# Hurst Overland Rail Road update



## cactusjack99 (Sep 12, 2009)

Hi All;

Since I was given some much needed help on several subjects after I volunteered to be the H.O.R.R. guy (gotta luv the acronym), I thought I'd post an update since we have just recently completed a significant overhaul of the layout in support of the Hurst Public Libraries expansion project.

The layout was changed from a rectangle that was roughly 25' on each side,,, guess that's a square huh? During the expansion it was desired to spiffy up the layout, perhaps make some changes in layout, and provide some improvement. Having the trains run constantly in the same direction was a great strain on wheels and gearing, even though I would change each one's direction every quarter.

The new layout is a figure 8, 25' x 28', so it's a little larger. Still dual track, one train each direction. Of course, could not do to have crossing issues, so the layout has and over/under arrangement so nobody can crash into anyone. It turned out nicely, has been running non stop (except Sunday's) since the beginning of May. Trains sound "happier", very slight wheel squeal on the curves, but largely much quieter than before. Running gear has quieted down also. All in all, it has turned out nicely! The ceiling clearance for the "over" is 11" at minimum clearance, for the "under" it is 20", and at the crossing point it works out to a little over 8". No problems with train clearance. The only issue with the layout was that both trains must be able to negotiate 4' curves, since they are now changing sides on a regular basis. This was a bit of challenge for the GP38, which states clearly in the specs "5' diameter curve minimum", but it can be done, using the hook and loop couplers which was the first major change I made when taking over helps a bunch, and then a little step trimming in a few places fixed the rest.


If this thing will let me post a couple of pics I'll add those, if not, I guess you'll have to imagine the result. The kiddies love it, and we are getting compliments from all over the place, even other cities in the area. 


So thanks to the folks here, without the great advice I was given back when I started, life would have been much harder!

cheers
cactus 


ps - no pics I guess.... too bad


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

Sounds great!


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