Hi, I am building my layout based on the UP LA Subdivision. Does anyone know of some good online references for this and also could someone please confirm for me the distances between mailine tracks and between yard tracks. Also what is the best scale radius curve to use ? I was told 18" , how well does that work with large trains? im modelling n scale. Cheers Doug
Welcome aboard, Doug! Usually the Google search engine works well for me but not this time. Hand on a little longer and someone will provide you an answer.
18" should be enough for almost any individual equipment. Are you modelling modern or steam-era? Some of UP's big steam might need more. Before I came to this site, I had read many books on track planning, but none of them suggested that minimum radius depended on train length. I've heard a number of people here say it does. You might do better with 21"-22". Does anyone have experience with this? For track centers: I don't model N (not yet, anyway ) so I don't have first-hand knowledge. I can offer this advice: Keep them larger than scale, say 1.25". It'll help if you need to rerail cars.
Cheers guys, I am modelling Modern UP so my biggest engines at present are SD90MAC's. I remember seeing an article in Model RR magazine on the UP LA Subdivision. maybe 1986 sorted time, does anyone know of this or have a copy they would like to part with? Cheers Doug
maps.google.com might be a good resource for you. You can switch between map view and aerial photo and get an idea of what sorts of things are near the track you wish to model.
that issue of MR had all the info youd probably need and it had track plan in ho and N along with operation info. if u can locate it,youd be set. if you cant email me and i might be able to photocopy it for u mrbigdaddybig@yahoo.com
