Why is On30 Scale So Expensive?

[RailMan63]

Hi,everybody. As you know I am new to the On30 segment of model railroading. I have been looking for cars to add to my 2 locomotives. The problem is that they are so expensive ,and also there's not all that much to choose from when it comes to road names. I do all my hobby shopping online on sites like Ebay,Amazon,TrainWorld, etc
.
DCC On30 Locomotives can be found for good prices, but the rolling stock to go with them is expensive.
Boxcars for $40.00 plus shipping.
Cabooses  for anywhere between $38.00 to over $50-$100.00,or more.
It's just ridiculous.
Even G Scale rolling stock often doesn't go for that much.Unless, of course, it's a rare,hard to find car.
I've never paid more that $50.00 for any G Scale car,passenger,or freight car (with one very rare and exceptional caboose,that is).
I've even managed to pick up Big Hauler 4-6-0 locomotives on Ebay within the last year for less than what most of these On30 cars sell for!
So, what's up with the high prices for On30?

[Ton N]

It's a simple case of availability and demand.
Most of the cars are not made any more and the demand is still there.
Coupled with a relative small market segment compared with H0 and N, prices go up.
When i started with 0n30 a boxcar cost $18.
I live in the Netherlands so i had to pay additional shipping costs and taxes.
But then it was still relatively cheap compared to brass models.
I just were lucky to start buying 0n30 in 2006 and have amassed an extensive collection 0n30.

Ton

[RailMan63]

Thanks,Ton. That makes a lot of sense.I can see that adding a few cars for these 2 little locos is going to be a rather expensive ordeal. Unless I find a steal on Ebay. Which does happen from time to time.
I'm going to go ahead and alter my 4-6-0 for the D&RG. That way, I'll only have to buy a few passenger cars that both locomotives will match up with,as I prefer passenger to freight trains.

[Len]

If you have some model building experience, you might want to check these out:
http://www.on30ima.com/purchase.html

Len

[RailMan63]

Thanks, Len, but I'll pass. They wouldn't fit in with a D&RG/D&RGW passenger theme. I do like the freight cars, but I'm set on making these as passenger trains only.
Thanks for the link!

[Ton N]

Do like I do , be patient.
Look regularly at EBAY.
Some steals may pop up once in a while.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/On30-/172012/i.html?_nkw=on30&_catref=1&_dmpt=Model_RR_Trains&_fln=1&_sc=1&_sop=10&_sticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

I just bought a 4-4-0 classic for 135 Dollars incl. P&P in the UK via EBAY.
That's cheap for these neck of the woods.

Ton

[Ton N]

Found this one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bachmann-On30-D-RGW-Combine-26118-and-Coach-26318-Passenger-Cars-in-Boxes-Mint/114127903375?hash=item1a928d9a8f:g:xzAAAOSwNw1eUYLT

Ton

[RailMan63]

Thanks,Ton. I'm actually already watching that particular listing. It's not a bad starting price. I'm currently bidding on a red caboose that expires in a couple of days. I'll try bidding on that other listing if I lose out on the caboose.
I just stripped the lettering off the tender tank for my 4-6-0. It was then repainted with a satin black, and then covered with a coat of satin clear in order to help keep the new paint from getting scratched while I wait for the new D&RGW decals to arrive. I haven't ordered them yet, so it may be awhile before I get to the point of relettering it, but at least the paint is done for now.

[p51]

It's a simple case of availability and demand.
Most of the cars are not made any more and the demand is still there.

True. For a while, before On30 picked up in the mainstream of the hobby, $20 freight cars were the norm. Thankfully, when I decided to go to On30 I could buy them all day for that much.
That said, I saw a table of On30 cars at a show last weekend, all of them were 20-30 each (including passenger coaches), so the deals are out there if you want to be patient.
Also, the mail order places have sales, such as Trainworld and Micro Mark...

[Ken Clark]

  Today at my LHS, I picked up 2 Bachmann box cars @ $20:00 Canadian and a San Juan Car Co Long Caboose @ $35:00 Canadian.
The various engines  2-8-0, 4-6-0, IF 4-4-0 and Goose priced at $150:00 Canadian, AMS Boxcars @ 25:00 Canadian.
US $ price would be roughly 2/3 of Canadian Dollar. 

  You just never know when I deal comes up, now to redecal the box car's and convert the caboose into a shorty for my Railway.

    Ken C
     GWN

[J. S. Bach]

I do not think that it is any more expensive than quality HO, even less in some cases.

[p51]

I do not think that it is any more expensive than quality HO, even less in some cases.

I agree. On another forum, someone looked at HO scale out of the box diesels in proportion to inflation. He found things really were much more expensive now than they were back then.
That said, the out of the box stuff is way better than it was years ago. Think of all the stuff you had to do to a "blue box" Athearn diesel, v/s how they are now.
How about Bachmann itself? When I first got into the hobby in the early 80s, the name wasn't very good in the hobby. I knew people who called it, "Botched, man" back then.
But look where Bachmann is now. Their out of the box stuff is amazing, especially the On30 steam locomotives!
Sure, it costs more than it used to, but you really get what you're paying for, now...

[John Tumolo]

Bachmann may have had a bad name 30 years ago, but they got away from making cheap toy trains when they came out with the "Spectrum" line.  Quality ain't cheap.  We now have available to us well designed, well executed quality injection-molded plastic rolling stock that rivals anything ever made in brass at one heck of a lot better price.  You need to change your mindset of plastic=cheap.  Yes, Bachmann had a problem in the past with the gear-driven locomotives, especially the Shay, but they stood behind the product and made it right with either a repair kit or a direct replacement.  You can't ask for more than that.  Ever purchase a brass locomotive?  If you did, you found that although the detail was great, the thing ran like crap unless you put another couple of bucks in it.  You don't have to do that with Bachmann's locomotives.  Keep watching the internet, but also check with some of the suppliers on the On30 facebook page, especially John Weigel's Peterboro Railroad.  He's one of us! Kind of a "Mister On30".  Best of luck to you-you certainly picked a great gauge to build with and that includes a great group of fellow modelers. 

[Ton N]

I won't name the brand but i have three white metal and brass locomotives.
A K28 and two K27's.
They cost me an arm and a leg and a lot of frustration.
Even up to the point of giving them free flying lessons.
They look fantastic but the drivability is, stating it diplomaticly, disappointing.
The K28 eats decoders and the number 463 just died on me last week and had to be completely overhauled.
Take a Bachmann, put it on the track , no matter how dirty it is, and away it goes without any mayor problems.

Ton

[RailMan63]

I now have a better understanding of why these cars are so relatively high priced by comparison to other scales.
I just received my first On30 passenger car. It is a Hawthorne Village Coca Cola combine. It's in nearly perfect condition. It's much bigger than I expected. And it positively dwarfs my H.O. scale rolling stock, but is still small by comparison to G Scale.
It's very nice and well detailed.
Now I have to figure out how to take it apart for repainting.
Including removing the windows without breaking them.
Any ideas?
Thanks!