Home » Howto & Style » Model Railroad Track Laying Tips Curves Easements and Superelevation

Model Railroad Track Laying Tips Curves Easements and Superelevation

Written By Ron's Trains N Things on Tuesday, Aug 22, 2017 | 08:00 AM

 
Model railroad track laying tips: curves, easements, and superelevation. Do you want to know how to get great looking, smooth running curves on you model railroad track? In this segment I show you how I layout easements to transition from straight tangent track into fixed radius curves. I also show how I superelevate curves to give them a more smooth, natural appearance when trains run through them. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Assoc. [This link no longer works. Sorry for the inconvenience.] Amazon Pick of the Week: Track Planning for Realistic Operation http://amzn.to/2wdRzJw This book has a great section on easements and superelevated curves. It is a must-have for every model railroader. (NOTE: The above are Amazon affiliate links. I make a small commission from any purchased made through these links.) Thanks to my Patreon Patrons: Todd Walton You too can take advantage of the rewards. Support Ron's Trains N Things through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RonsTrainNThings You can also leave a tip through PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/RonsTrainsNThings Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank You. 🔸Contact me via email: [email protected] 🔸Follow me on Twitter: @RonsTrainsNTngs https://twitter.com/RonsTrainsNTngs 🔸Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ron.marsh.5059 https://www.facebook.com/RonsTrainsNThings/ 🔸Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RTRAINS For more about my layout, the Texas Colorado & Western Railway, check out my Facebook page www.facebook.com/TCWRy If you like what you see give me a "like" 👍, subscribe 🔔, comment 💬 below, and share it on your social media and model railroad forums. Contents 0:00 Intro 1:50 Why Easements? 3:40 Circles vs Spirals 7:07 Laying out Curves 10:38 The Easement Formula Pt 1 12:50 Drawing the Curve 14:40 The Easement Formula Pt 2 16:00 Drawing the Easement 20:25 Why Superelevation? 23:45 Easy Superelevation 30:50 Laying Track on Curves 34:15 The Science of Curves--AREMA 35:03 Closing Credits: Theme Song: "Extremes" by the Lemming Shepherds Exzel Music Publishing (freemusicpublicdomain.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Equipment: *Canon Rebel T3 DSLR--https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/cameras/dslr/eos-rebel-t3-ef-s-18-55-is-ii-kit?pageKeyCode=prdAdvViewAll *MX-2000 tripod *Blue Snowball Microphone--http://www.bluemic.com/products/snowball/ *2 Clamp Lamps *The Sun--https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun *HitFilm 4 Express--https://hitfilm.com/express *Audacity--http://www.audacityteam.org/