Is there any chance that Bachmann will do another run of their round roof (no cupola) caboose any time soon? They may not be pretty, they may not attract the sorts of folks who buy their On30 to compliment their Department 56 buildings, but I like them and I wish that Bachmann would find it profitable to do at least another small run of them.

I like the idea of On30 WP&Y road-switchers or the older shovel-noses myself, but I've had to come to grips with the fact that those are big engines for the narrow gauge. I also invested in an On30 version of SP's GE-built 55 tonner no. 1, which ran on the SP's former Carson and Colorado in its final years and was upset to learn that it was wider than most Bachmann cars.

I wish I knew more about GMC-EMD's GA-8 narrow-gauge diesel. Height and length-wise, it looks like a much better fit with Bachmann's On30 offerings; the trouble is that I don't know whether it's as wide as SP no. 1 or narrower.

FYI, the GA-8 looks a bit like an SW-type switcher that hatched too early. Pictures can found on the net.

I have come to believe that the best course for me personally would be to build my own body shell and slap it on top of a reliable DCC-equipped HO diesel's power chassis. Since one of the narrow-gauge projects I have in mind dates back to the 1930's and 1940's, I'm thinking of building a free-lance boxcab-style body shell that looks like the early diesels of the 1920's.

As was mentioned earlier, Bachmann no longer makes the D&RGW yellow cars. You can still buy used ones on E-bay when they come up for sale. The cars are still very much the same style of passenger cars Bachmann makes and sells now; that means you can still use the same parts.

Many model railroaders change the Bachmann couplers for HO scale Kadee couplers. A few adventurous ones have fitted Kadee On3 couplers or San Juan Car Company's "evolution" couplers. Most go for the route of the least hassles.

If you're planning to do some model railroading using the yellow cars as a starting point, you don't have to worry yourself to death thinking that the yellow cars ran only with a yellow engine. The fact is they generally didn't; D&RGW's narrow-gauge passenger trains usually ran with engines painted in one of the D&RGW's black schemes.

Besides, it's your railroad.

The O gauge three-rail club I belong to had a bull session Monday night and one of their complaints was that a lot of Bachmann's E-Z street autos looked boxy and unattractive. And for 1950's autos, they've got a point.

May I suggest that Bachmann chooses something more attractive that might fit over an E-Z street auto frame, like a mid-to-late 1930's era sedan (It wouldn't have to be one of the Big Three's period designs; it could be something made by one of the auto makers that have since gone belly-up)? Another alternative would be a 1930's or 1940's "woody" type station wagon. A third avenue of exploration might be a 1930's or 1940's panel delivery truck.

None of these designs HAVE to be exact copyright-infringing fine-scale copies of existing models. I suspect that a lot of us would settle for something that looks realistic that somebody could have built (But didn't, at least in our universe).

Passenger cars: If Bachmann ever decides to make a WBB "old time" (19th century) passenger car set, may I suggest:

a relatively short coach with truss rods

a relatively short baggage-mail car

a relatively short combine

But PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T make them look like Lionel's "General"/Civil War set.

I am old enough to remember the two wooden passenger cars the AT&SF used to use whenever it displayed the Cyrus K. Holiday steam locomotive in the early 1960's. I don't know if a three-rail model of either car could make it around an O-31 curve, but they looked nice!

Diesels:

At the risk of being boring, I am again going to suggest a CF-7 (the Santa Fe rebuilds) and a U-18B.

A word of warning regarding SP no. 1. I bought the Yoder model and discovered that it needed more clearance than did most On30 equipment. I'd run it on some of the Texas Outlaw modules and it would find stock pens and loading platforms to whack as it went along.

Which is understandably upsetting.

I suspect that I'm going to have to learn to scratch-build/kit-bash a credible-looking diesel body and put it on an HO switcher or road-switcher body.

I am looking forward to seeing and buying the Bachmann Whitcomb when it comes out.

LGB's six-axle WP&Y diesel was shamelessly condensed. A lot of the long hood was trimmed so that an LGB 2056 could make it around LGB's tight curves. A scale-length model would prove quite a surprise to many modelers expecting it to navigate curves of 22 inches or less.

I admit that I'm waving a flag for a GM GA-8 like the ones used in Mexico and Central America. However, I'm not sure they could make it around a 22 inch curve either.

--Lee DeGolyer

Quote from: pacbelt on September 06, 2013, 01:44:38 AM
LGB Trains did a G Scale version in the late 80's, that sold well!!

All valid points.

My two cents is that On30 is a fine gauge and scale for people who want a certain level of realism and detail, whose eyesight perhaps isn't the best, but who know they lack the wide-open spaces needed for full-dress O or HO standard gauge or even On3.

I like the idea of big engines myself, but after seeing MMI's impressive K-28s and K-36s, I've been forced to conclude that those engines are too big for many On30 guys' layouts. Even many of the Mexican and Central American 36 inch gauge prototype engines are too large for many of our curves. I'm hopeful about the Unidos de Yucatan's 4-6-0s or a T-12 but I'm not that optimistic (I do like the idea of #74).

