# Big Locos Vs Curve Radius



## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

Hey everyone.
This week I got myself into a pickle, and now I'm looking for advice.
I just bought a HO scale Bachmann DD40AX #6900. As soon as I tried placing it on my section of 18" radius Bachmann EZ track curve, I came to realize my rookie mistake. I have heard these huge engines will work on a 22" radius, but I worry about pulling freight. Problems get worse when I can't find any 24" radius on Bachmann's catalogue. Sure, a AC44CW-8 should work properly on the 22", but I'm not giving up on the DD40AX. So will I need to replace all my track for a different brand, or is there easier less costly ways to fix this.

NOTE: I use floor set. No realistic scenes or track modifications are used.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

the DD40 will work fine on 22" radius even while pulling freight around. ( i had 2 of them)


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## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

Thanks! This helps a lot. I hope to get it done as soon as possible


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Flextrack....You can have any radius you want.


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## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

Does the flex stay in place? I'm worried about it deforming on my floor. I don't use anything that will keep it in place.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

with flex you have to nail it down or caulk it down to something to get it to stay. also you will need something under it to match the height of your EZ track


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## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

Yeah, that's where it won't work for me. I've got nowhere else to put it but the floor. I just realized that the DD40AX was a giant step from the GP-35. Rookie mistake. But thanks for the notice. This will help when I move on to table modeling.


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## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

Yes. Confirmation. The DD40AX will run AND pull cars on a 22" radius! Thank you everyone for your help and advice.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

CPrail you can make flextrack work for you but you'll need to make some sort of base for it. Use something like paneling or thin plywood. Cut the pieces about 3" wide and curved the way you want them. Glue or nail the track onto the plywood and trim the ends so they are even and you can put track joiners on them. Then you can put them together anytime you want or take them apart for storage. You can use cork roadbed with this too. I think you'll have to glue the roadbed and track in place as the pin nails will go all the way through the plywood. Or bend them over tightly on the back. Eitherway you'll then have the curves that you need and the flextrack will stay where you put it. pete
Just happened to think,you can use this track on a table top layout too if you decide to build one.


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## fs2k4pilot (Jan 5, 2013)

CP, Bachmann does make 33.25" and 36" radius curved track pieces, if it matters to you.


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## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

norgale said:


> CPrail you can make flextrack work for you but you'll need to make some sort of base for it. Use something like paneling or thin plywood. Cut the pieces about 3" wide and curved the way you want them. Glue or nail the track onto the plywood and trim the ends so they are even and you can put track joiners on them. Then you can put them together anytime you want or take them apart for storage. You can use cork roadbed with this too. I think you'll have to glue the roadbed and track in place as the pin nails will go all the way through the plywood. Or bend them over tightly on the back. Eitherway you'll then have the curves that you need and the flextrack will stay where you put it. pete
> Just happened to think,you can use this track on a table top layout too if you decide to build one.


Yes, very true. But I set my small track around a coffee table, since its the only available space. And I just noticed that my local hobbiest doesn't sell flex track. I asked him about ordering some and he told me that he won't go through any trouble of placing extras in his storage. The second closest hobbiest is 3 hours away. But thanks for the help. Whenever I do move on the table layouts, I probably will switch to atlas because they're cheaper.


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## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

fs2k4pilot said:


> CP, Bachmann does make 33.25" and 36" radius curved track pieces, if it matters to you.


Actually, with the 22", I just have enough space! My house is extremely packed, yet I'm not the one who owns it anyways. And local hobbiest said he won't sell anything higher than 22". I did want a 24", but that would've taken up too much space. If I had N scale, I might be able to fit that amount around the table. Thanks for the input.


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## fs2k4pilot (Jan 5, 2013)

Cprail43 said:


> Actually, with the 22", I just have enough space! My house is extremely packed, yet I'm not the one who owns it anyways. And local hobbiest said he won't sell anything higher than 22". I did want a 24", but that would've taken up too much space. If I had N scale, I might be able to fit that amount around the table. Thanks for the input.


My pleasure.

Lack of available space is always a buzzkill, isn't it? But, if in future, you find yourself with more room for your layout, Amazon and Ebay have a good selection of EZ-track pieces for sale. I think I've even seen 45 and 60 degree crossing pieces for sale.


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

At what speeds should I be running my big 4-8-4's on 22" curves? Mine seems to derail 5 out 10 runs through the loop. Im not sure how big the oval loop is, but I got 22" radius for the curves and 5 pieces of 9" straights, counting the straight re-railer on each side.


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## Cprail43 (Jan 1, 2013)

jjb727 said:


> At what speeds should I be running my big 4-8-4's on 22" curves? Mine seems to derail 5 out 10 runs through the loop. Im not sure how big the oval loop is, but I got 22" radius for the curves and 5 pieces of 9" straights, counting the straight re-railer on each side.


I don't own any steam locos, but if I know what's happening, I would probably have to replace all those curves with wider ones. I know, it's a huge pain looking for anything higher than 22". Unfortunately, I can only say, get wider curves, or try going in with other engines.


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## JerryH (Nov 18, 2012)

*4-8-4 derails*

Anything with a lot of axels in a single mount will definitely show track misalignment issues. They can be cumulative as well. ie 2 small issues (difficult to see)at the same place can add up to almost constant derails. Look for slight vertical as well as horizontal abrupt transitions (kinks), varying radii, broke loose rails, and lack of pivot travel or bind in both vertical and side travel. Turnouts and crossings add more potential problems, and can be from the leadin trackage itself.


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