Mr. Bachmann,
Have you thought about doing a Doctor Who train set? Or has someone else already claimed that lucrative cash cow?
Unfortunately we don't make a train shaped like a police box....
Haha, no. And I don't think there will be.
But maybe put a wrap on an E7/F7 or even a mid-sized steam engine. The engine or A unit would be a TaRDiS theme and the B unit or tender would be Earth-themed (his/her favorite planet). Then the cars could have Doctor wraps and enemy wraps, even involving the Plasticville line (or other models) for different locations (Cardiff, London, the Tube, Trenzillor, any of a dozen planets visited).
Gotta have a gondola full of Daleks!
Len
The merchandising is practically limitless, and expanding weekly.
But how many Dr. Who fans play with trains? It's not a kid thing like Harry Potter or Thomas the Train. Why not a Star Trek train or a Star Wars train? There are more fans of those and they shell out big bucks for all that paraphernalia. What do Dr. Who fans buy? Just saying...
Sonic screwdrivers to fix the trains with.
Len
Now, if they were to do Dinosaur Train, I'm afraid I would be spending money. ;)
Grandkid's presents, huh Terry?
Just a simple google image search later, and... let's just say the results are both interesting and terrifying. Dr. Who underwear, anyone...?
I'm already building a Dinosaur Land for my great granddaughter. She is four. I bought her a battery operated loco and cars and figures. Now, I have a great grandson who will be three. They make a couple kinds of them like a wooden one and one that runs on plastic flexy type track. It would be nice to have an electric one like Thomas. I would love an On30 Dinosaur Train but the odds are like winning the lottery. I've looked at maybe doing something with the plastic stuff but wheel spacing is an oddball size. The wheels will roll on the outer edge of E-Z Track. I thought about sticking HO frames underneath them. Then there is the loco to contend with and that's not an easy fix.
I LOVE Doctor Who...
(https://img00.deviantart.net/f0cd/i/2017/239/1/e/space_by_warflight-dbliyee.jpg)
This little TARDIS ends up in some of the strangest of locations on my layout (all EZ track, BTW... it's amazing what you can do with EZ track... shameless plug)
Here it is hidden behind a new building on the layout:
(https://img00.deviantart.net/0281/i/2018/287/9/b/hidden_tardis_by_warflight-dcpf15s.jpg)
As for Harry Potter...
I was given a Harry Potter loco by a friend I met on this forum, and simply HAD to convert it to DCC and sound... I may model the head light it has in a few of the movies, but, right now, the only light is coming from the firebox in the cab (which has a nice flicker... I'm using a Digitrax 8 bit decoder with a "Power Xtender"... I normally use 16 bit, but I wasn't sure if I could do it, so I always go cheap when I'm not 100% sure) It made for a nice effect, and you can almost FEEL the heat in that cab by looking at it!
(https://img00.deviantart.net/9deb/i/2018/205/6/0/hogwarts_castle_by_warflight-dci7dgd.jpg)
I think a UNIT train, with a TARDIS prop would be cool...
Oh, and I do believe that Bachmann DOES make a Star Trek, and Star Wars train that's marketed through The Bradford Exchange.
They might even make On30 ones as well (I know there are quite a few On30 Bachmann trains that the Bradford Exchange makes through their Hawthorne Village series)
I mean, they do a Ninja Turtles train, so I would imagine asking them if they would consider a Jurassic Park train in On30 would be a fun idea... worse they can do is say "no".
https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/917921_teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-train-collection.html
This is one of their On30 trains:
https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/918098_horror-express-electric-train-collection.html
(sorry, I couldn't link the photos, because they are in PNG format)
I had no idea they did Star whatever trains. Nor, did I know about the Turtles train or the Halloween one. The Halloween one is kind of cool. The ad only says that it runs on HO track, but it looks big enough to be On30. Bachmann's On30 4-6-0 looks so much different than that one. A new 4-6-0? Or is it a 2-6-0 with 4 wheels replacing 2 in front which would still make it a new 4-6-0. The dome spacing is different than the 2-6-0 and the walk boards, headlight, and pilot deck. The valve gear look like the 4-6-0 but this new one has a straight boiler. It's a shorter tender than either of them have.
