First of all I think you have confused the different HO/OO narrow gauge modeling scales or gauges.

HOn3 refers to HO scale 3 foot gauge.

HOn30 or OO9 are the scale and gauges used for our Thomas narrow gauge models.

HOn30 refers to HO scale (1/87) with a gauge of 30 inches, also sometimes called HOn2 1/2.

OO9 refers to OO scale (1/76) with a gauge of 9mm or N gauge track.

This may be why you are having difficulty finding what you are looking for regarding Thomas narrow gauge equipment which will not run on HOn3 track.

I hope this helps,
Grandpuff

While completing my Duncan model the original Shapeways 3D loco body that I ordered was printed and shipped from the UK. This model was very nicely done with fine detail and very smooth surfaces. Unfortunately I dropped this model and had to order a replacement. Apparently now when you order anything from Shapeways from the USA the order is now printed in Queens, NY or Salt Lake City, UT which does cut down the delivery time and shipping costs. My issue is that the quality of the 3D model printed in the USA does not seem to be of the same as the original model printed in the UK. I only noticed this because I had both side by side to compare. Has anyone else had this experience?

Perhaps someone familiar with this issue could enlighten us.

Grandpuff

RodimusSupreme:
Thank you for your comments. In order to give credit where credit is due, first of all it is actually a Bachmann Rheneas model that BassTBone did an outstanding job of repainting and then sold it to me. All I did was complete the black and gold lining and install the Narrow Planet name and number plates. The only thing left to do is install the engineer and fireman figures as I have done on my other Narrow Gauge locos. A note to Bachmann, since you already have the Rheneas tooling someday you might consider doing a re-color of Rheneas and produce a Smudger loco. Of course this can wait until Peter San and Sir Handel are produced I would think.

Looking forward to adding Rusty to my narrow gauge collection.

Grandpuff

Hello to BassTbone and All;

Since there has not been much posted here for awhile I thought I would post a photo of my completed Smudger model that I purchased from BassTbone earlier. I have modeled Smudger as he appeared just before being turned into a generator loco outside the shed. I added the black and gold lining and name and number plates from Narrow Planet. I think that Smudger looks pretty good and hope you all do too. Thanks Michael.



I have also finished my Duncan model following Chaz construction postings on this list. I am looking forward to seeing the next progress posts and I will post a few photos after Chaz completes his construction series. Thanks again for your inspiration with this construction series as with your Duke model previously.

Also for those that have Rusty on backorder at TW, they just changed their expected date from June 30, 2018 to December 31, 2018 which is probably no surprise since there have been no updates or production photos yet.

Enjoy,
Grandpuff

Yes both the blue and cream and the green and cream open coaches were built from Shapeways kits along with several of my freight cars. I use Peco OO9 couplers and pockets and Minitrains N scale wheels with these cars. The painting and detailing was done by myself. Glad you liked them.

Grandpuff

Chaz:
Glad to hear that you have received your Minitrains Stainz loco. As you can see the loco chassis is tail end heavy so the Duncan loco body will need some weight added. I used A-Line #13010 Moldable Lead Weight to fill the boiler of my Duncan which balances the loco out nicely. It is available at many railroad hobby suppliers. It is usually used to add weight to brass locomotive boilers. Looking forward to following your imspiring progress.

Recently purchased a Smudger loco from BassTbone. Very nice job Michael very happy to have it. I am expecting the name and number plates for both Duncan and Smudger very soon and I will post some more Layout progress photos including the new locos as soon as the plates arrive from Narrow Planet.




Very glad to hear of the early release of Paxton and Grumpy Deisel from Trainworld. Maybe the 6-30-18 release date for Rusty has some validity.

Grandpuff

Sorry not to have replied sooner, but I have been up to Train Mountain in Oregon all last week. Thanks for the info on the tunnel portals Chaz, I will keep looking for some N scale portals that will work on my HOn30 layout.

Very nice progress on your Duncan indeed, thanks for sharing. If you have any trouble figuring out how the body comes off of the Minitrains Stainz loco used as the drive for Duncan, just un-screw the smoke stack and it all comes off. It took me awhile to figure that one out. Looking forward to seeing further progress on Duncan.

Grandpuff

Chaz:

Nice scenery work, always glad to see layout photos. I have been looking for tunnel portals for my narrow gauge layout too and HO portals are of course too big and the N scale ones I have seen are too small. The one pictured looks about right for HOn30 so I would like to know who makes it if you know.

Thank you for any info,
Grandpuff

Very nice work so far on your Duncan loco. It was a smart decision on your part to do Duncan now since it will most likely be 3-5 years before Bachmann gets around to doing Duncan assuming that they will do Peter Sam and Sir Handel first. Since they both have the same wheel arrangement as Skarloey perhaps that may simplify the tooling somewhat.

Thank you for sharing your progress with us all here.

Grandpuff

Hello to All:

I see that there has not been much activity lately so I thought that I would post a few progress shots of my 2 by 4 foot HOn30 layout. As I have posted earlier the layout is based on John Allen's first Gorre & Daphetid 3 by 7 Foot HO layout. I just reduced it to 2 by 4 feet and used N gauge track in the smaller space. I am using Devil's Gulch & Helengon as my railroad name as that is what John Allen called his Narrow Gauge railroad.

