super elevation

[belg]

I was reading on one of those other sites about this topic and wondering if there talking about the same thing as banking on a race track.GO #20 Also for some of us newbie's is there somewhere we can find what alot of the initials you guys use mean??

[billk]

You guessed it - super-elevation = banked turns. Only not nearly as much as with NASCAR - we're talking about putting a sshim under the outer rail ere.
in fact with the weight of model railroad rolling stock, etc., it probably adds nothing performance-wise (in fact, could easily hurt performance if you screw it up), and so is more for appearance only. I personally wouldn't mess with it.

[cidchase]

Hi belg,
here are a few non-mrr specific Web abbreviations:
AFAIK- As far as I know...
AFK- Away from keyboard
ATM- At The Moment
BFN- Bye For Now
BBS- Bulletin Board Systems
BRB- Be Right Back
BTW- By The Way
FAQ- Frequently Asked Questions
FOFL- Falling On Floor Laughing
FWIW- For What it's Worth
FYI- For Your Information
GAL- Get A Life
GG- Gotta Go
HAGD- Have a Great Day
HAND- Have a Nice Day
HTH- Hope This Helps
IAE- In Any Event
ICBW- I Could Be Wrong
IIRC- If I Recall Correctly
IMAO- In My Arrogant Opinion
IMHO- In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO- In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO- In My Opinion
IOW In Other Words
IRL In Real Life
ISDN It Still Does Nothing
ISWYM I See What You Mean
ISTR I Seem To Recall
LMAO Laughing My A** Off
LOL Laughing Out Loud
OTOH On The Other Hand
PMFJI Pardon Me For Jumping In
ROFL Rolling on the Floor Laughing
ROTFL Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLMAO Rolling On the Floor, Laughing My A** Off
RFC Request For Comment
SFAIAA So Far As I Am Aware
SFMP Sorry For Multiple Posts
SCNR Sorry, Could Not Resist
SITD Still In The Dark
SO Significant Other
SOHO Small Office Home Office
TIA Thanks In Advance
TIC Tongue In Cheek
TTFN Ta ta For Now
TTYL Talk To You Later
TWIMC To Whom It May Concern
TYVM Thank You Very Much
WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get

Some are very common, some not.
Maybe someone could get up a list of mrr abbreviations?

[sumpter250]

By their very nature, model trains do not behave the same way as the prototype. Weight distribution, and friction in the wheel bearings, have a tendancy to cause model rolling stock to pull into a curve. In some cases, long trains, and tight curves, the train falls into the inside of a curve. If that curve is superelevated, the problem gets worse.
In real practice, the outer rail of a curve is only slightly higher than the inside. If the actual difference is modeled, you almost don't see the result, so it has to be overdone to get the effect.
Given the extra effort to include superelevation, and the problems it can cause, we can't run double stacks on the club layout because of the superelevated curves, I'd recommend not using superelevation on the layout.
A curve, in a diorama, for photographic effect.......This makes more sense.
Pete

[60103]

To do superelevation (or cant ) properly, you have to use a transition curve, where the radius gradually gets tighter. That's because each radius + speed combination has its own degree of superelevation. If you go straight into an 18" curve, you should have a 1/4" step up in the outside rail.
The speed part is important. Our commuter train often stopped on one curve and you could feel yourself sliding across the seat. Brit mags often talk about "cant deficiency", which is how much less tilt you get than perfectly unnoticeable.

[Clerk]

My curves have a slight elevation on the outside and it look so realastic when my trains go around the curves. I have no trouble with derailments. My long trains I make sure the heavy cars are toward the front of the train.

[cidchase]

I did not super-elevate and it was a mistake. It just does not look right once you're aware of it. Most is not ballasted yet and I'll prolly be going back under that track, but not really lookin' forward to it

[grumbeast]

I tried super-elevation on a fairly tight 12" radius
loopback I relaid. I used a decent easement and then simply
used shirt cardboard shims along the outside edge of the
cork roadbed. So far I've not had a single derailment on
the curve and although the effect is subtle, it does look
great, So I'd personally recommend it just be careful
when laying the curve

Graham

I have also used thin index card shims under the outside ties before ballasting, with a gradual transition on easement curves down to 16" without problems, including long stack trains of Walthers 5-car units. Alas, I have sold those tall beasts and now model transition period, but the Super Chief looks awfully good rolling into a curve at speed.

My typical trains are no more than 30 cars in length...much longer trains may cause trouble, especially if all the cars are not properly weighted. Try it out, and test it thoroughly before ballasting the track. For me, it really adds to the pleasure of watching my trains.

The photo below shows the effect a little bit, looks better in live motion.

[Lighthorseman]

OutSTANDING, Verne!