can a bachmann ON30 2-6-0 converted to ON 3 navigate an 18" radius curve?
The original On30 version certainly can. I would think that only the guy who did the conversion would know about the converted On3.
Bach advertises that loco can go down to 15". I don’t know about after conversion either though.
I wish I could find out, my plan is to do a 42" by 72" layout in On3 / On30 dual gauge (yeah its pointless) mainly because I cant find a conversion for my On30 two truck shay. the railroad will be set in Alaska so I need to convert the stuff to 3’ so my railroad can interchange with the White Pass and Yukon.
my railroad only has 4 swiches at max so the close 6" of dual gauge is not a problem and I can hand lay the track easly.
In all honesty, this is pretty silly.
Why not just stick with On30?
Just model the WP&Y in 30" gauge, which would look more reasonable than trying to justfiy dual gauge the way you’re describing.
Ya there were fairly few real-life 30" gauge railroads. On30 first came along back before RTR stuff was available, because you could use HO mechanisms, track, trucks, etc. in O scale back when stuff was hard to find. I’m sure many (most?) people modelling On30 are using the equipment to model 3’ gauge prototypes (or 2’ gauge Maine trains).
If you only have On30 on your layout, no one’s going to notice that it’s 30" instead of 36". It’s like O standard gauge…in 1:48 scale it actually works out to 5’ wide track, instead of 4’ 8-1/2" like it should be. If everything is built to 5’ gauge, no one notices the discrepancy.
Plus the 30" option makes more sense in a small space like yours, takes up less room and probably will do sharper curves.
Take a look at this website, note that most all the models pictured are based on Colorado 3’ gauge prototypes, but running on 30" track:
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/on30/beginner/
or this: