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2 Responses to Distance of an Oval Track
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I’m not really sure what it is you’re asking so let’s take it step by step. Assuming that you are placing the track right at the edges. and assuming that you are using 18 inch radius curves, then the total track length will be about 190 to 200 inches. (Approximately 58 inches straight on each side plus about 12 inches straight at each end plus about 25.25 at each of the 4 corners.) This equates to about 4825 to 4840 millimeters total track length. At 3.5mm per foot (HO scale), that would be approximately 1370 to 1390 scale feet. Of course, if you place the track in an oval where the track is farther from the edges, the total track length will be less. if you go much larger, it will fall off the table.
Okay, I should have been clearer. There is very little about model railroading that gets my goat, but other than today’s prices, the speed at which some modellers run their trains when letting the rest of us watch, is one of them.
I’m all in favor of the saying “My layout, my rules”, but to me, it takes away from my appreciation for the craftsmanship of someone’s layout when I see a switcher engine moving at a scale 60 mph in a busy yard.
The suspension of reality most of us are going for, is lost in that moment. I began a deep dive into the computer infoverse to figure out how long it should take an HO engine to travel a full circuit of the oval IF it was going at scale 15 MPH. My calculations included dividing by 87 and an approximation of the oval distance and a bunch of other calculations ending up with my mind being fried.
Now, seeing your thoughts. I plugged everything into AI which seemed to get lost with the concept of 15 scale MPH and gave me an answer of “An HO scale locomotive traveling at a scale 15 miles per hour would take approximately 0.756 seconds to travel 200 inches”
Hmm, pretty darned fast.
Anyway, I’m going to leave this to more math oriented minds than mine. My calculations (very possibly flawed) came up with about 35 seconds for the circuit. When I count up to 35, it feels close. I’m going to tune up my switcher and slow down. Others may do what seems right for themselves.