On30 Bumble Bee

Biker-Engineer · December 31, 2010, 09:52:04 AM

Hello everyone. This is my first post here. I have a question to ask anyone who might have knowledge about the Spectrum, On30 Bumble Bee. My son gifted me with one this Christmas and when I opened the box I was surprised to find that the loco was very small. In fact it's a tad smaller than my HO, SP diesel loco and it couples right up with all my HO rolling stock (Kadee couplers). The box is MARKED On30 but I am having my doubts.

Can anyone supply me with actual, physical dim insions of this loco or tell me where I might find the information? THANKS!

Tomcat · December 31, 2010, 10:14:14 AM

Hi there,

well, if would have a H0n3 engine in hand, this would give you a good idea how small these narrow gauge engines are or - have been. Imagine a O-Scale , let´s say a Dash9, will be the triple size of your On30 Bumble Bee engine... These moguls are small, though. Colorado´s narrow gauge lines, the Denver&Rio Grande Western, Rio Grande Southern, Colorado&Southern had much bigger ones.

You will find, that the Bumble Bee is lettered Denver&Rio Grande Western, but this is not prototypical. There has been a 2-8-0 No.268 painted in Aspen gold and black/silver, but this little lokie, today to be found in Gunnison, Co. has been slightly a bit larger in size. The Bachmann Model follows a Colorado&Southern prototype...

Check out this site:
http://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/CandS/index.htm

Kind regards, Tom

Biker-Engineer · December 31, 2010, 01:51:25 PM

Thanks Tom I was just expecting something a little bigger than a typical modern loco in HO. $:-\$

NarrowMinded · December 31, 2010, 02:29:26 PM

Imagine the locomotives from Disneyland, most are restored narrow gage engines, they are very small compaired to standard gage.

NM

Biker-Engineer · January 01, 2011, 10:37:34 AM

Quote from: NarrowMinded on December 31, 2010, 02:29:26 PM
Imagine the locomotives from Disneyland, most are restored narrow gage engines, they are very small compaired to standard gage.

NM

Please don't take this the wrong but I'm 62 years old and the last time I was at Disneyland I was around 20. I'm sorry but I don't remember their trains. I had to laugh at this one. Thanks for the reply though. I think I'm getting the idea now.

Tomcat · January 01, 2011, 11:04:50 AM

Hey, no worries about this. We´re arround here to help.

There is a real "Bumblebee" on the market, if you check Ebay, you will probably find one.
These engines come from Broadway Limited and they are DCC+sound, but will run with sound
on DC too. They´re accurate, but reasonably priced.

Bachmann has a wonderful 2-8-0, and this is a model you can get at low prices now.
To me, this is the best ever Bachmann On30 engine and I´ve made several conversions
with the little Connie. She´s much more "Chunky" than the little 2-6-0 is.

Enjoy! Have fun running your trains.
Be aware, it´s that easy to get bitten by the bug...

Kind regards,
Tom

NarrowMinded · January 01, 2011, 12:10:03 PM

No problem, I 48 live about 30 miles from Disneyland and have kids so I see them often, you can google Disney RR and there are lots of pictures so you could get an idea of their size from the people in the photos

NM

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Biker-Engineer · January 01, 2011, 03:58:45 PM

Quote from: Tomcat on January 01, 2011, 11:04:50 AM
Hey, no worries about this. We´re arround here to help.

There is a real "Bumblebee" on the market, if you check Ebay, you will probably find one.
These engines come from Broadway Limited and they are DCC+sound, but will run with sound
on DC too. They´re accurate, but reasonably priced.

Bachmann has a wonderful 2-8-0, and this is a model you can get at low prices now.
To me, this is the best ever Bachmann On30 engine and I´ve made several conversions
with the little Connie. She´s much more "Chunky" than the little 2-6-0 is.

Enjoy! Have fun running your trains.
Be aware, it´s that easy to get bitten by the bug...

Kind regards,
Tom

The Bachmann Spectrum is the one that my son got me. It IS a great little locomotive and I've already had it pulling 10 HO freight cars around my Chistmas train setup. I will be ordering the rest of the cars to go with it this week. I can't decide to go with a combine and two passenger or maybe even three passenger.

......and BTW, tom. The "BUG" bit me many years ago. This is just my first experience with the narrow gauge stuff. I've been running HO, G and N for many years now.

Thanks to all for the help.

Biker-Engineer · January 01, 2011, 04:01:06 PM

Quote from: NarrowMinded on January 01, 2011, 12:10:03 PM
No problem, I 48 live about 30 miles from Disneyland and have kids so I see them often, you can google Disney RR and there are lots of pictures so you could get an idea of their size from the people in the photos

NM

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Going to Google Disney trains right now, NarrowMinded....thanks.

pjf · January 01, 2011, 05:44:47 PM

A biker to a biker, just under 12" long, 2" wide and the top of the cab is 2 1/2" +-.
It is somewhat smaller than a 2-8-0 or the new 4-6-0 but looks proportional to all my other On30 toys. Perhaps you got HO. Cheers

Biker-Engineer · January 02, 2011, 09:19:14 AM

Quote from: pjf on January 01, 2011, 05:44:47 PM
A biker to a biker, just under 12" long, 2" wide and the top of the cab is 2 1/2" +-.
It is somewhat smaller than a 2-8-0 or the new 4-6-0 but looks proportional to all my other On30 toys. Perhaps you got HO. Cheers

Thank you! That is what I was asking for all along. The diminsions. I'll measure it this morning.

Biker-Engineer · January 02, 2011, 02:45:00 PM

Quote from: Tomcat on January 01, 2011, 11:04:50 AM
Hey, no worries about this. We´re arround here to help.

There is a real "Bumblebee" on the market, if you check Ebay, you will probably find one.
These engines come from Broadway Limited and they are DCC+sound, but will run with sound
on DC too. They´re accurate, but reasonably priced.

Bachmann has a wonderful 2-8-0, and this is a model you can get at low prices now.
To me, this is the best ever Bachmann On30 engine and I´ve made several conversions
with the little Connie. She´s much more "Chunky" than the little 2-6-0 is.

Enjoy! Have fun running your trains.
Be aware, it´s that easy to get bitten by the bug...

Kind regards,
Tom

I went and looked that that Bumble Bee at Broadway. Nice Loco!! I made sure the wife was looking over my shoulder and she likes it too

. I am definately getting a Christmas version of it soon.

pjf · January 03, 2011, 12:15:24 AM

Total length, 12" including loco and tender.

NarrowMinded · January 03, 2011, 02:35:57 AM

DOH! I thought you meant the 1:1 dimensions so you could scale it.

NM

lvrr325 · January 03, 2011, 07:00:56 AM

The On30 loco will be much wider than HO rolling stock and should be very visibly taller when parked next to HO equipment.

The whole point, however, of On30 was to have O scale narrow gauge that would readily run on inexpensive HO track. As such, most of the locomotives are very small, although the sizes vary depending on the size of the prototype - some are based on 2' gauge (IF 4-4-0, Forney), some on 3' gauge (2-6-0, 2-8-0, 4-6-0), and one on actual 30-inch gauge (the 2-6-6-2).

The NRHS chapter here has the sad remains of an 18-inch gauge 0-6-0 and it's incredibly tiny - you could haul the whole thing on the back of a rollback truck in the same space most automobiles will fit. But it's a real live locomotive from a quarry, not a replica or amusement park ride.

News:

On30 Bumble Bee