Hi Mike,
My method is also simple, I start all my curves with an 80” arc about 12” to 16” long then follow with my required radius (usually 50”) but some behind the scene curve are 40”. It is not a graduate curve as the ideal easement but 80” is broad enough that I did not notice any problems getting a 80’ Pullman car coupled with a short tender negotiating an 80” curve from/to a tangent straight track or 80” from/to a 40” curve. I use a CAD program to draw my layout then print full size paper templates than I glue directly over the subroadbed. However, I use to have solid template cut from luan board to do that. Simon From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim and Cheryl Martin Sent: November-07-12 6:27 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: {S-Scale List} Spiral Easements Hi Mike: Constructing curves with spiral easements is actually easier to do than it is to explain in print. There are complex mathematical formulae one can use, but a flexible tool such as a thin strip of wood, or even a length of code 172 rail will work quite nicely in forming a natural easement from straight to curved track centers. The trick is leaving about a half inch of space between the tangent and the curve, and then using the flexible tool to plot a line joining the two centerlines. Track Planning for Realistic Operation by the late John Armstrong should be in every model railroader's library. However if you Google Spiral Easements in Model Railroading, and scroll down to "TRACKWORK...doing it right" by Richard Kolm, you'll find a pdf from an clinic he did in 2006. I think that should explain a lot. Good Luck Jim Martin p.s. Internet searches will yield a ton of model railroading techniques. --- On Wed, 11/7/12, Mike Andrzejewski <[email protected]> wrote: From: Mike Andrzejewski <[email protected]> Subject: {S-Scale List} Spiral Easements To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Received: Wednesday, November 7, 2012, 10:04 PM Where can one find an easy to understand explanation of easements and how to make them? Thanks, Mike Andrzejewski
