bachmann spectrum ON30 two Door Baggage Cars

[coureurd]

I'm looking to buy one via internet. Designation On30 would mean O scale, 30" gauge, would it not? A photo with a finger in it indicates that it is in fact HO scale, not O scale.

My question is, if I simply replace the trucks with appropriate HO gauge trucks, would it make an acceptable HO std gauge model? Minor clearance issues would be no problem. I'm thinking more of appearance. Anyone tried this? It's otherwise perfect for what I need.

[Ken G Price]

Bachmann ON30 is model train O, narrow gauge.
And as I understand it runs on HO scale track.
Unless something changed in the last few days,
I'm sure others who run it will chime in with more info.

[coureurd]

I'm puzzled. O scale is twice as big as HO. Something is wrong here somewhere. Ref NMRA standards.

[coureurd]

Or is it maybe that HO std gauge = On30 gauge. Maybe that's it. But the carbody would have to be O scale. I guess I'm getting Alzheimer. Darn, I want that car. An impossible to find Jackson & Sharp.

[Doneldon]

cour-

I think you are a little confused about the meanings of scale and gauge.

Scale refers to the extent of miniaturization. Thus, O-scale applies to models which are reduced by a proportion of 1:48. HO is 1:87. Right. 87 is not twice 48. That's because these terms derive from some earlier British modeling practices. It's enough to know that O is 1:48 proportion and HO is 1:87proportion. Paradoxically, the larger the number of the proportion (e.g., 48, 87, 160, etc.) the smaller the trains. So 1:87 HO-scale trains are smaller than 1:48 O-scale trains.

Gauge refers to the distance between the inner faces of the railheads. This is independent of scale. Twelve-inches-to-the-foot railroads have tracks which are 56.5 inches apart. That translates to about .65" in HO and about 1.17" in O. A 1:87 train running on rails which are about 5/8" apart is HO-scale running on 1:87 track, or a full size railroad reduced to 1:87. A 1:48 train running on rails which are about 1 1/16" apart is a "full-size" O-scale train reduced to 1:48. Where things get confusing is when people try to use the terms interchangeably, or when we're talking narrow gauge.

O-scale trains, 1:48 reduction, running on HO (1:87) track is narrow gauge railroading. Although the overwhelming number of railroads in the US run, and ran, on full-size (56.5") tracks, some railroads ran on track which was narrower than "full-size," and therefore we have narrow gauge railroading. Most US narrow gauge was either 30" or 36" gauge although there were some 24" railroads, too. I believe there were also a few oddball gauges but 56.5", 36", 30" and 24" cover 99% of US railroads. So ... On30 means trains which are scaled 1:48 running on track which is a scale 30" apart, and On3 means 1:48 trains running on track with rails  a scale 36" apart. It turns out that HO track, which is 1:87 scale and is designed for 1:87 trains, is roughly equivalent gauge to On30 and manufacturers round things off and use HO (1:87) track as a stand in for true On30.

What that means is the On30 or On3 trains are 1:48 but the 1:87 track translated to 1:48 is about the same as On30 (or On2¹/₂). So can you run On30 trains on HO track with different trucks? Of course. That is essentially what we do when we run 1:48 trains on HO (1:87) track. But the trains themselves will be much larger than the same kind of equipment in HO because they are 1:48 proportion, not 1:87. Structures, scenery, figures and everything else on an On30 layout are 1:48 proportion which means they would dwarf HO trains. Now narrow gauge equipment was typically smaller than full-size equipment so the size discrepancy between On30 and HO doesn't appear as far out of whack as would those On30 trains running through an HO-scale environment. It must also be mentioned that HO track is not an especially good substitute for true O-scale 30" track because the ties and tie spacing are based on the 1:87 scale. In essence, the ties are too small and too close together. While the On30 trains will run on HO track, they will look more realistic on true 1:87 track which will have the correct tie size and spacing.

If all this sounds a little goofy, ask a question about large-scale or G-scale trains. That is a real zoo.

If you want more information about scale and gauge, see the NMRA page at:

          http://www.nmra.org/beginner/scale.html

Finally, HO trucks on an On30 model would run on HO track but the actual trains would be far too big (1:48 proportion) to pass for HO (1:87 proportion).

                                                                                                                   -- D

[coureurd]

Thank you. This is the answer I was looking for. Now, all I need to know is where I can find that Jackson & Sharp 2 door baggage car in HO scale. I wonder if they were ever produced.

[CNE Runner]

I checked with La Belle Woodworking to see if they produced a double-door baggage car...they do not. I am not familiar with this particular car; would it be possible to kitbash a La Belle kit as a double door-ed car?

Probably mentioned above but: Narrow gauge cars are somewhat narrower (and lower) than standard gauge units. While, at first blush, it would seem logical that one could simply substitute HO trucks for O-gauge ones...the resulting car would look rather strange (you could always try it and prove me wrong). Having said that, everything outside of track gauge is in O-scale (1:48). Ideally that should include the ties and rail (although HO rail could be considered very light On30 code).

If you are going to simply run On30 stock on an HO layout, check the clearances carefully. Sadly in model railroading, as in life, there are no free lunches. O-scale structures, for example, take up several times the volume of their HO variants. [O-scale is ~ double the scale of HO. If an HO structure measured 2"x 2"x 2" that would be 8 cu. inches in volume. The same structure in O-scale would measure 4"x 4"x 4" resulting in a volume of 64 cu ins. This is a primary (and paramount) consideration for any On30 layout vis-a-vie space available.]

Ray

[coureurd]

There are some Overtons around. They are of the same period or a little earlier. They look similar, but not the same. The prototype I'm modeling looks exactly like the Bachman.

Thanks for the help