What does it all mean? It means I could have a different 4-6-0 than the one Bachmann now has and just repaint the Halloween one.
(https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/images/On30_Scale/28696.jpg)
(https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/44199816_10156732342535522_1740401416414953472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&oh=ba44e974a3c1cf4d16c0c323b01df339&oe=5C615286)
(https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/images/On30_Scale/25262.jpg)
Ready to have your mind blown?
It's not their ONLY Halloween train!
And yes, they are On30...
https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/917833_journey-of-doom-express-train-collection.html
https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/917982_kiss-rock-n-roll-electric-train.html
(the USMC trains is HO, and not On30)
Oh, and there is also their commemorative USMC train!
https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/49207_marine-train.html
All are made by Bachmann, according to the Bradford Exchange.
I wonder if the horse and hearse are actually O scale figures and if they are detachable. I wish they would show different angles.
The second Halloween one is a 2-6-0 but it looks like it is devoid of any detail.
I've seen the Marine one before.
The Budweiser one has a beer wagon on a flat car. The Budweiser ad says 2-6-0 but the picture is showing a 4-6-0.
I've been going through their stuff. They have a lot more things than they did the last time I checked their site years ago.
Their "On30 Scale HO-Gauge Track Accessory Set" says it includes six - 9" radius curves. I emailed them and let them know it was wrong, as well as about the pics of 4-6-0's with the ads saying 2-6-0's.
I like this bridge from them. I should quit looking before I end up buying something.
https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/1401015004_timber-trestle-bridge-train-accessory.html (https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/1401015004_timber-trestle-bridge-train-accessory.html)
(https://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/TheBradfordExchangeOnline/replatformOverlays?layer=comp&wid=300&hei=300&fmt=jpeg,rgb&qlt=90,1&op_sharpen=1&resMode=bicub&op_usm=0.5,2.0,0,0&iccEmbed=0&$product_id=1401015004)
That bridge is amazing! I have absolutely ZERO place to put it, and I was still considering if I wanted it when I get paid!
I also like their fancy display cases.
I emailed and asked how long it is. I think it's too long for my elongated figure 8. Maybe I could make a high oval over the figure 8 this year for Christmas. I'd really like to see a back view of it to see if it is just flat. It would be nice if they did a mirror image one then you could have a tunnel between them.
You may have to do some cutting downwards this year if you want that bridge Terry. Unless you plan on having a helix up and down.
You wouldn't really need a mirror image one... just reverse it... maybe do a bit of sanding on each end to make it flush.
It definitely wouldn't fit in my figure 8 so that was just wishful thinking out loud.
The trestle looks like it is flat on the back side and the end with the tunnel entrance like it should be in a corner. It's too hard to tell from the pic. If you turned one around, I fear you have just flatness.
I would ask Bradford to see it from another angle but I'm sure they would give me the same response that I got when I asked how long the trestle was -
"I am very sorry, I do not have the product information you requested. All of our products are backed by our generous return policy, if you are not fully satisfied."
Maybe whack the portal off one end and put it on the other end would do it. It's just a gamble (and money) without knowing what the back side looks like.
Yeah... I would be hesitant to buy from a company that has no idea what they are selling. It would be better to find it on eBay.
I figure I'll look around on EBay. The trestles are new so it might be a while. The stuff is obviously geared to the Christmas crowd and the Dept. 56 scenery folks who want something railroady to display, not to model railroaders.
Terry: Suppose you incorporated the trestle into your layout as a mining scene?
I can picture a Porter coming out of a 'mountain' pushing some V-dump cars on the elevated part.
That's a great idea. I still wish I knew how long it was.
