Bachmann On30 Future

[Skarloey Railway]

If Bachmann were to produce a 1:43 scale (ie, British O scale) Baldwin 4-6-0 as produced for WW1, they'd just about sell one to every On30 modeller in the UK. Whether that would be enough sales for them is another matter.

[CNE Runner]

Everyone has a layout that they would like to build; but for various reasons cannot or will not. For me it is Graham Lightfoot's Engelsdorf Rangierbahnhof featured in the March 2012 issue of Continental Modeller. One of the most interesting aspects of this plan is its dual-gauge design (ie. HO & HOe).

The other day I was looking over the plan and began wondering why there aren't any dual gauge track components available for O & On30. True, one can handlay their track for the desired results. Unfortunately many of us have neither the: ability, desire, or time to do so.

Why is Tillig one of the few manufacturers who offer dual-gauge track components (HO & HOe)...wouldn't this add yet another component to the On30 'scheme'? One could model the interchange between narrow gauge and standard gauge. What are your thoughts?

Regards,
Ray

[Hamish K]

When dual gauge O/On30 has been raised in the past people have objected that the near dead centre third rail would make it look like 3 rail O gauge track (Lionel etc) and thus have regarded it as unacceptable, at least where the layout is representing 3 foot narrow gauge. Prototype dual gauge standard/30 inch or 750mm gauge track does look a lot like 3 rail O gauge track, so this is not a problem if a 30 inch or 750mm gauge line is being represented. However sales of such track are likely to be limited in the USA, where representing 3 foot narrow gauge is quite common.(although 30 inch and 2 foot gauge lines are also modelled using On30).

Commercial dual O/On30 track would probably need to come from Europe, but currently there is very little ready to run in Oe or O16.5 (the European and British versions respectively) since the demise of the Fleischmann Magic train line. So the demand for dual gauge track would not be high. I would have thought there was scope  for Bachmann's European branches to make O scale narrow gauge locos and rolling stock, but so far they have shown little interest, despite Bachmann On30 selling quite well in Britain and Europe.

Hamish

[CNE Runner]

I suspect you are right Hamish...there is probably too small a market for dual-gauge to make it worthwhile producing. I never gave a thought to dual gauge (O/On30) as being 'Lionel-like'; but you again make a good point (HO, the gauge of On30, would be half the distance between the rails of O gauge track).

I was looking for a way of having standard gauge interact with narrow gauge. I believe there was a railway, in Canada, that had a facility which lifted up a standard gauge boxcar (for example); rolled the standard gauge trucks out of the way; replaced them with narrow gauge units and sent the car on its way down the narrow gauge line. The reverse operation was performed when the car was returned. [I'm not sure, but I think this operation was done on Prince Edward Island.] My thought was that this would make a very interesting theme for a standard/narrow gauge layout.

Thanks for the insight,
Ray

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

I was looking for a way of having standard gauge interact with narrow gauge. I believe there was a railway, in Canada, that had a facility which lifted up a standard gauge boxcar (for example); rolled the standard gauge trucks out of the way; replaced them with narrow gauge units and sent the car on its way down the narrow gauge line. The reverse operation was performed when the car was returned. [I'm not sure, but I think this operation was done on Prince Edward Island.] My thought was that this would make a very interesting theme for a standard/narrow gauge layout.

FWIW, I have read--somewhere--that this sort of operation was done in the U.S. in the mid-nineteenth century, when the Erie Railway (NYLE&W) was originally built to the enormous gauge of six feet (!). 

[JerryB]

You don't need to go to Canada to find a prototype for SG to NG car interchange. It existed at Mt. Union on the East Broad Top Railroad. A large timber structure was used to lift a car, one end at a time, and the trucks were replaced. I am not an EBT expert, but from what I have read, it was a fascinating operation.

See:

http://railfan.com/archive/rf_archive_winter75_ebt.php

for more information. Lots of other results on Google.

As to narrow gauge / standard trackage common trackage, I have put a couple of feet of 0n30 gauged rail on some 0 gauge track. As suggested above, it does look like 3 rail. I am not certain I will continue with that effort.

Otherwise, my 0 SG will be on one side of a freight transfer platform / freight house structure and the 0n30 will be on the other side. I also plan a large overhead lift structure for moving heavy stuff between two (different gauge) parallel tracks.

Happy (Dual Gauged) RRing,

Jerry

[Skarloey Railway]

In the UK the Leek and Manifold Rly (30" gauge) used transporter wagons to move sg cars on its line. It's also quite common practise in Continental Europe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transporter_wagon