Quote from: jkemp on August 17, 2018, 05:14:56 PM
There seem to be, disportionally, a large number of these "Bachmann seems to be pulling away from On30 since Lee Riley's death", and I guess there is something driving this that is just oblivious to me.

Lee Riley, as I understand it, was the driving force behind On30 with Bachmann, and was the primary reason they made the Baldwin (ET&WNC) ten-wheelers in G and On30. For that, I'll always be grateful for that and just wish I could have thanked him in person before he passed.
I've read that he was getting ready to retire when he passed away (a rumor I heard was he was at his desk when it happened), so maybe he passing was a moot point as far as how Bachmann was going to handle On30 in the future.
But the fact that Bachmann named one of the excursion cars for him say a great deal of how he was valued by the company.
One large piece of freight at the main depot on my On30 layout (on a cart) is addressed in large stencil letters to a "L Riley" in honor of him.

Quote from: jkemp on August 16, 2018, 08:42:01 PMOr, approaching your comment from a different angle, is there something specific you're waiting for Bachmann to release, but they haven't?   It doesn't, or at least shouldn't, hurt to let others know of your wants and needs, and be a bit of a squeaky wheel.

Funny you'd mention this. I won't name names, but a very nice gentleman from Bachmann was at the Portland NTS is 2015 and I gave him some photos of stuff I thought might sell, such as a ET&WNC-marked tank car (just new lettering on the undec one they already sell) as well as some of the modifications I'd made on their other existing stuff that would easily go with their ET&WNC marked ten-wheelers (they make 4 different loco road numbers on their ten-wheelers for that road name but not one piece of rolling stock lettered for that RR).  
I even offered to make him a set of decals so he could built a prototype as he said it sounded like a good idea to him as well. I did sent him a computer file of the graphics I used to make those decals (on a undec tank car) via email when he asked.
Generally, though, there's not much they can make that I'd want as a model a specific line. Still, even though I find the Bachmann On30 coaches too short for the prototype I model, I'd probably buy a couple of them if they offered them as ET&WNC coaches as well...
But just because I have what I need, doesn't mean there's not a lot of room for Bachmann to move.
An Army 2-8-2 in On30 would be great (I'd buy one for sure) as would any accurate WP&Y locomotive.

Yeah, I was looking through the announcements at the NTS to see if anything cool in On30 was coming out from anyone.
Nothing but crickets chirping heard instead. 
I have a sinking feeling that ever since Lee Riley's passing, Bachmann has been slowly backing away from the On30 table.

Quote from: rrbob on August 07, 2018, 02:39:20 PMGlade i didnt know about this auction...i would have had to morgage the house!

Yeah, me, too. I had no clue about until reading this thread just now.
I would have liked to have had something owned by him, though. He's the primary reason I'm back in the hobby now.

Quote from: Terry Toenges on June 03, 2018, 06:08:39 PM
The O scale Arista guy is so much smaller than the O scale Woodland Scenics people.

That's because Arttista makes them in 1/48 scale and Woodland Scenics makes them in 1/43. I have figures made by each on my layout and I have to make sure they're never placed close to one another (same for some Brit-made 1/43 WW2 figures I have; those are usually placed close to the edge of the layout for some basic forced perspective).

Quote from: Kevin Strong on May 30, 2018, 12:20:19 AM
The non-DCC version of the mogul is easy to convert to DCC.

Now easy for everyone. I always roll my eyes at how something in the hobby seems 'easy' for some, and they in turn assume it's just as easy for everyone else.
Nope, it ain't easy if you've never done it and am not familiar with it.

Quote from: Geoff12765 on June 06, 2018, 03:06:50 PM
FWIW, my take is that putting DCC into the locomotives, and upping the price, firmly moves On30 away from the Christmas train and into the realm of the serious model train enthusiast, and I don't think they would continue to upgrade the fleet and introduce new locomotives if it wasn't selling.  (Although maybe the high price is a reflection of low sales  )

Good point, but it's clear that Bachmann has slowed down production overall and stopped production of several items (like the gas mechanical 'diesel' critter). I don't know if they're placing themselves into a position where the previous stuff has dried up and they can later re-introduce these things, or if it's an overall issue of sale slowing.
Beats me which it is. I just hope they continue to make this stuff.
But in all fairness, On30 is so much more due to Bachmann, even if Bachmann dropped On30 entirely, there's too many people in it now to just walk away and another company would likely fill the gap in the market that would surely come if Bachmann walked away from On30 later.