What is the normal distance between bents on a trestle? There are 10 under the track. The passenger car is close to 9". A Mogul and standard tender is about 11". The tender is 5" if it is a standard size Bachmann Mogul tender. In some pics the Bradford tender looks shorter but maybe it is the angle. It looks like you could fit a tender in the space in front of the loco in the pic.
I'm guessing the trestle is close to 9" + 11" + 5" or about 25". That would come out close if there is about 2 1/2" between bents.
(https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/44122151_10156743004800522_4940600858837516288_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=29af129b0215a31d02c18eef3dfe1363&oe=5C4C135B)
Terry
Likely the trestle would measure out to be 27 inch's, or the length of 3 section's of 9 inch track.
It would look good as a drop section on a Xmas layout, with out having to get extreme with grade's
to gain the height necessary to use on a flat top table.
I have had no luck finding the trestle on the Bradford Exchange site at all
Ken Clark
GWN
Ken: The trestle is listed under Train Accessories.
https://www.bradfordexchange.com/mcategory/villages-and-trains_1240/train-accessories.html
Sadly, very little is said about it besides the sales pitch.
Ken - Originally I was thinking 27" and that is probably right. There might be 7" in front of the loco. It's hard to tell. I was wrong on the bents. There are only 9. The price is pretty steep at $129 without having a specific purpose for it. I'm still thinking about it.
In perusing their pages, I found some other things that caught my eye. They have a couple of Christmas trees with multi-levels of trains going around that my great grandkids would probably enjoy seeing and one with Disney characters going around.
Terry - Maybe this other pic of the trestle will help:
(http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l529/Pickanotherid/Miscellaneous/trestle_zpsmusrgvyv.jpg)
Average tie length for HO is 1.17", call it 1.25" for a round number. The opening for the track under the trestle is three bents wide, with the center bent cut off to make the opening. Looking at the track under the trestle it looks like roughly 0.25" between the tie ends and the trestle bent on either side. Which would create an opening about 1.75" wide. Dividing that in half would give a spacing of 0.875" (7/8") between trestle bents. With 9 bents, it creates 8 spaces under the trestle, not counting the space between the end bents and rock walls. And 8 * 0.875" gives an overall length of 7" between the end bents.
I'd say someone is taking some serious artistic license with the size of the locos and rolling stock shown in those pictures.
Len
Quote from: Yardmaster on October 07, 2018, 10:53:52 PM
Unfortunately we don't make a train shaped like a police box....
As others have said, you have made Star Trek and STAR WARS sets, so it's actually hard to comprehend why you haven't sought this license as well. Incidentally, those sets didn't look like NCC-1701 or the Millennium Falcon either... ;)
That said, any Doctor Who fan who knows anything about licensed merchandise knows the first right of refusal ought to lie with Dapol, as they, aside from producing trains in the scales we know, also produced the official Doctor Who action figures in the 80s and 90s. If I ever expected a N or HO set, it would have been from them.
However, if by some stunning chance they wouldn't produce any, a UK-based producer still seems more realistic, and Hornby seems the next most likely choice. They have plenty of licensed brand experience as they were the official producer of Thomas The Tank Engine in AC trains before Bachmann obtained the license.
Still, with producers ever-dwindling, Bachmann really ought to be vying for this. The time is right to try, what with new contracts being done for the new series merchandise.
Really, there's something poetic about a Doctor-branded engine with companion-branded carriages following behind...
I just got in from Who Con (heading back early tomorrow to put on a panel) and I brought this up there... a LOT of folks LOVE the idea, and would totally buy a Doctor Who themed train set (and they too talked of making a UNIT train)
Len - You make some good points. Is the track that the diesel is on perpendicular to the trestle or going under it at a slant? Camera angle is deceiving.
Here's another thought. On the upper track, it looks to be 14 or 15 boards between bents. Are those ties that are part of the track or boards that are are part of the trestle? I've seen model railroad trestles both ways - with boards laid across the stringers and then track and ties on top of that and then where the boards across the stringers are the ties and the rail laid directly on them.
The ones on the trestle look closer together then the ones on the ground so they probbly aren't the ties.
