# Radius VS Engine size. N Scale



## PhillipB (Mar 11, 2013)

Can anyone give me a quick rundown on what size engines will run what size radius track in N Scale.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Minimum radiuses vary somewhat from manufacturer to another but as a general rule of thumb,these numbers should be fine...
Four axle and some six axle diesels...9 3/4 in.
Six axle diesels,short steamers...11 in.
Medium sized steamers...13 in.
Long wheelbase rigid steamers (4-8-4,2-10-2)...15 in.
Articulated steamers are different beasts though.While most articulateds will run fine on 13 in. rad.,only the smaller ones (2-6-6-2,2-8-8-2) will look right doing it.The bigger ones (4-8-8-2,4-6-6-4,4-8-8-4) will handle quite tight radiuses but will look weird doing it.

If you have the room,try to design as large radiuses as you can.You never know what you might want to run in the future and on top of this,trains look much better on wide curves.


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## THE TYCO MAN (Aug 23, 2011)

Jake has put in good perspective. Larger radius will allow the running of your trains enjoyable. I have a Big Boy in HO running on 22" curves, looks funny! (22" in HO is like 12" in N scale).


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## PhillipB (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks everyone, that helps a lot. Now to get a few things to start back.


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