The trouble with US-outline narrow gauge rolling stock is that it isn't as varied as the stuff on the broad gauge, and some of the interesting stuff that hasn't been made yet might not appeal to American and European modelers. I might be interested in banana cars and double-truck sugar cane cars like the Cubans were running up to a couple of years ago, but I don't know how many other folks are.

I don't have any magic nostrums. I do know that Bachmann tries harder than the folks who made and marketed the "magic trains." I do hope that Bachmann's On30 line stays profitable and stays in production.

--E. Lee DeGolyer

Quote from: Yardmaster on September 06, 2013, 08:22:59 AM

Quote from: PadreCraig on September 05, 2013, 11:48:32 PM
Yard Master - How can the On30 demographic grow if Bachmann doesn't drive the demand?  Who else is producing On30 trains?  If Bachmann doesn't produce it, where does that leave the On30 community?  You guys started strong and created the "On30 phenomenon" for all intents and purposes.  And then you all but abandon us who converted to On30 and began buying your products.  So where does that leave us now?

When did Bachmann abandon the On30 market...did I miss something. Bachmann has produced many new On30 items over the last few years.There is plenty of product available out there for folks who are just starting out. All of the items that you guys consider old are brand new to the novice. Unfortunately the model railroad industry tends to be "New Product" driven. In other words we are not seeing new modelers just the demand for new items every year from a core group of enthusiasts that is getting smaller. We all need to make an effort to introduce the scale to new potential enthusiasts so that Bachmann can justify the investment in new items.

At the risk of annoying those hoping for yet another large six-axle road locomotive that requires O-72 curves, I'd like to put up my hand for a couple of smaller diesels that would appeal to high-rail modelers as well as those folks forced to make do with tight curves.

I would suggest a GE U-18B or a version of the Santa Fe (and subsequently many others) CF-7.

I may sound like a contrarian here, but I'm rather pleased with Bachmann's announcing a new 45-tonner. The 50-tonner is perfect for my model railroad's era (World War II).  It's also the right size--not too big, not too small, and breaks away from the Oh-dear-another-44-tonner trope that bothers our O scale brethren modeling a slightly-wider narrow gauge (I expect there'll be a flurry of articles about how to widen the wheel-spacings).

My quibble with the announcement is that I'd like mine unlettered and painted black with silver ends (a la Southern Pacific), but it's a minor one.

My sympathies to those hoping for a DB&W/C&S/RGS 2-8-0 or a three-axle Porter; maybe they'll luck out later.

I expect that On30 does have a brighter future than some scales. The guys who thought up the line did come up with an agreeable size that does fit non-rail things like Department 56 Christmas villages and some dollhouse/miniaturist activities.

I suspect that a lot of future On30 activity might be more international than US or Canadian. IMO, British and European narrow-gaugers have not been well-served, and I wouldn't be surprised if Bachmann might come out with stuff for the German and Austrian narrow gauge markets, and also for the sorts of locomotives built for the former British and former French empires' colonies.

Maerklin and Fleischmann didn't do much for the potential German/Austrian/whatever narrow gauge market, and I suspect that the doors might still be open for a lower-cost line of locomotives and rolling stock by somebody else.

A quick (and incomplete) Internet search reveals that not only did Mexico City have Peter Witt streetcars, but so did the Mexican coastal city of Veracruz.

Veracruz's streetcars were often second-hand, and it looks like they had a lot of single-truck Birneys over the year. Veracruz's Peter Witt cars were second-hand, too. They came from Mexico City.

There are indeed a number of manufacturers who offer scale-sized 1/4 inch scale doors, windows, chimneys, etc. Determined individuals could also cut and file LEGO brick sections to accept Grandt Line or Tichy doors or windows if they feel that way. However, it might be fun for LEGO (tm) enthusiasts, tinplaters, and Plasticville (tm)  fans alike to have Plasticville-label doors and bricks with windows, doors, and doorways inset into the bricks so that a LEGO fan or someone knocking together a temporary not-for-modeling-contest-awards building might "plug in" suitable near-scale doors and windows either for display or to flesh out ideas prior to building a mock-up or a serious model.

Alas, I think you're right. A pity; I'd like to see something like the Colorado & North Western/Colorado & Southern/Rio Grande Southern 2-8-0s produced in On30, an On30 tank engine somewhat larger than the Porters, or one of the small ex-SAR&H, now Welsh Highlands Beyer Garretts.

Quote from: Stevelewis on August 27, 2012, 05:39:10 PM
Unfortunately  although  there may be a perceived demand, given the  current   world  financial situation it is unlikely  that demand  would be anywhere near sufficient  to warrrant  the   massive  expense  of  new  tooling.

I feel that all  that  we will get  in the forseeable  future  will be  revamps of  existing locomotives  and  perhaps the only 'new' locomotives  will be  produced  from parts  of  existing ones

I've got an interesting (dumb) idea. If the copyrights for Lego's basic block system have expired, how about some Bachmann/Plasticville scale-size doors and windows for those of us exasperated by the lack of variety for early 20th century-style stations and buildings but who lack the skill to build ab initio from plaster or styrene? I'd love to have a building made of Lego (tm)-style blocks with 1/48 scale doors, windows, and chimneys.