# Measurement between two tracks?



## RonnieC (Jul 8, 2020)

Yes I'm still a newbie lol. Laying two tracks side by side is it 1 1/16 or 1 1/4 inch between the rails? thanks for any reply's


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Best answer is to teach you to fish. Go to the NMRA (that's National Model Railroad Association; yeah, it's a thing) website and look at their standards and recommended practices. In this case, you'll want RP-7. Here is a link to the page: NMRA Standards and Recommended Practices


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## RonnieC (Jul 8, 2020)

Since I don't have the patience for standards and mumbo stuff I'll just do it my way. After all it's my railroad. But I do thank you


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Since you don't have the patience, why did you ask? Just go ahead and do it yourself!


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

I agree with Fire21 !! He even gave you a link to simply click with one finger and you still dissed him !!


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

RonnieC said:


> Since I don't have the patience for standards and mumbo stuff I'll just do it my way. After all it's my railroad. But I do thank you


RonnieC;

If you don't have patience, and plenty of it, and if your not willing to look up what you call "mumbo stuff", then maybe model railroading, or at least this forum, isn't for you.
This hobby requires near infinite patience to do many things.
If you ask a question on this forum, you're likely to get answers, probably several, often conflicting, and practically never restricted to only whatever narrowly framed answer you expected. One that will fit neatly into your preconceptions.
For example, an intelligent answer to your question about the spacing between parallel tracks is not as simple as picking one of the two dimensions you quoted in your question. What radius curves you are using, and what length locomotives and cars will need to travel through those curves, will both affect the track spacing.

One of our experienced members gave you a simple way to look up the track spacing for various lengths of rolling stock, and curve tightness, and your response is "I don't have the patience" to look up the answer that fits my railroad. "I'll just do it my way. After all it's my railroad" Yes it is your railroad, and after a response like this, even with an afterthought thank you tacked on the end, you may find that you'll need to do everything on "your railroad" "your way", because you may not get much help here.
I used CTValley's link and was able to look up the curved track spacing straight from the index. The information was laid out for easy reference right on the page. If you found the NMRA site confusing, that's OK. By your own statement, you're a newbie. Just ask for help in navigating the NMRA site if that's the problem. 

Traction Fan


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

traction fan said:


> RonnieC;
> 
> If you don't have patience, and plenty of it, and if your not willing to look up what you call "mumbo stuff", then maybe model railroading, or at least this forum, isn't for you.
> This hobby requires near infinite patience to do many things.
> ...


I found the answer for the curve too.
Is there an answer in there for the straight?
Or would that be the same as the curve?


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Wow, OP has a funny way of making friends.....nice......


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Old_Hobo said:


> Wow, OP has a funny way of making friends.....nice......


So whatever you use for the curve you should use for the straight?
I never referred to the standard, I just went with what I thought was good.
N scale I never laid down yet.


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## Aard D'Vaark (Aug 1, 2019)

RonnieC said:


> Since I don't have the patience for standards and mumbo stuff I'll just do it my way. After all it's my railroad. But I do thank you


I'm glad that you can do it all your way ... Enjoy!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)




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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Distance between track centers depends on what you are running and how tight your curves are. For N scale 1-1/16” is safe for straights whatever you run. If you are running modern equipment you will need as much as 1-5/8” on a 9-13/16” curve.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Big Ed said:


> I found the answer for the curve too.
> Is there an answer in there for the straight?
> Or would that be the same as the curve?


Big Ed;

The curves are the critical point because of car overhang. On tight-medium radius curves you need more space between tracks than you do on straight track. You can either use the same wide spacing as on the curves, or a narrower spacing on the straight tracks, your option.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## RonnieC (Jul 8, 2020)

All you fella's are right. I sincerely apologize for my remarks.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Lehigh74 said:


> Distance between track centers depends on what you are running and how tight your curves are. For N scale 1-1/16” is safe for straights whatever you run. If you are running modern equipment you will need as much as 1-5/8” on a 9-13/16” curve.


Thanks


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

traction fan said:


> Big Ed;
> 
> The curves are the critical point because of car overhang. On tight-medium radius curves you need more space between tracks than you do on straight track. You can either use the same wide spacing as on the curves, or a narrower spacing on the straight tracks, your option.
> 
> Traction Fan 🙂


Thanks, that is what I was thinking.
But in the link that was posted for the standard is there a standard given in there for the measurement between straights?
I couldn't find it if there is one listed.
I never used that NRMA guide before.
I guess that is like the Bible of model railroad building to some, I would think they would list it between the straights too?
I always just winged it as I went along, making sure there was enough room.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Big Ed said:


> But in the link that was posted for the standard is there a standard given in there for the measurement between straights?


In RP-7.2, clearance between straights is the Tangent column.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

RonnieC said:


> All you fella's are right. I sincerely apologize for my remarks.


Thanks Ronnie, we appreciate your honesty. Apology accepted. Good luck with your railroad.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Big Ed said:


> Thanks, that is what I was thinking.
> But in the link that was posted for the standard is there a standard given in there for the measurement between straights?
> I couldn't find it if there is one listed.
> I never used that NRMA guide before.
> ...


