O Scale Structures for On30

[C.S.R.R. Manager]

I would also suggest requesting or downloading catalogs from Diecast Direct and Scenic Express.  Diecast Direct has lots of vehicles, and the Scenic Express catalog shows each of the Arttista people in color, along with other scenery products.  Both of these sites have catalogs that you can download, or I think you can still order the old-fashioned paper catalogs too.

http://www.diecastdirect.com

http://www.scenicexpress.com

[Lawrie]

Check out Diecast Direct for ! : 50 vehicles also a huge range of Caterpillar equipment at Norscot.com is also available from Diecast Direcct all in 1:50 

[GovB]

This has all been great stuff. Being new at this I only have questions. Which brings me to layout design. Who has the best design software? I have downloaded one (free) from Atlas O. It may be me but its not very user friendly. Being an apartment dweller (who dreams in G scale), does anyone have ideas/plans for a moveable/storeable/hideable/On30 layout for the sake of space?

Thanks to all, GovB 

[Jim Goodridge]

Hi GovB, For small layouts you can check out Carl Arendt's web site carendt.us.  His site has many ideas for very small layouts.  I'm sure you can spend a couple of months just playing around with his ideas.  A small piece of advice is to get building asap - it's too easy to get caught up in planning and never get anything constructed! 

As quick introductions I would suggest looking at small HO plans that have stood the test of time.  Just expand them some to give enough space for structures and make sure to give yourself a little more vertical clearance.  Some I would suggest would be "Gum Stump and Snowshoe" by Chuck Yungkurth; the Inglenook switching puzzle; "Crooked Creek" by Roy Dohn; "Venango Northern" by Bill Livingston.  All of those are on the Arendt web site in one form or another.  Track plans are such a personal thing that what completely takes care of one persons needs leaves another person totally bored.  The first layout I ever built was a Gum Stump and Snowshoe and, although it is long gone, it remains one of my favourites.

Best Regards
Jim

[Pete Chimney]

FYI

Champ decals is going out of business, they are not yet gone. They are selling off their inventory.

You can order on-line.  I don't have the URL but Google Champ decals.

[lvrr325]

Used to be able to find all sorts of Road Champs 1/48 vehicles in the stores for less than 5 bucks.  They weren't early-early, but a lot of '50s cars and trucks.  Maisto did some knockoffs, too, with friction motors.   I see a lot of stuff being made to 1/48th or 1/50th and I see a lot of those right in places like Wal-Mart.   You may need to pick and choose or buy newer era items as stand-ins, but for the prices of some of them it's hard to go wrong.


One of the vendors at Springfield had a line of O-scale storefronts only - over a dozen types of city buildings for about $12, but all you get is the front wall.  Lionel has some full structures, built-up, for $15-$35 - city buildings and houses that look pretty decent, they may need some tweaking here and there.   

[glennk28]

Lionel has several good structure kits including an engine house and the RGS Rico station--which is rather large but can be built smaller.   Walthers has a bunch of O Scale buildings, also.

The only thing that makes a building "narrow gauge" is where it has to interface wtih the trains--such as water tanks not being as high as on standard gauge, since the tender is lower.  gj

[the Bach-man]

Dear All,
There are many instances where an S Scale standard gauge structure (water tank, tunnel portal) can be used as well.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[GovB]

All this has been very helpful. But in following up on suggestions I have become somewhat confused. Some sites advertise their brand of On30 locos as "Compatible (W/) Tracks: Code 70, 83, 100 Rail". Does On30 have a "code"? Some sites are advertising Bachmann locos and rolling stock under "On2-1/2" and some as "On30". I've also seen HOn2, HOn2-1/2, HOn3, On2, On2-1/2 and On3 scales. One site even advertises 24 different scales. Of what I've seen I like the Bachmann On30 scale and is the best fit for me but what is all this? Is it similar or totally different? I haven't found a site that shows the physical difference in these scales. Just when I find something I like..... What does a budding rail tycoon do?

GovB 

[David Meashey]

GovB;

The "code" of the rail describes the height of the rail in thousandths of an inch.  Code 70 is 70 thou. high.  Code 83 is 83 thou. high. - And so forth.  Most rail is now measured in thousandths, so number one gauge track for garden railways may be found in 215 thou., 250 thou., and 332 thou.  The code simply describes the height of the rail. 

GAUGE is the INSIDE distance between the rails.  Normally gauge is expressed for Standard Gauge track - 4 foot 8 1/2 inches in prototype measurement.  Confusion can start when the gauge is varied (wider or narrower) from standard gauge.  Modellers have developed a form of shorthand to express some of the common narrow gauges.  (Not many of us have pursued broad gauge, although prior to 1890 numerous examples of broad gauge were in existance.) 

The short hand goes like this:  SCALE is usually expressed by a letter or letters - O, S, HO, N, and Z.  (To avoid confusion, I will refrain from discussing the kalidascope of scales that run on Number One gauge track, and are collectively called "large scale.")  All O scale should have the same scale proportions, which in the United States is expressed as 1:48.  Just be aware some other countries have established a slightly different ratio for what they consider O scale.   But for the purpose of this discussion, I will use the US ratio of 1:48.  Now when the gauge is smaller than standard gauge, modellers need to express this difference as well, thus the lower-case "n" stands for NARROW gauge.  Even feet of gauge are expressed by a single digit, thus On3 equals O scale running on a three-foot gauge, or 36 inches.  On2 equals O scale running on a two-foot gauge, or 24 inches.

Narrow gauge that is not gauged in even feet is expressed by two digits, thus On30 equals O scale running on 30 inch gauge.  On15 would express O scale running on 15 inch gauge track (some mine trams and contractor railways did use such a narrow gauge).

I hope this helps,
David Meashey

[Woody Elmore]

On2-1/2 and On30 are the same thing. They are O scale models gauged to run on HO track (which actually works out to something like 31 inches) It was begun decades ago by modellers interested in O scale narrow gauge. At the time all the On3 motive power were brass imports and cars had to be built by hand.

The early On30 pioneers saw that HO mechanisms and trucks could be put under O scale bodies. With a ready supply of HO mechanisms, trucks and trackage, a new group was added to the hobby.

HO had the same situation. HOn3, representing three foot gauge prototypes, was available but limited. So HOers saw that they could use N scale mechanisms under HO scale bodies to create HOn30.

[ebtnut]

To some extent, the usage of On30 vs. On2 1/2 is the source.  Bachmann, and most of the hobby, has come to use On30.  If you read Model Railroader, though, they insist on keeping the convention of referring to the gauge in feet, so they use On2 1/2 (or HOn2 1/2) instead.  Just to confuse things a bit further, standard O gauge should properly be referred to as Ob5, since the track gauge is actually 5 feet in 1:48, instead of 4' 8 1/2" as it should be.  There is a small group out there that models with proper track gauge and scale-size wheel and flange standards called Proto:48, or P48. 

[ebtbob]

GovB,

      Let me address one of your questions,  the one about models being compatible to different rail codes .  My personal opinion is that the advertiser is letting you know that the equipment will operate on those different rail codes.   
      In times past,  some manufacturers had large flanges on the wheels of their engines and rolling stock.   IHC is one that still does have such flanges,  and Rivarossi and AHM in the '60s did the same thing.  Large flanged equipment will not operate properly on anything under code 100.  In code 83, large flanged equipment may be ok on straight or curved track,  but turnouts will be a problem.  The problem.....the flanges hit the nubs that hold the rail to the ties causing a bouncing effect and derailments.