Quote from: Len on June 05, 2018, 04:12:20 PM
At the LHS my repair shop was in, many people expressed and interest in On30 sets, until they saw the price.

They really liked the size, especially for 'Christmas Villages', but couldn't understand why it was priced like Lionel or MTH, yett ran on the same track as lower priced HO. I believe if the price point had been a bit lower, a lot more people would have gotten into On30.

I get your point, Len, but in all fairness I think enough people got into On30 anyway.
I've talked with one of the Bachmann people working on On30 at two model train shows and I would have liked to ask him how the company reacted to sales and if they'd been surprised by how many people embraced On30 from the start, but I assumed he'd not be able to give a honest answer in his role.
I'd really like to know if the popularity of On30 came as a surprised for Bachmann or not. But for all I know, Bachmann might have had higher hopes for On30 and it might have been a disappointment.
My understanding was that Bachmann made On30 for the 'tow train set' public for Christmas villages, and somewhat-serious model railroaders embracing it soon afterward as much as they have wasn't part of the original plan. I don't know if that's the case at all, though.

Quote from: Yardmaster on June 05, 2018, 11:33:01 AM
The sky is not falling....it is adjusting itself.

I always had the impression that Bachmann essentially flooded the market in On30. It took a long time for the rolling stock to dry up as cheap items in hobby shops and online.
Nothing made by Bachmann can be found for fractions of the retail price anymore. To me, that supports that the deluge has subsided and people aren't selling cheaply anymore. That would support to me that the market can handle Bachmann coming back with increased production. But it could also mean the market has absorbed almost all it can.
Let's face it, the market for On30 has never been huge, nor will it ever be so.

Quote from: the Bach-man on May 24, 2018, 10:40:21 PM
WRONG.
the Bach-man

Sounds like all I need to know.

Wow, imagine my surprise to see my own layout mentioned here!  

Note other than the caboose way in the background, all the rolling stock is Bachmann in this photo.
More info can be found here on the layout itself: http://www.freewebs.com/willysmb44/modeltrains.htm
This was a video shot for Trackside Model Railroading, they got stills and video for their online magazine. They also made a DVD of my layout (and a club layout in Idaho), which I think was very well done:
https://www.tracksidemodelrailroading.com/magazine/past-issues/2018-archive/jan-2018/
https://www.tracksidemodelrailroading.com/stoney-creek-southern-railroad-video-free/

Quote from: jkemp on April 20, 2018, 01:22:02 AM
I'm not upset or anything, please don't read between the lines here, but fulfillment obviously wasn't a first come, first serve.  I had placed my order, literally, just a few hours after announcement of pre-order.

I know that's a White River thing. For example, I still don't have my author's copy and if I hadn't found one at a hobby shop last week, I still wouldn't have a clue what it looked like other than my article from the PDF I'd gotten a while back.
Chris, the editor, is a really good guy to work with. But how the issues go out, I know for sure that's out of his hands.

Terry, you did a great job with this.
It's a great balance between the original locomotive and the correct details for the late 19th century. It'd look perfect for a layout between the 1880s and WW1.

I still can't believe it:

Two magazines on hobby shop shelves at the same time with articles I have written; the March/April 2018 Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette and the 2018 On30 Annual!

It's out now. I found a copy of a hobby shop in Portland Oregon on Saturday.
Looks great, lots of good stuff this year!

Quote from: jkemp on March 26, 2018, 06:27:29 PMInteresting you mentioned PDF copy.  Do you just get a copy of your article, or the whole annual in PDF format?

Just my article. It's a proof so that the author can see exactly what it'll look like.
I've written for a few other magazines that do PDF proofs, but they're not very common and the On30 annual is the model train one I've written for that does them.