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Messages - p51

#196
On30 / Re: Steam wish list.
May 13, 2016, 01:55:52 PM
Quote from: Hamish K on May 12, 2016, 10:08:22 PM
The US army 2-8-2 mentioned did run in Australia, on the 3 foot 6 inch gauge in Queensland, and a couple are preserved in Australia.
There are a bunch of them preserved all over the place. I've seen several in the US and ridden the cab of one (190, at Tweetsie RR in Blowing Rock, NC), the one on the right here:

The earlier photo of 195 at Skagway, Alaska wasn't mine, but I have seen that one twice.
#197
On30 / Re: Steam wish list.
May 12, 2016, 04:50:18 PM
What is the market for Aussie stuff within the hobby? I have no idea. To say a company should make something because a few people want it, doesn't make much business sense if there's not a large enough base for people to buy said item.
A few that might possibly sell to US fans could be:
US Army 2-8-2:

East Broad Top loco:

White Pass & Yukon 70-series locomotives:


Quote from: railtwister on May 12, 2016, 08:26:54 AM
Now that Lee Riley has so sadly passed, I wonder how much longer we will see Bachmann continue to produce any On30. As a modeler, Lee had a different perspective than most other corporate executive types, which was fortunate for all of us in the On30 community.
I wonder, this, as well. he was almost out the door on retirement when he passed, so Bachmann surely had something in mind for On30 when he was gone either way.
#198
On30 / Re: Passing of Lee Riley
April 28, 2016, 01:30:29 PM
MR's June issue has a nice tribute to him up front.
#199
Cool, I don't think I'd seen that before.
If you have any interests in the subject, I strongly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Narrow-gauge-mans-land-railways/dp/0961546727
#200
On30 / Re: WW1 Railroad Gun
April 20, 2016, 07:38:57 PM
I don't have my reference books with me right now, but I recognized the model of the howitzer they were using.
Hardly any WW1 RR guns still exist, but a few WW2 ones still do...
Dahlgren Naval testing center had a 12" RR mount there, and the Washington Navy yard has a 16" mount at their museum...


There are a couple of K5 German guns at the Army Ordnance Museum at Fort Lee (which was at Aberdeen, MD for decades) and at the Batterie Todt Museum at Audinghen, France 
When I was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, we used to run PT formations out to one of them as a turnaround point. I never got tired of that.
#201
On30 / Re: New Diesel
April 04, 2016, 06:05:18 PM
I think that there simply isn't a market for something that specific, among On30 modelers.
I mean, look at the thing:

Most On30 types I know are into the older stuff and whimsical at the same time. Frankly, I was very surprised (and equally overjoyed) when they made the 1917 Baldwin 4-6-0s that matched the ET&WNC prototype as that's a pretty big steam locomotive for most On30 modelers.
Something that big is going to be larger (and newer) than what most On30 modelers are into.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the WP&Y, having ridden it twice...
#202
On30 / Re: Passing of Lee Riley
March 07, 2016, 08:40:27 PM
Crap, I'm sorry to hear this.
My understanding is he's also the primary reason why Bachmann made so many ET&WNC items over the years. Heck, he's the reason I got back into model railroading!
I was hoping to meet him at the NMRA convention in Portland but he didn't come. Now I am even more saddened to know I'll never get the chance to thank him.

God speed, Mister Riley.
#203
On30 / Re: Future of On30
February 05, 2016, 06:45:36 PM
I talked with some of the Bachmann people at the National Train Show in Portland this past August. I got no indication from them that they were on their way out of the On30 business. That said, they only had one new On30 item on display for the following year.
Let's face it; Bachmann making inexpensive (and very well-running) narrow gauge stuff is what has drawn people into On30 initially. NG used to be something few modelers got into and normally you had to do a crazy amount of work on everything if you wanted into anything but 4' 8 ½" gauge in any scale.
An entire cottage industry has popped up around Bachmann's introduction of affordable narrow gauge. Sadly, some of their kits are all but useless, such as all the conversion kits for the gas-mechanical 'critters' that are increasingly difficult to find now that they're out of production.
Rumors abound regarding Bachmann getting out of On30, even though prices for new rolling stock are slowly climbing. Sadly, the very thing that got people into On30- Bachmann's inexpensive rolling stock- is almost a thing of the past now.
I only got into On30 because of Bachmann, and that was because they made the prototype I've always wanted as a good runner in a manageable scale (the ET&WNC Baldwin ten-wheeler). I bought one initially for a display under glass. That didn't last long and now I have a small layout for it (and 3 others like it) to run on. Some Bachmann rolling stock was useable for my concept, but only flats, high gons (cut down) and boxcars. The rest, I can't use.
On30 is too popular to vanish at this point, but it could slowly decline over time. Without Bachmann making an introduction into narrow gauge affordable, that decline is inevitable once the secondary market of Bachmann stuff is gone.
But I just don't see them ceasing that market completely.
#204
On30 / Re: Removal of the cabin to fit crew in
January 28, 2016, 08:54:07 PM
You could just cut them in half at the waist. That's what I did to put my crew figures into the cabs of my On30 ten-wheelers...

#205
Quote from: JerryB on January 25, 2016, 08:49:51 PM
You claim that lots of people are wanting a specific product (the 0n30 Davenport), and perhaps that is true. Conversely, I have recently read several on-line posts, along with talking to a couple of acquaintances who tried 0n30, but are not happy and are moving on.
All I know is among the two local hobby shops that sell On30, each owner has told me they constantly get asked if they have any Davenports for sale and how disappointed those potential customers are when told no.
Every local guy I know getting into On30 (and there are a lot of them, oddly) has bought one if they can find one, regardless of the price.
See how much they're going for on eBay, as well.
There are a bunch of conversion kits for these and I wonder if those are selling if you can't find the locos to put them on.
To me, it's a moot point as I model a RR that didn't have any diesels until over 20 years after my layout takes place.
#206
It's not a matter of what store has a few here and there, I was wondering why they made what seems to be a very popular item, then stopping production in the apparent face of customer demand for no reason that I can see...
#207
I know several people looking at possibly getting into On30 and all asking where they can find the Davenport gas mechanical 'critter' as they can't find them except for crazy prices on ePay.

I was never under the impression that they were poor sellers and several companies still make conversion kits for them.
So, does anyone know why they're no longer being made? You'd think with the 'shorty' freight cars, there must be a market for a diesel to match?
#208
On30 / Re: Bucksgahuda & Western 2015
December 29, 2015, 12:32:00 PM
Nice! As a very longtime NRHS member, I used to look forward to the chapter annual as they usually had a good write-up on what they'd been up to.
#209
If the ET&WNC hadn't had such good third rail for so long and if they'd had a good crane for it, I could imagine them doing the same thing, just the EBT had...
#210
On30 / Re: Minimum Radius
November 02, 2015, 06:14:19 PM
The ten wheeler might go through 18" as the center driver is blind with no flange, but ti'd look downright silly doing so.
My mainline curves on my layout are 23-24", with one 20" part for a few inches into one spur.