WW I 60 cm Motive Power and Cars

[w.r.mischlerraildata]

Potential for a whole new line of On30 equipment -

Take a look at Richard Dunn's 1990 book from Benchmark, "Narrow Gauge to No Man's Land"

The Baldwin 2-6-2T (the only one of the three, Baldwin, Whitcomb and Vulcan) that made it to France before the Great War was over) (coming up in a few days !) would make a great little machine in On30 !  I have not looked yet, but I'm sure there are plenty of photos on line if you search.

Dunn's book includes drawings fo the Baldwin and the Vulcan, as well as standard cars for the "Over There" railway.  Steamers producing smoke sort of announced their location to the

'Boche' artillery, so forward operations were mostly by small gas-mechanicals, mostly under cover of darkness and trying not to be too noisy.  Dunn also has drawings of a G/M.

Want REAL sectional track?  man-portable sections that bolt together, pretty close to Lionel/Flyer/Atlas, etc. and easy to replace when an artillery round found its target !  Like probably every day in some sectors.  Rebuild your layout every morning !

Some folks, including one named Cushing in the Albany, NY area came back impressed with stone quarry and light rail operations, made a fortune in crushed stone after the War back at home.  I'm planning and accumulating materials and equipment for a couple of quarry modules that will feature a few lengths of the sectional stuff to get up to the steam shovel(s) working the blasted rock on the quarry floor.  Makes sense that some of the track got out there as surplus, as there had to be a bunch, and not all of it got to France.  Smallest standard radius was 30 meters (24 inch in On30 !!).

Just an idea to float, see if it gets torpedoed right out of home port...

Sarge

[Bucksco]

Although it's not On30 Bachmann Branchline in England are producing some neat OO scale narrow gauge locos and cars from the Great War. They are doing a Baldwin 4-6-0T (10-12-D in Britain) along with gondolas and box cars. It is basically HO gauge running on N scale track. My Grandfather was in the 19th Engineer battalion in France in 1917-18 so I think it's a great idea. Would it sell well - I would buy some!
http://www.bachmann.co.uk/prod1.php?prod_selected=branchline&prod=14
http://www.bachmann.co.uk/prod1.php?prod_selected=branchline&prod=15

[w.r.mischlerraildata]

Not much HO action on N track in the U.S. since the AHM Mini Trains of the (was it that long ago?) 1970's Leave it to the Brits, with limited space in their abodes for such trivia as layouts...

I did some detailing  on the saddletanker, chopped and detailed the little "diesel", and had some ideas for cars...  On30's really the ticket though, with incredible creativity coming from a lot of folks.  One of the guys at the local hobby shop is giving the Wiscassett, Waterville and Farmington a "rebirth" in the WW II period, with HO switcher mechs under his larger "critters".  He's smiling every time I see him, and has a new piece either in process, or completed !

[Ken Clark]

   [email protected]   has kits for both the 2-6-2 and the 4-6-0  in either
  1/43 or 1/48 not sure likly 1/43 scale. The 2-6-2 uses the Bachmann HO 2-6-2 drive.

     Ken Clark
      GWN

       

[Hamish K]

I have long thought that the 2-6-2 WW1 tank locomotive would make an excellent Bachmann On30 model. The centenary of WW1 has sparked interest  in the trench railways in Britain and Europe, as well as the Bachmann OO9 locomotive another maker has introduced in HOe (the same as HOn30) a German WW1 ready to run locomotive and some rolling stock. With the centenary of the USA's participation coming up, the time would seem to be right for Bachmann to make a WW1 On30 locomotive.

After the war they were used in many countries on narrow gauge industrial, and sometimes common carrier, lines. A few were in industrial service in the USA.

Yes, there are kits, but some of us prefer ready-to-run.

Here's hoping.

Hamish.

[lvrr325]

Not much HO action on N track in the U.S. since the AHM Mini Trains of the (was it that long ago?) 1970's Leave it to the Brits, with limited space in their abodes for such trivia as layouts...

I did some detailing  on the saddletanker, chopped and detailed the little "diesel", and had some ideas for cars...  On30's really the ticket though, with incredible creativity coming from a lot of folks.  One of the guys at the local hobby shop is giving the Wiscassett, Waterville and Farmington a "rebirth" in the WW II period, with HO switcher mechs under his larger "critters".  He's smiling every time I see him, and has a new piece either in process, or completed !

You do know the Roco-made Minitrains were re-issued a few years ago with improved drives, right?   

[Lemurien]

http://www.ecpad.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/les-petits-trains-de-la-grande-guerre.pdf

[Hamish K]

This link has been posted on this board before, but it shows American WW1 narrow gauge equipment  in action during WW1.  Baldwin 2-6-2 tank locomotives and gas mechanicals feature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3s01i3aa7w

Hamish

[Royce Wilson]

Hamish,

Bachmann probably would do better with the British 4-6-0  as most American youth know very little about the history of WW1 and I would dare say that most of our youth don't even know who won WW2 or even what countries were involved. I personally would love to see the 2-6-2 made,I got to see the real thing when I was stationed in Fort Benning,Georgia back when I was in the U.S.Army.

Royce

[rich19]

One "trouble issue" might be the fact that this equipment focusses on modellers in UK, the US and in continental Europa - which leads to the question of scale. 1:43.5? 1:45?? 1:48??? The same goes for HO. Minitrains solved it by offering them in 1:76 as they are quite minute and allows them to run with Baldwins from English vendors. The drawback is that you can't have them next to models from continental vendors like Roco as they are - although minute - are now about 15% too large.
Maybe Bachmann doesn't produce them in O scale because Fleischmann was never successfull in narrow gauge O scale? Seems to me that Europeans prefer HO narrow gauge

Richard