Those Williams by Bachmann NW2s are as nice looking, and as properly proportioned, as any offered by the various other O gauge competitors.  They are nicely made and operate smoothly and reliably without all the high-tech (and sometimes problematic) electronic gizzmos crammed into many of today's trains.

"Cartoon like" may apply to Thomas & Friends trains, but that's about it, and it's usually wise to reserve judgment about trains or any other products until you've had some experience with them yourself.  Painting with a broad brush can be very risky. 

In my experience Williams products have consistently performed very well indeed and are a great value for those interested in getting started in O gauge railroading, as well as for more experienced hobbyists who enjoy conventional operations and who are not worried about counting rivets.

Hmm... how about you doing a short how-to on installation, complete with step-by-step photos, and I'll look into publishing it in our Oct. issue, which will be featuring narrow gauge, and primarily On30.  E-mail is editor@ogaugerr.com

I'm not familiar with the Sounder, but I have heard a bit about it and would be interested in installing it in one of my own "critters."

Allan

Allan Miller
Editor-in-Chief
O Gauge Railroading magazine

Congrats to the Bachmann and Williams by Bachmann reps who participated in the recent York Meet.  The display was excellent and the staff there was courteous and helpful.  Thanks, too, for participating in our OGR Forum meeting in the grandstand on Friday.  I look forward to seeing you folks again in October, and hopefully will be able to spend more time with you.

Alan Miller
Editor-in-Chief
O Gauge Railroading magazine 

That modeling is anything but mediocre, Jim!  Thanks for sending me some additional photos for us to consider for the magazine (Oct. issue).  Truly some wonderful modeling, and it sure made the others on our staff--all of them--sit up and take notice.  Really some great modeling there, and a great example of what can be accomplished in On30.

I look forward to seeing you there, Mr. Bach-mann!

Allan

Any of you folks here who would like to share photos of your On30 layouts with a much larger audience--and get paid for it--please consider e-mailing a JPEG shot or two to editor@ogaugerr.com or OGReditor@gmail.com

One of the best ways to expand participation in On30 (which helps lead to more new products) is to let others see what can be accomplished in that scale.

Allan

Gorgeous work!  Consider submitting a few photos to me at O Gauge Railroading magazine and I'll be happy to consider publishing one or more in the magazine.  I still could use some more input for our Oct. issue, which will feature narrow gauge.  You'll also get $50 for each photo used (and more if we do a full-blown feature).  That'll be enough to buy several more of those gas mechanicals or Porters, or whatever. 

Really nice modeling, and very distinctive!  Thanks for sharing your handiwork here!

Allan

Quote from: John Brennan on January 17, 2008, 10:52:38 PM
I would like to see Bachmann do the following in the Williams line:

-locos and rolling stock in the armed forces liveries (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard)

As one who is interested in constructing an Army depot line in 3-rail, I definitely would like to see a GEEP in Army livery--preferably red with yellow lettering.

I think--and hope--that Williams will approach things at a measured pace (I'm pretty sure they will).  All of us have our own lists of "wants", but Bachmann certainly has to look at the bigger picture and keep costs in line.  I'm hoping they will eventually pursue the starter set market with complete sets because my personal feeling is that they can offer one heck of a competitive product in that market.

I would echo the comments already made.  They are nicely made products and good performers.  Overall, they are great models!

Well, I certainly won't rule it out (publishing a review, that is).  If I'm able to save up enough $ to purchase both sets, I'll surely be willing to give some thought to doing a comprehensive review of those locomotives.  I've long been a big fan of Williams products (and Bachmann's On30 and Large Scale lines), and these attractive O gauge offerings definitely caught my eye.

If I can sell off a number of other train items (various scales) between now and the time those F-units are available, I plan to get both the blue and yellow Warbonnet versions.  Very attractive and I've long been a big fan of the rugged simplicity of Williams products.

Thanks for the heads-up on the baggage cars.  Don't know how I missed seeing/knowing about them earlier. 

Did you get a baggage car or a combine?  I wasn't aware that Bachmann offered a baggage car in On30, but they do offer a combine (car for baggage at one end and passengers at the other).  A combine would certainly have heat.

I'm in the process of building an On30 layout--a small mining and logging pike.  My track will be mounted on Woodland Scenics foam roadbed, although the roadbed itself will likely not be very visible in certain areas of the layout later on where I want to represent hastily laid narrow gauge track.

I'll be using Atlas Code 83 HO track as a temporary measure (before any ballasting) and plan to replace it with Micro Engineering On30 track when the budget permits.  Having plenty of the Atlas track already on hand, and with a real desire to have some trains up and running so I can play a bit, I can live with the visual disparity for a while without any problem.  Once all my Micro Engineering track is in place and I'm satisfied with the arrangement and operation, I'll go ahead and ballast everything.

Quote from: trmwf on January 23, 2008, 08:50:59 PM
I'm having the same problem with decals.  Is it safe to assume the same applies, O scale decals are in order.  Any good sources for them as I haven't seen too many available at the places I've looked.

Mike

Not really a safe assumption to make.  O scale models of standard gauge trains are 1:48 scale (in the U.S.).  O scale models of narrow gauge trains are also 1:48, but the models themselves, just like their prototypes, are considerably smaller than their standard gauge cousins.  As a result, decals (lettering, etc.) used on the smaller models would also normally be smaller.