I know it's not E-Z Track on the trestle but for E-Z Track - 14 ties = 3 5/8" 15 ties = 3 15/16".
I think there is only one way to solve this... somebody buy it, and send it to me, and I will be happy to give accurate measurements in both Imperial, as well as metric!
It's a tough job, but, I'm willing to take one for the team here! It's the the nice kinda guy I am!
MWA-HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
(Oh... wait... ignore the maniacal laughter...)
I used to watch Dr. Who many years ago in the 70's and 80's. I haven't watched it since it's rebirth. I guess it has a whole new following in the younger generations.
I actually worked for U.N.I.T.'s sister organization when I lived in New York in the 70's - U.N.S.S. United Nations Security Section ;D
Terry - If you look at the crossbeam just above and behind the diesel it parallels the top edge line of the diesel. The only way that can happen is if the lower track is perpendicular to the upper track. If it was at an angle the top of the diesel would not parallel the cross beam.
Len
Is this what you are talking about? The front part looks higher than the back.
(https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/44404809_10156745285335522_5149491949102694400_o.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=91be984839a39a87e2d3238f47978393&oe=5C450E3E)
Terry - I popped the pic into a software package I used for office layouts and threw in some dimension lines. To save a lot of guessing, I just called the diesel an F7, which has a 15' top of railhead to top of cab height. So I popped a dimension line on it, and set it for the distance from the top of the rail to the top of the cab and called that 15'. It doesn't matter what the actual dimension it was showing was, I just wanted a known distance line to measure with.
So I did a few 'copy & paste' actions on the dimension line, then rotated them to the horizontal and laid them on the bents. It took four scale 15' lines to get for the first bent on one end to the last bent on the other. 4*15=60, so allowing for a bit of fudge factor because the trestles on a slight angle in the pic, I'd say the trestle is somewhere between 65 - 75 scale feet long. Not including the rock formations on each end.
Len
65-75 in HO or O?
In HO:
65 scale feet X 12 = 780" / 87 = 8.9655" long
75 scale feet X 12 = 900" / 87 = 10.345" long
In O:
65 scale feet X 12 = 780" / 48 = 16.25" long
75 scale feet X 12 = 900" / 48 = 18.75" long
Sorry, I should have been more precise, 65 - 75 HO scale feet.
Len
Quote from: Warflight on October 20, 2018, 02:08:26 AM
I just got in from Who Con (heading back early tomorrow to put on a panel) and I brought this up there... a LOT of folks LOVE the idea, and would totally buy a Doctor Who themed train set (and they too talked of making a UNIT train)
Really, the more I think about it, are we 100% certain one hasn't ever been done?
Back in '07 or '08, I remember seeing pictures from the UK of counterfeit series-branded cheap Chinese R/C cars and similar toys you'd expect to find in a dollar store, so there's a chance something unofficial might even exist. Plus, it's a property that has been going since the 60s. There had to have been interest, and possibly even a cheap plastic set at some point.
Perhaps someone else can pin this down?
Found a Shinkansen "Doctor Yellow" set:
(http://plamoya.com/images/src21/B01BMAZCCC/B01BMAZCCC.jpg)
A "Doctor Pepper" set:
(http://auctionimages.s3.amazonaws.com/524/12151/4299747_2WU124Y91.jpg)
And a "Doctor Mort" set:
(http://www.tophobbytrains.com/images/products/detail/MTL99321270.jpg)
But no "Doctor Who" set anywhere.
Len
Len - I'm going to go to a new thread with this. I hate to keep messing up their Dr. Who thread with my trestle stuff.
I'm sorry guys.
No worries. I'm sure a mod can do a thread split to make a new thread from the OT discussion (at least most board software allows mods nd admins to do it)
As for Doctor Who and model trains, it seems the Doc himself is one of us:
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Model_Train_Set_(short_story)
Saw some fun being had among the O-gauge folks...
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh79/webenda/Railroad%20Model/TroubleWestbound.jpg)
http://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/t/247927.aspx