I have just finished laying the track and switches, installed the control panel, and started the 2 wood trestles. I still need to install the switches in the control panel for the track blocks and the turntable tracks and then wire it all so that I will have control of which loco I am running since there is provision for just one wireless cab control. I have installed the timber trestle bents but I still need to finish all of the stringers on both trestles. So far I have installed 5 turntable stalls including a fifth reserved for Rusty and plan on adding about 3 more for a small engine shed and maybe one or two extras for a total of ten stalls. Scenery wise there will be a small sawmill on the upper right spurs which can see seen sitting on the layout and a small mine entrance on the spur at the upper right of the layout. The track plan is basically a spiral up and down and a small branchline to the sawmill, two short spurs at the mine, two yard tracks, and the turntable. The turntable is a Peco N scale 6 inch manual turntable to which I have added a crank attachment which can be seen at the left of my control panel in the first photo.

I am adding 4 progress photos but I am having a problem with editing the photos in TinyPic to display correctly, so sorry if they are not rotated as they should be shown. If anyone knows what I am not doing correctly please let me know.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4


I hope you all enjoy seeing my layout progress as I always enjoy seeing the progress others have posted here. Looking forward to Rusty getting here and also to seeing Chaz progress on his Duncan loco. I hope that this post brings some life back to my favorite Bachmann Forum thread.

Enjoy,
Grandpuff

BassTbone:

The smoke boxes on my Mighty Mac loco are slightly less than 7/16 of an inch. This is why it was difficult to find faces small enough to fit. The Ertl metal Rheneas faces were the only ones I was able to find that would fit properly.

I just finished laying the track on my HOn30 layout and I am wiring the track and panel now. I am still building the bents for both trestles and will take a few more photos soon.

Grandpuff

Hello again:

Here is a copy of the HO G&D track plan I am using as a model for my HOn30 layout. The original layout was about 3 by 7 feet and my layout using Peco HOn30 track is just 2 by 4 feet. The curves are tight and the grades steep but this is a narrow gauge logging and mining railroad after all. I have tested Skarloey and Rheneas on curves as tight as 6 inch radius and grades of up to 6% so we will see how it all works out.



The second photo shows progress so far with the track roadbed and cork all down. The photo shows the switch templates used to correctly position the track. The turntable is a Peco 6 inch N scale manual turntable that can be driven my either a crank or electric motor. I am using Peco switches because they have a locking point setup so that they can be used manually. While the Peco track is actually N gauge the narrow gauge track has wider spaced ties to represent HOn30 or OO9. The Peco track and switches have been ordered and should be here next week. I will post additional photos once some track is down. The two elevated sections of roadbed in the center area will be timber trestles which I am building now. The ruler in the photo is 15 inches for reference and the layout is 2 by 4 feet for portability. The layout photo may appear upside down because I cannot figure out how to edit it in TinyPic.



Enjoy,
Grandpuff

Hello to All:

Just to let everyone know, I just pre-ordered Rusty from TW with an estimated due date of June 2018.

I have also started a small HOn30 2 by 4 foot layout based on the Gorre & Dephetid HO layout of John Allen fame. I will post a few photos as soon I can take some.

Grandpuff

Hello to All:

Terrance, thank you for the Hatton's link to the incline winding model. I will consider your suggestion to model the incline. There is a location on the upper branch line where that may work. The Bachmann resin buildings I am looking at include a Maitwaithe Station, Engine House, Signal Box, Brendan Warehouse, Square Water Tank, and a Peco 6 inch N scale turntable which should work well for OO9. I am surprised at how expensive these models are but they do look good. Luckily with just a 2 by 4 foot layout I will not need too many.

Chaz, I appreciate your kind comments on my modeling efforts very much. I am looking forward to seeing progress on your Duncan model. I too hope that Bachmann will decide to do Peter Sam next followed by Sir Handel. In fact since both locos share the same wheel arrangement and possibly the chassis could be shared by both they could perhaps be developed at the same time. In fact I believe that the real reason no locos were announced this year is so that they can get out ahead this year on what may be announced next year. We will just have to wait and see. At least we have Rusty to look forward to this year.

Thank you all,
Grandpuff

Griffin:

To answer your questions about the painting and finishing of my Shapeways models here goes. I usually use my Paashe double action air brush that I have used for many years in my HO modelling. I have also used small rattle cans when I can find the colors I need. I have also used larger rattle cans on a few projects when I can again find the colors that I need. The larger cans only work well if the model will be painted just one color. The trouble with rattle cans is that they usually deliver too much paint too fast.This is a problem when the model is being painted in more than one color as the large paint volume will usually bleed under the masking. This can be a problem with the small rattle cans also if too much paint is applied. The rough texture on the 3D printed models is also a problem when masking. I use good quality blue painters tape to mask my models being painted and make sure that the tape edges are pressed down firmly and most importantly apply the paint sparingly in multiple light coats.

To finish my models I use Micro Trains N scale 33 inch wheel sets. They come in black or brown, I use the brown. These come 48 to a package so I have been using that one package for all of my recent projects. I also use Peco OO9 coupler pockets and coupler sets. The couplers are Peco GR-102 which come 4 to a package. The coupler pockets are Peco GR-103 which come 8 to a package. I have been cutting off the mounting tab on the coupler boxes and mounting just the actual pockets to the bottom of the 3D cars as this makes them the same coupler height as my Bachmann cars and locos. I have been ordering these from the UK as they are hard to find in the USA.

I hope this helps you and I will be interested in seeing your efforts.
Grandpuff