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So please explain the radius terms for G scsle. What is r1 and r3.. how wide is 8ft radius. How wide a half circle be to accommodate a g auto rack or challenger.

Wanted to create a post for reference on what the LGB/Piko R1, R2, R3, R5, R7 values actually translate to in ft/mm AND also bring awareness that what LGB calls R3 and R5 is DIFFERENT than Piko. This is important because MTH lists the minimum diameter curves their engines can take in terms of R2, R3, R5 etc based on the LGB meanings, not Piko. The bottom line is you should always do the actual measurement and rely on the actual ft/mm. Always remember that it is a good idea to run your engines on curves a little wider than that stated absolute minimum rating, regardless of who made the locomotive. This will help ensure you avoid problems such as binding when running. Track Curves - LGB: From LGB's web site https://www.lgb.com/fileadmin/media/lgb/produkte/produktinformationen/LGB_Gleissystem-Info.pdf - LGB website - https://www.lgb.com/products/product-information/overview-of-the-track-system/ Direct link: LGB_Curve_Calculations.pdf R1 = 600 mm (Radius) / 1200 mm (Diameter) R2 = 780 mm (Radius) / 1560 mm (Diameter) R3 = 1195 mm (Radius) / 2390 mm (Diameter) R5 = 2320 mm (Radius) / 4640 mm (Diameter) Translated into imperial: R1 = 23.6 inches (Radius) (1.97 ft) / 47.2" (Diameter) (3.93 ft) R2 = 30.7 inches (Radius) (2.56 ft) / 61.4" (Diameter) (5.12 ft) R3 = 47.05 inches (Radius) (3.92 ft) / 94.1" (Diameter) (7.84 ft) R5 = 91.35 inches (Radius) (7.61 ft) / 182.7" (Diameter) (15.23 ft) Track Curves - Piko: Piko website: https://www.piko-america.com/collections/g-scale-g-track (see R curve & MM values listed on each curve) R1 = 600 mm (Radius) / 1200 mm (Diameter) R2 = ??mm R3 = 920 mm (Radius) / 1840 mm (Diameter) R5 = 1240 mm (Radius) / 2480 mm (Diameter) R7 = 1560 mm (Radius) / 3120 mm (Diameter) Translated into imperial: R1 = 23.6 inches (Radius) (1.97 ft) / 47.2 inches (Diameter) (3.93 ft) R2 = ?? R3 = 36.22 inches (Radius) (3.02 ft) / 72.44 inches (Diameter) (6.04 ft) R5 = 48.82 inches (Radius) (4.07 ft) / 97.64 inches (Diameter) (8.14 ft) R7 = 61.42 inches (Radius) (5.12 ft) / 122.84 inches (Diameter) (10.24 ft)

This is actually a test posting to see if I can post a video from my Flickr account. If this doesn't work, I'll try U Tube It was taken last week and is of my Cholla Patch Railroad track filmed from my Go Pro camera car pushed by an eggliner. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jlcarmichael/41837957681/in/datetaken/

I want to install a g scale tract indoors and wondering if I can get away with using the cheaper tract that is NOT solid cooper or would I regret using the cheaper track later on. The tract will be about 120 ft. total with up to 40 cars. Thanks for any help. Tommy

I am sure that some of you have done this before, but I haven't, so I did. I had to get my trains off of the floor, so I cut a piece of plywood, 4x8, into 8 lengths and grooved them for track, saved about 300.00. The eight pieces gave me 64 feet of shelving. Bob.

Hi all. I'm obviously new to the forum, but I wanted to jump right in... So I’m hoping I can find a solution to my “problem†here… I’m looking to construct my garden railroad in the very near future and I’m looking for inexpensive ways to do it (the cost is not necessarily my immediate problem. I believe I’ve solved this issue, for the most part). Somewhere on the internet I found a posting of someone who fashioned his own G-scale track using aluminum flat bars. I found this fascinating and so I set out to do just the same. Turns out finding and purchasing aluminum bars isn’t all that cost effective. It is certainly cheaper than buying LGB and USA Trains track, but was still heavy on the wallet. I mentioned my situation to a co-worker and he offered this simple solution… At this point I should mention I work in the shipping dept of a printing company. The presses use blankets (large rubber mats) when printing. These blankets have aluminum bars on each end, about three feet long each. These bars are what my co-worker pointed out to me! So needless to say I have a large amount of these bars I’ve cut away from the discarded blankets. Now to my problem… I’ve already made a prototype section of track that works well. I’ve gone ahead and made another section of track, improving a bit on the prototype. The problem is connecting these track sections. I’ve tried a soldering iron however the rails being aluminum, the solder won’t take. Anyone out there have an idea on how I can connect the sections of track? I scoured Home Depot looking for any kind of bracket and came up empty. If anyone is curious, I can provide pictures of what I have so far. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Auction - June 13th, 2013 @ 6:00 pm central standard time. www.blockauction.com We will be hold an auction for an estate out of NW Arkansas. Large collection of G scale Lionel engines, cars, track and controllers. We have also added another collection to this auction with several HO pieces. For more information go to www.blockauction.com. Most of the items in this auction have never been removed from the boxes. Very clean collections. The auction will be live and webcast on Proxibid.com. You can go to www.blockauction.com for the link to Proxibid.com. We have posted a few images on this site for you to view. This is just a sample.