Steel box car - outside frame 24-26 feet in length.

Two different roofs and you have North American and international box cars.

Deerfield River Laser (models?) is producing kits for these.  They are doing the open platform coach from the Linville River, combine/RPO #15, the Azalea, and the closed vestibule coaches!

Bachmann coach frame and roof are used with the wood bodies.

Great looking stuff on the web site!

There is a Garratt (NG-16) in Texas.

This locomotive definitely falls in the "what if" or "might have been" category.  But to think that the Garratt type would not have served well if ever given a chance in the U.S. is naive.  Alco, I believe, had the U.S. concession to build Garratts but never sold an order for any.

The very thing that made Shays, Heislers, and Climaxes popular in the U.S. would have been the same reason the Garratt would have been popular.  Lots of power on light axle loadings, the ability to handle tight curves and light track but pull long trains would have made it a success.

A NG-16 on the Maine two footers would have been able to move a LOT of pulp-wood without tearing up the track like some of the OF 2-4-4 Forneys did at speed.  A 3 foot Garratt would have been successful on the infamous grades and curves of the Uintah Railway.

Imagine a Garratt on the horrible track and roadbed of the RGS - blasphemy I know, but if that humble road could have somehow obtained one, one crew but the pulling power of double headed C-19s on that track.

More blasphemy, imagine two Garratts doubling the hill out of Chama.  Think of the tonnage two BIG Garratts could have moved up the hill, how many fewer "turns" would it have taken in the 1950s to move the oil and gas load empties up the hill and back to Alamosa.

Change a few details, and the NG-16 would look as American as those 2-10-0 "Russians" that got wide tires to narrow them down from 5 ft. to American standard gauge.  Foreign power that was built for export, order canceled, and the locomotive sold cheaply to a domestic railroad.  It works for me.

No,

But a lot of On30 modelers in other parts of the world might, as well as American On30 modelers.

How many European, Australian, South American, etc. modelers would LOVE to have one of these?

There was a real 30 inch Garrett that has been restored to use on the Puffing Billy railway.  While the NG-16 are my personal favorite, this locomotive would be a must buy for me as well.

By the way, there is a NG-16 in the United States.  It is owned by a private individual and is not open for the public to see.

So, there is your excuse to own one of these beauties on a North American railroad!

Trends come and go in modeling.  I remember when Sn3 was all the rage.

Like anything else, the hot scale, On30, has to cool some sooner or later.

I disagree though that this was not a good year for On30.  My kids gave me a OF 4-4-0 and it is currently being modified!

I plan to eventually obtain one of the rail buses and trailing coaches - that was a pleasant surprise!

The 4-6-0 is not my cup of tea, but I am certain the bashers will go to town on that locomotive and for those who have long awaited this model, I am sure they will be happy.

I am certain the 4-6-0 and rail bus will make a lot of On3 guys happy as well and will be widened out.  Not too sure if the OF 4-4-0 is a candidate for that sort of surgery.

Three powered models announced in one year and two actually available for use!  Not too bad.

As to the rising costs - I would imagine that the global spike in oil prices did not help the cost of raw plastic, paint, lubricant, etc. any for manufacturers like Bachmann.

Now, if Mr. Riley and the Bachmann will only deliver the long awaited Heisler!

We open our gifts on Christmas Eve - the kids obtained one of the new Bachmann OF 4-4-0s for me!  I knew they were good kids!

Some quick observations:

1) It is heavy for its size!
2) It is much larger than the inside frame 4-4-0.
3) Keith Wiseman's whaleback tender casting will fit on the stock tender frame, allowing the stock tender frame and electronics to be used.  It also allows for an easy installation of DCC sound by using the stock tender frame.  Shades of NCNS #7, albeit that locomotive was an inside frame locomotive.
4) A plea for someone to make a post-production kit to detail this locomotive like one of the 4-4-0s on the San Paulo line in Brazil!  It would only require the canopy, pilot, and some drop over castings for the cylinders - beyond my skills.
5)Runs like a dream!
6)Has parts to convert to wood or oil, analog, and spoked lead truck.

I think I like it better than my OF 2-8-0!

During WW II the U.S. Army took over/leased the White Pass.  Equipment was requisitioned from all over the U.S.  7 K-28s and 2 B4-Ds, one of which was the C&S oil burner #70, two 10 wheelers from the ET&WNC, and the so called MacArthur class 2-8-2s, plus some other locomotives I do not recall off the top of my head.

Also heading north was Rotary ON, a bunch of ex-C&S steel underframe box cars, a couple of C&S cabooses, etc.

The ET&WNC 10 wheelers were destroyed in a fire, the MacArthurs, a bunch at least, were kept, the rotary went into the Skagway river as rip rap, and the rest of the Colorado motive power was sent to Seattle to be cut up for scrap as it was all completely worn out.

If you are willing to search the internet, you can find photos of most of these locomotives in service on the White Pass.

You are technically correct though in saying that the White Pass never owned any K-28s.  They were property of the U.S. Army. 

Still, the list of "foreign" equipment that served on this railroad is impressive.

I second that motion!  At least a box car and a passenger coach!

Also, a great model would be of the 2nd 81 which began its days as the U.S. Army locomotive that was experimented with on the Silverton Branch.

It would interest the On3 guys as well and it was a REAL variable gauge locomotive!

An On30 version of the U.S. Signal Corps Heisler would be a dream!  The only possible way to improve it, and then only possibly, would be a cabbage stack!

I vote for this Heisler!

If you desire a three truck Climax, visit Backwoods Miniatures website.  They sell a kit to convert the current Bachmann Climax into a three truck Climax.

I do not recall the price, but I have assembled several Backwoods Miniatures kits and ALL of them were top notch.  I am confident the same is true of this kit.

Cutting and pasting the poll results was a little messy, but of the 80+ respondents, 46 voted for a Heisler as the next desired On30 geared locomotive they wanted to see from Bachmann, accounting for 56% of the votes.

The next most popular choice was a three truck shay with 18 votes, accounting for 21% of the votes.

I know Mr. Riley and the Bachmann may be getting tired of this, but I hear the chant, we want a Heisler, we want a Heisler!

Question
Of the following geared locomotives to choose from, which do you think needs to be the next On30 geared locomotive produced for sale?

Responses
Choices  Votes  %  1 reply 
Heisler  46  56   
Different Climax than one currently available  2  2   
Dunkirk  9  10   
3 truck shay  7  8   
larger 2 truck shay  18  21   

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If you would like a non-eastern box car and are willing to pony up for and build a kit, Keith Wiseman has some really nice box car kits that include the C&S steel underframe box cars and RGS 4000 series box cars.  These are not inexpensive, but Keith's stuff is quality and the bodies are one piece castings!

These kits are for both On3 and On30 so you would need to tell Keith which gauge.  I think his web address is www.locopainter.com or something similar.

I forgot, I would like a steel box car like Dallas Mallerich's 20 foot kits, but in the 25 foot range.

The large scale tank cars in On30 would be a dream come true!  They did answer the request for the large scale 4-6-0 in On30, so perhaps they will do the tank cars as well.

I would imagine that there would be a serious market for these with the On3 guys as well!

Actually, the EBT had some all steel box cars.  During WW II all steel box cars built by Pullman wound up on the White Pass & Yukon Route and the Oahu narrow gauge.

There were a few other odds and ends that were home made as well.


While not all steel, the C&S had freight cars with all steel underframes that would later see service on the RGS and White Pass.

I have Hilton's book and it is excellent.  I have read it several times and do not recall reading that quote, I don't doubt it's in print, and am surprised Hilton forgot about the EBT box cars.