I’ve been playing around with 1/32 sectional track plans lately.
Tonight I pulled the AFX track out. With 45 degree curves, I was limited in what I could design.
Do HOers have any opinion on 22 1/2 degeee curves?
Would people use them if they were available?
Any interest from the manufacturers?
You can make any angle size curve you want by "Frankentracking".
You remove the power rails, then make two cuts across the width of the curve -- removing the center section so that you have two end pieces which, in total, have the angle size you want. You glue those two pieces together, adding some reinforcing strips underneath. Said reinforcing strips can be cut out of the center scrap you just removed.
The power rails get cut to length and reinserted. Superglue works. Apply underneath. Depending on the type of track you have you may need to cut the power rails extra long, so you can form the spring contacts at either end of the glued-up track section.
This technique can be used on both curves and straights. In some cases it is the only way to get the ends of a track to join up nicely.
Some folks have carried this to extremes, cutting a curve into many short segments to create a different curve radius, or, weirder yet, a curve that is not circular.
The hardest part of this Frankensonian surgery is making good, straight, square, clean cuts that can be joined together so seamlessly that the joint is almost invisible. Get this trick down and you can pump these track sections out on an industrial basis.
But let me caution you. There is at least one track that I know of where almost every section of track had been customized. Way too much work. It would have been better, faster and easier to rout the track from scratch.
Ed Bianchi
Last edited by HO RacePro; 01-20-2019 at 09:14 PM.
I would buy some of the 3 larger radii in 22-1/2 degrees for sure. Just finishing the teardown of my old track, no firm designs for the new yet. If I need 22-1/2 before they are available commercially, I will "Frankentrack" them, but to save time I'd rather buy them.
Mass produced 22.5 degree turns are not made right now. Tooling up for them would be expensive, for limited production quantities 3D printing could be used however.
There are several issues with using large temporary tracks here in the US. For a start in many areas the venues simply do not exist, where they do the rental cost would be a problem. Another problem would be finding people with enough time so set the track up and take it down. Many of the racers that I know work long hours, have irregular schedules or have a long commute from work. That would tend to rule out week nights, my HO club only races on weekends however.
I have only gone to one race in a rented hall, that was a 1/32 scale race using a modular portable track. That was less trouble than a track on a dozen tables using quite a few sections would be, but the setup and takedown time with that has discouraged us from doing that sort of thing often.
With both my HO and 1/32nd clubs wood or aftermarket tracks are the rule, we have quite a few really nice tracks available, so the prospect of buying a 200 foot temporary track at about $6000 for the track sections alone would tend to be a deterrent.
Just for kicks I will discuss this issue at the next race.
22 1/2 Degree Curves
Linear Mode
