Over the weekend I bought a little bit of track and the Atlas pier set. I put together a small over/under loop that I can play with until I can afford to get all of my track for the big layout. Anyway- If I put the lower track on cork, I have one tank car that the railing on top catches. Atlas says that the piers go as high as 1-11/16". If I leave the cork out, it just barely clears. So I'm wondering, as I aquire more cars, what kind of heighths to expect. I don't want to build something I can't run the trains on because of not enough clearance.
The minimum clearances for structures over real RR's is 22.5', 24.25' for 25KV catenary lines, 26' for 50KV catenary lines. 22.5' is 1 11/16" in N scale. But remember this is measured from top of rail to lowest point of bridge superstructure. The tallest cars are the autoracks which are 19'4". The Concor model is actually slightly taller than this, (most N scale cars set higher than real cars to accomodate curves that are much tighter than real RR's have to deal with). The taller 20-2 autoracks (which are 20'-2" high)are still restricted somewhat on real RR's. Currently no model of these exist in N scale. All of the bridges on my Ntrak module have a clearance of 23'. The only problem encountered has been that well cars containing double stacked Walthers corrugated containers do not quite clear. These containers are slightly taller than standard. Thus you could use that as a guide.
While talking of clearences, dont forget them on curves. On my club layout we have a couple of sharp curves where the car's overhang hit details and buildings. We removed the things that were being hit, but a little more planning would've been saved us the trouble. My best advice is to take the highest and longest car you think you'll ever run on your layout and plan from their specifications. Mike
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by guppyman: Anyway- If I put the lower track on cork, I have one tank car that the railing on top catches. Atlas says that the piers go as high as 1-11/16". If I leave the cork out, it just barely clears. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If you put the lower track on cork then you will have to raise the bridge piers also. At least by the height of the cork.
The NMRA recommends at least 2 inches clearance for N scale, which comes out to 26 ft. 8 inches. on the prototype. Try to get this much difference in elevation if at all possible.
Thanks for all the replies. It looks like next week I will have the cash to buy track & the week after I am on VACATION!!! I upgraded my 2'x4' table over the weekend to 4'x4'. My wife took a look at it and decided that that's about as big as I get to go for now. So I am probally going to build a version of Atlas's Monopoly & Octopus track plan. Question about the ad at the top of this page for InternetTrains.com. I noticed how cheap they were, but how are they on service? How long to fill orders, how much hassle & all that? A quick comparison of their site saves me about $83.
Guppyman, First...awesome layout!! Next, I have used I-Net trains and have found them to be affordable and very efficient. I think they are a safe bet (otherwise I don't think they would be on Trainboard!!) Happy Modeling!! John
I'm right now waiting for my order form Internettrains. I ordered some pretty rare stuff like alot of Gold Medal Models parts, decals, the REM Burro crain and detail parts. I saved myself 50%! Its been a little under 2 weeks after I placed the order, but I choose their slow shipping plan but I should have it any day now. I suggest before placing any orders, check to see if they have everything in stock, because they didnt on mine. I suggest you give them a try. Mike Mike