 Big Ed;

I haven't used that NMRA page before either. I just looked for spacing on curves because that's the place where things can hit each other! Parallel straight tracks can be as close together as you want, so long as your widest cars won't sideswipe themselves. I tend to be conservative and leave a bit of extra room for my fat fingers to get between derailed cars. Parallel yard or station tracks can sometimes be quite close together on the prototype. One consideration for duplicating this in the model world is the type, and reliability of automatic couplers you're using, and your confidence level in them. If you use Kadee/Micro-Trains magnetic couplers and their delayed uncoupling feature, then the tracks can be closer. If you are uncoupling with a stick, you might need a little more room. One of those Rix magnet uncoupling wands would require even more room.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

deleted


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Lehigh74 said:


> In RP-7.2, clearance between straights is the Tangent column.


OK, thanks, like I said I never looked at it before, I couldn't find about the straights.
Eventually I want to expand the little N layout I have, the way I do it I might have a little too much in between according to their standard.
I will look a that when I do.......maybe.


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## Maddog (Jan 14, 2016)

Don't forget to leave room for fingers especially in your yards. The old 0-5-0.


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## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

Can I throw a line in here ? Yeah, new here but my layout is coming up on it's 1 year anniversary with a redo / upgrade commencing after Christmas. My Kato N Scale track came with a rerailer gizmo and along one edge it has notches to space three runs of track, made it so easy to set the straight runs


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Wooky_Choo_Bacca said:


> Can I throw a line in here ? Yeah, new here but my layout is coming up on it's 1 year anniversary with a redo / upgrade commencing after Christmas. My Kato N Scale track came with a rerailer gizmo and along one edge it has notches to space three runs of track, made it so easy to set the straight runs


Wooky;

Spacing between parallel tracks is somewhat optional, as long as the trains on the two tracks don't hit each other, or any scenery or structures. The spacing on straight stretches of track can typically be closer than it can on parallel curved tracks. The reason for this is car overhang. Our model curves are way tighter than those on a real railroad. So, the ends, and or center of a car will swing out over the sides of the track when a train is rounding a curve. It's better to be conservative and leave plenty of distance between curved tracks. You can experiment with two of your longest cars. Roll them through the curves at different positions relative to each other.(right next to each other, inside car leading, and outside car leading. you will see the ends swing outward and the centers swing inward. Try to set up your "worst case scenario" with maximum overhang on both cars, and trying to make them sideswipe each other. Then add some extra distance between tracks, so this doesn't happen when your running trains. Also bear in mind that the amount of overhang increases with the length of the cars, and the tightness of the curve. That's why leaving more room than you think you can get by with is a smart practice.

You say you are new. The files below are some I wrote to help new modelers. Look through them if you like. You may pick up some useful info.

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Great topic for sure and it applies to me as I plan along....waiting due to complete frustration....lol. So many good points here for sure. The peco track switches that I want to use leave a 2 inch distance between parallel straight tracks. I want to move into the curve and am still wondering if 2” is enough in the curves. Thanks to you all, I will be maintaining big radius curves, but still wondering if 2 inch will be sufficient. Anyone here maintain a 2 inch spacing (ho scale) by chance ?


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

BigGRacing said:


> Great topic for sure and it applies to me as I plan along....waiting due to complete frustration....lol. So many good points here for sure. The peco track switches that I want to use leave a 2 inch distance between parallel straight tracks. I want to move into the curve and am still wondering if 2” is enough in the curves. Thanks to you all, I will be maintaining big radius curves, but still wondering if 2 inch will be sufficient. Anyone here maintain a 2 inch spacing (ho scale) by chance ?


BigGRacing;

I'm an N-scaler, so 2" would be plenty for me! 😄
Seriously, you might check that book I recommended, "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" by John Armstrong. I think he will cover track spacing in HO curves the same way he does everything else, superbly. The spacing will, of course, need to vary with the radii of the two parallel curves, and the length of the cars & locomotives you will run. Generally speaking, more spacing is better than trying to push things closer for appearance sake. Who knows, You may find a model 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" steam locomotive that just you can't leave behind. 😄 

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Very good point! I hate spending tight earned cash on non track and cars....lol, but I may have to break down and do it......grrrrrr....lol


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

At a bare minimum between 24" and 22" curves, 2-1/4" spacing is recommended for full length passenger wagons. 2-3/8" would be even better. 

Mine are spaced especially tight and one 24/22 dual main line is at about 2-1/8". Every now and again two passing trains will scrape a wagon. Not even enough rock the car, but just make slight contact as the overhang contacts a side. It's in a difficult (but not impossible) to access area and I don't worry about it much. I've never had a derailment on that curve.


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## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

TF, yes, I read all those and saved the page for future reference reading, Thanks for the heads up on that. When I first started out I bought the Kato Silver Streak starter set and visited the nearest model train shop from here picking up a few packs of straight Unitrack as well as some curve. The shop owner told me that with the length of my cars that I shouldn't go any tighter than 12-12 1/2 in curves, so far no derailments unless I caused it (earthquakes or a wayward elbow ). On my future new layout I'll have to pay attention with the curves spacing as I'll have two tracks running opposite directions and don't need nor want an "Addam's Family" trainwreck 😱


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

BigGRacing said:


> Very good point! I hate spending tight earned cash on non track and cars....lol, but I may have to break down and do it......grrrrrr....lol



BigGRacing;

If you mean you don't want to spend money for the book, first it will be worth every penny you spend, second, you shouldn't have to spend much. You can probably get a used copy from Amazon pretty cheap. I looked up track spacing in my copy and Armstrong recommends a minimum of 2-3/8" when the inside curve is 18" radius. Even with an inside curve radius of 30" he recommends 2-1/8" minimum spacing. So I think using 2" between curved tracks might be pushing things.

rergards;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Thank you Traction Fan


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