Me, too. I'd like to see one with a corrugated metal roof like the ones once so prevalent on Mexican and Central American lines.

Quote from: gmhtrains on June 20, 2012, 12:33:55 PM
I model a common carrier narrow gauge railroad inspired by Iowa's Bellevue & Cascade, so can always use more house cars. I favor a steel boxcar and an outside-braced, single-sheathed wood boxcar, both with doors opening to the right.

Gil Hulin

A thought, but I fear those Brazilian Texans would never, ever make their way around the 24 inch radius curves used on several Texas and Florida modular groups.

In an ideal world, tight curves would be on sports cars and pretty young girls. Alas, we have to make certain compromises in real life. I don't think a 2-10-4 would clear club curves.

Quote from: ryeguyisme on July 29, 2012, 06:17:56 AM
If bachmann were to consider making a large American built narrow gauge steam locomotive, the largest would be a 2-10-4 that ran on the Teresa Cristina in Brazil

Tons of videos on YouTube of them, surprised nobody has modelled them, they're truly magnificent monsters

http://youtube.com/watch?v=drquakTIPNw


If bachmann did these or DRGW K-36's or K-37's I may take a dive into the On30 market

I hate to say this, but this thread illustrates the problems that Bachmann would have selling "Big Engine" 2-8-2s like the EBT mikes and the larger D&RGW K's (As well as the Oahu Railway and Land Co's four ALCO 2-8-2s). Most of us, especially those of us who belong to such modular clubs as the Texas Outlaws and the Florida Renegades, don't have the wide curves to run these models.

I think that an Americanized version of Argentina's Baldwin-built Patagonian 2-8-2s would be a better choice size-wise, but I don't know how many other On30 folks would buy them. I would, but then again, I'm not closely following prototype accuracy and I'm not that provincial about "foreign" power (Even power built in the US and Canada!) as many of the old-time steam-heads were and many modelers still are.

Dear Bach-mann,

I do hope you give it some thought anyway, even if the numbers don't work out. The only other comparable models of steel truss bridges are MTH's, Lionel's, and Atlas'. Atlas's steel truss bridges are a whopping 40 inches long. MTH's are about 24 inches long (I think), and Brand Meow's frankly look toy-train like. Bachmann's Plasticville bridges not only look plausible for both O narrow gauge and O standard gauge, but are short enough to fit in on three to four foot-long  modules and a lot of O scale modeling (narrow-gauge as well as 2-rail and 3-rail) is going the modular route these days.

Thank you for letting me bend your ear on this subject.

Hear endeth the harangue.

Quote from: the Bach-man on October 24, 2011, 11:15:57 PM
Dear Mister Lee,
The deck sold by Micro-Mark is an excellent product.  It is unlikely that we'll do expensive new tooling to duplicate it in plastic.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

Hey, Bachmann, how about improving the Plasticville 45975 truss bridge with a realistic looking deck? The bridge is popular enough with both O 3-railers and with On30 modelers, but a deck would finish a model that still looks incomplete even after it's assembled and would make it even more popular.

Yes, I know that a certain manufacturer made an aftermarket deck, but a compatible deck made by Bachmann that could accommodate either O 3-rail, O 2-rail, or On30 made of the same sort of plastic would be very nice.

Thank you for letting me bend your ear.

A few months ago, I ordered a powered/unpowered set of Williams PA-1s painted in the McGinnis scheme. Much to my dismay, when they arrived, I discovered that the metal sideframes had broken off from the power trucks. No, this is not a repair that can be done with a dab of glue.

I am wondering if the PA's are repairable. Are the current PA's truck components essentially identical to what Williams offered back then? Are the carbodies still identical, or will I have to get new ones? Does Bachmann service Williams by Williams locomotives?

I await knowledgeable replies with interest and anticipation.

I might go for one lettered for the Great Undecorated Railroad with white trim. But first, I'd want to do an eyeballs-style examination of the smokebox number plate (I'd prefer something detachable like the G gauge Big Hauler).  I also hope that the pilot is removable and can be replaced by something that looks a bit more to scale.

Seriously, the tender does look a bit large for that class of engine.

I'd highly recommend using something like the ET&WNC 4-6-0's height as a tool for planning vertical clearances. I'm a member of an On30 modular club here in South-Central Texas and we've just learned that a highway bridge/view block was too short to clear the ten-wheelers. Fortunately, the module in question was still in the track-laid and extruded foam stage, not where the module was fully scenicked and the highway bridge emplaced.

As far as road diesels go, my first vote is for something like the Oahu Railway & Land Co/Cumbres & Toltec/Georgetown Loop center-cab GE's. My second would be the 90 class, since GE built similar locos (admittedly meter-gauge) for Argentina and other countries.

I confess that I do wonder what the 90 class would look like in D&RGW passenger-F colors.

The latest from Lee Riley is that the Porters are being reissued in DCC versions, but you may find that to be old news.

I'm one of those oddballs who hopes that Bachmann will offer a banana car, but I suspect that the number of On3/On30 modelers who model Central American narrow gauge can be counted on one man's fingers and toes. A typical Latin American narrow-gauge outside braced wooden boxcar with corrugated roof and metal underframe would also be nice.

As far as passenger cars go, what I'd really like to see is a combination baggage/RPO car for those of us who are wondering how our little people get mail from the outside world. After all, it's the head-end stuff that kept so many passenger trains running for as long as they did.

Quote from: Tomcat on July 16, 2010, 05:22:46 PM
Well nice for all those guys out there in demand of a tiny little Lokie...
Not for me, as I don´t have a use for a Porter here.
So, we´re dreaming on for something geared...
So, we´re continuing to sing the Heisler Song...

But after all, Bach-man: Your Freight cars and Passenger cars fleet could use a good addition too. Doing nothing in this section can mean that another big manufacturer could hop in here too... We have seen this with BLI´s C-16, if they´re wise, they can do much more in plastic. A C&S No74!

Cheers, Tom

One good idea: ALCO PA's in Cotton Belt or New Haven (Hunter Green & yellow as well as the McGinnis).

For the sun-belters (Even if they have to put up deposits 1st) ACL purple scheme or the ACL black and yellow striped scheme for the E-7s.

Another bad idea: An H-15-44 4-axle Fairbanks Morse roadswitcher (NOT the one currently made by Bachmann in other scales, but the earlier Loewy-design. I'd probably buy an undec version, but I might be tempted by the New Haven version.

I'm hoping for a tank engine that's larger than the Porters, a modest 2-6-2, or something about the size of Argentina's Patagonian 2-8-2s, but I can wait.

An Americanized version of Argentina's Old Patagonian Express 2-8-2s would be nice.

Also, I hope that Bachmann would find it worth its while to produce one of the little Beyer-Garretts formerly used in South Africa and now on the Welash Highland Railway.

With all due respect to ebt nut, there were a fair number of non-US three foot gauge railroads that ran both steel as well as composite boxcars into the 1960's and beyond. The Mexicans ran a number of steel boxcars on the National Railways of Mexico, the Coahuila y Zacatecas, and the Unidos de Yucatan (Both the CyZ and the UdeY have contributed locomotives to US tourist railroads). The famous (Or infamous) International Railways of Central America had its own fleet of steel outside braced boxcars which looked very US. The Mexican and IRCA cars were reminiscent of the EBT's steel cars, except that they had corrugated roofs.

Need I mention the composite wood and steel bracing boxcars that ran on Oahu?