Hi all,

i am looking for the most efficient way (in terms of track length efficiency, i don't have a lot pf space) to make a 90° curve. The beginning of the curve is a standard two tracks set with the 77.5 mm centerline distance. At the end of the curve (or, to better say, as soon as possible after the end of the curve) i will have my main station, where i want 4 tracks with the following centerline distances :
first to second : around 105 mm, in order to put a large platform between them
second to third : around the protorype distance,, 64.3 mm
third to fourth : as first to second, around 105 mm for another large platform

i want that whatever track a train is on in the station (1 to 4), it must be able to take the curve and end it at the first or second track.

i made a lot of research and trial and errors with scrum, but i cannot find a good solution. i don't even know if what i want to do is feasible. Any trip is appreciated. thanks

Fab

Hi,
I use Railmodeller Pro for track design. This would certainly answer your question and enable good visualisation of the intended layout.
I run it on a Mac. It's not free but certainly not expensive for what it does.
Best,
Tim

I'm no layout expert. One thing I see as problematic is that you have three tracks going from the curve into the station. If you just had the two outer tracks, a double line, you would (or could) have more space for the platforms and the station.

Adding to this: getting rid of the two crossings before the station will mean that you will have to incorporate turnouts elsewhere of course.

thank you very much buddy, that was really helpful. i owe you one. are those your work, or can you point me to a website / document where i can find more of those examples ? thx again

Examples of such alternative approaches to the Märklin C-track geometry are unfortunately rare. The former I detected seven years ago somewhere on www.upload.de, while the latter is my own work. Both - and other examples - can be found in this forum thread:

https://www.marklin-user...s--uses--and-innovations

Furthermore, another German thread offers a synopsis of various Stummiforum contributions:

https://www.stummiforum....e-C-Gleis-Geometrie.html


I am not worthy.

Oh, I dunno, the way you seem to be able to make a complete layout all tied up in twists and turns without using any straight track is a wonder to behold.

I'm searching for the correct colour for C track. A while back I discovered and posted the plastic is BASF Luran S. From odd comments it seems that the colour comes from a standard BASF range and isn't a "special mix", but I haven't nailed it down yet - maybe it is from an older colour range. Does anyone know what the colour is?

I came across the following snippet - you'll be very pleased to read that this plastic makes "maintenance work on the tracks superfluous".

Hello,

Is the BASF product being used to correct the problem that affected C track before 2004, or was it the original product?
In a way it seems it was used to correct the problem, but the date that appears in the document is 2002, so I understand it is at least a document from 2003.

Miguel

I was going to say that. I am using some of my early C track, and it's brittle, but screwed down. You will have a problem if both adjoining tabs are broken.