach.
None! Get a 22" and a 24" gauge and flex track. Off set the joints a little, and you're set. tack it down as you go! Sectional track gets funny over time, expansion and contraction tends to play havoc with rail joiners (i'd know, i just replaced nearly all of it on my layout after the past couple years of power loss). It pays to do track right.
Pardon? I'm thinking you meant 36" length flex track, which isn't a bad suggestion either, IF you are a good hand at laying flex without forming a kink in it. If not, solder the rail, leaving a few joints unsoldered so they can swell, and you'll be fine. Flex track does the same thing as sectional, it just deos it in fewer places and over a longer distance, with less regidity.
Do they sell any other length of flex track? Technically, you DO need about two 36" sections of flex track to do a 22" radius curve Kinks are no problem! Ribbon Rail makes metal gauges you can slide in between the rails to help maintain radius. You can tack the track down as you go, sliding the track gauge to the next track nail location and tacking it. Once you reach the "end of the line", so to to speak, you can cut off the excess rail or track with a dremel tool or razor saw. I've found this method to be incredibly effective. Soldering joints works as well, but there is not denying that less joints=less problems. It is statistics!
