I have a question about the Bachmann ultradome cars (what they refer to as Colorado Railcar 89' Full-Dome cars because "Ultra Dome" is a trademark of Princess Tours, one of the companies that operates the real deals). A question I have had no luck in receiving a solid answer for. That question is, is the recommended minimum radius of 22" listed on Bachmann's website the absolute minimum the 89' domes can take? Or are they capable of navigating 18" radius curves?
I don't have this car, but I think it may be possible. At low speeds you might be able to squeeze it through 18", but it may not fit at road speeds. I'm not sure how much the coupler box will prevent coupler swing, so you might have to be careful with that. I can get a 3 axle diesel through said 18" radius, so a "minimum radius" may not be the real minimum.
Someone else said it could do it. The coupler box is essentially almost as wide as the car, and the couplers are on very long shanks (going by the one photo I could find of the undercarriage, the shanks are mounted just ahead of where the trucks end
Are you looking in to purchasing the car? If you already have it, you could just set up a test track to find out.
Yes, I'm looking to purchase it. My reason for asking was trying to find out if it would be a good idea to also purchase some 22" radius curved track or if I could get away with the curved track I already have, which is 18" radius.
The cars you are looking for come in a Bachmann train set as well. The set has 22" tracks in it, so if you buy the set, you get the full train and the track solved at once. I feel an eventual upgrade to 22" is a good idea, since you will be able to run longer modern cars like flats and auto racks, which have real minimum of 22". You could probably get away with 18" if you only ran these cars, but some Walthers and Athearn cars require the larger radius. It all depends on what trains you want to run.
Except the set is $269 MSRP, whereas I can get just an ultradome for between $40-$50 depending on where I buy. $200+ all at once? Not happening with my financial resources. I have had it confimed that they can handle 18" radius. And as for things like autoracks, Bachmann's will run 18" radius unmodified. If you use the right coupler setup..
If the train set is out of the question, but the car runs on the 18" radius curves, then I'd say you should buy it.
