What are the New 18' Freight Car Measurements?

[railtwister]

No local dealers will stock On30, so I can't see before buying. I am interested to know the widths of the new 18 footers, as well as the height of the 18 foot boxcar. Obviously, they are shorter than the other On30 cars, but are they also narrower and lower as well?

Thanks, if you can help out with dimensions.

Bill in FtL

[Tugmaster]

Hi Bill  - 

No they are not lower or even narrower than other On30 cars.  The new flat cars are approx. 4 1/2 ins long and approx. 5 ins wide. 
If you go to   www.tower-models.com'   and follow the On30 links you will see all Bachman's On30 rolling stock in great colour.

If still in doubt, remember On30 is 1/48th scale, so multiply all your feet measurements by 12 [to get to inches] and then divide that result to get On30 sizes.
So 18' is   18 x 12 divide by 48 equals 4 1/2 ins!

Hope all this helps

Regards
Garth

[Tugmaster]

Sorry - width there should read 2 ins!

Garth

[railtwister]

Yikes! Now I'm confused! My standard sized Bachmann On30 boxcars measure 1.955" (less than 2") across the roof at the center of the doors, and the side ladders may protrude another .040" beyond the roof on each side, making them about 2.035" in overall width. So you are saying the "smaller" cars are even wider at 2.250"? Somehow, that doesn't sound right. Maybe we should just compare the width of the roof at the center of the door openings, just to be sure we are comparing apples to apples.

Bill in FtL

[jpipkin]

I don't own any to measure but the 18' cars I have seen are definitely more narrow than the other Bachmann freight cars.  They are around 6 scale feet wide.  The box car's height and width make the ends look much like Maine 2' gauge cars.

Jim in Texas

[railexpert]

Hello,

Excuse, for my first measurements I used a wrong scale.

Here are the exact dimension from the 18' box car:  4.650'' long (without couplers), 1.730" wide and 2.500'' high. The floor is  0.666'' over the rail.

It is not only shorter, it is also smaller then the standard box cars from Bachmann.

The other 18' freight cars have the same length and width as the 18' box cars.



Railexpert  

[railtwister]

Thanks railexpert, that makes a lot more sense.

Bill in FtL