I have dismantled my old layout and have started a new one. This new one will also be HO but it will have a narrow gauge line. This will go from a yard to a quarry. The quarry end will have a turntable for the engines and shed. The yard end will have a transfer area to standard gauge.
I have never worked with narrow gauge. I need to read and learn about it before I get to this section of the layout. I have only just started the new bench work so I have a little bit of time.
What books are available? Who makes good engines and rolling stock? Do these engines have sound with the DCC?
A good magazine to get is The Narrow Gauge Short Line Gazette. It used to come out every-other month. You may be able to find some older issues on eBay.
Welcome to narrow gauge! Lots of cool history in narrow gauge. A giant box car is 40 foot as the standard was often 36 foot with Bobber Cabooses, Combine cabooses,etc. Quaint all wooden and often dilapidated rolling stock is the norm, for the most part.
I highly recommend the Blackstone C-19 and K-27, (recommended above), as the best extant HOn3 engines with pre-installed DCC and Sound. The Tsunami sound board puts others to shame. I was amazed at the near zero speed crawl rate for a steam engine and sounds that are really stunning and not toy sounding. Blackstone put a lot of their effort into a good speaker and baffle system within the tenders.
Go to GOOGLE and type in “Blackstone HOn3” for some cool you-tube videos.
A bit of fiddling with the CV values and you can have these diminutive little locos out shining your best HO stuff.
Yes, Both engines are only plastic and not brass and yes, the $400.00-500.00 cost for the fully implemented DCC and sound in the small engines is steep, but the detail is amazing and the operation rather stunning. Plus, Blackstone has a decent service department, too. At least the onetime I had to use them, they were spot on and fast wth a solution.
Blackstone’s finished HOn3 cars are to die for, (loads of detail) and their prices can bring on a coronary. HOn3 has always been expensive compared to HO and the range of cars and locos limited, But narrow gauge in all gauges is growing fast. Expect the selection to increase rapidly, especially in HOn3. By comparison, Rail Line has kits that are fairly inexpensive and very kit bashable, but you have to be ready to assemble your rolling stock and supply trucks and couplers.
I am planning on building a lot of custom rolling stock from scratch in future as I have more time left than money since I purchased the Blackstone locos.
There are plenty of small Brass HOn3 engines on Ebay for reasonable price. Most are not DCC no sound equiped. The Blackstons small engines can be had for around 350 with DCC and sound. Same price for the K-27.
Rolling stock is wonderful albeit pricey. You can build kit cars for a lot less and still have quality cars.
A three to five car plus caboose train is a decent sized Narrow gauge train so you don’t need lots of rolling stock.
Most Narrow Gauge has its own character and charm. The parts of the country where it was mostly used was pretty rugged and breath taking beautiful.
To a youtube search for Narrow Gauge. You’ll find lots of videos of Narrog gauge steam.
I really agree with what has been said so far! I really think (IMHO) HOn3 is a jewel. The folks who do n3 really have an eye for detail. The details on n3 really inspire me to build my Std Guage as detailed, n3 costs a little more, but the details make up for that.
I too am planning an interchange between SG & NG, using a small length of Dual Guage trackage.
I built a small display base with DG track, & here is a BlackStone K-27 & Caboose charming the scene. (Actually, the same shot abt. 6mos apart with different locos, one in B&W. Thats how they came out of the box!)
Glad you are considering HOn3, it is very rewarding!
Harold’s tempting me, those are some great deals, but I’ve already spent the budget this month on six of those exquisite Blackstone second run UTLX tank cars.[8-|]
Oh well, I’m thinking of adding a RGS #41 to my order at my dealer that will be in the next C-19 run, but will have to wait – and save – for that.
There are PLENTY of good books out there on narrow gauge railroads. You don’t specify what part of the country that you are modeling, and there can be a slightly different “flavor” between the narrow gauge lines in different parts of the U.S. You mention wanting to model a quarry, however, so you might want to consider the book Two Feet to the Quarries: The Monson Railroad by Robert C. Jones (Evergreen Press). This was a Maine 2-foot gauge raiload, but the concepts could be applied to 3-foot or HOn30. The book contains sketches and photos of the interchange with the standard-gauge B&A RR. The Monson was only six miles long, so it really can lend itself to modeling.
You asked about rolling stock. If you’re doing eastern NG, then you may know that Blackstone is coming out with their East Broad Top hopper car soon. Reservations close soon. These cars would make a lot of sense to me if I was doing NG in Penn. and they are the first mass produced eastern prototype RTR car in HOn3.
Okay. For Pennsylvania, there are numerous books on the East Broad Top RR. This was a relatively heavy-duty coal hauler. I would also suggest the book Three Feet On The Panhandle by Larry L. Koehler. This is the history of the Waynesburg and Washington RR in southwestern Pennsylvania. This book has been recently reissued (at under $40 from Ron’s Books). Wood trestles, tiny flag-stop station buildings, timetable running, and even some 3-rail track at the interchange… all well illustrated in this book.
