hello. new to this but i want to buy an on30 shay engine and i have a bunch of atlas code 100 ho track. will the on30 engine fit? thanks.
Hello. and welcome. I moved your question from Classic Trains to Model Railroading.
I believe the answer to your question is yes. I have a Bachmann On30 Christmas train set that runs on HO EZ-Track also made by Bachmann.
-Crandell
The answer is, “Yes - but…”
An On30 locomotive or car will roll on 16.5mm gauge track, which is common to HO and HOj.
The ties on Atlas Code 100 flex are woefully undersize for O scale.
If you can hide the ties (have them submerged in mud or hidden by underbrush, both typical of the kind of railroads that would have been operating a narrow-gauge Shay on a frayed shoestring of revenue) the Atlas track will be fine.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in 1:80 scale, aka HOj)
The ties are not only undersized, the tie spacing is way too narrow!
I found HO track works quite well:
You really don’t notice that it really isn’t to “scale” on the layout. Since the “HO” track is out-of-scale for HO anyway it works. There is no standard narrow gauge track. See:
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/ho_track/
Thank you if you visit
Harold
The whole point of On30 is to a able to use HO track, locomotive mechanisms, trucks, couplers, etc for low cost narrow gauge modeling in 1/4" scale. A number of manufacturers have come out with On30 products some of which adhere to this philosophy and some of which don’t. Overall, I think this works pretty well, but some prefer to use some or all these On30 products, and others stick with On3 or On2 to be exactly correct for U.S. narrow gauge.
You could also use HO stuff for Sn3/12 modeling or Gn15. A few folks are even using On30 products for S standard gauge by replacing the trucks/couplers and regauging locomotive wheels
Enjoy
Paul
thank you all for the replies. this helps a lot.
Welcome! On30, or On2&1/2, is a very recent development in the Hobby. Lately, Bachmann industries has started a line of On30 equipment, which has become very popular. On30, as opposed to On3, is O scale (48 feet in every real foot or 1:48 proportions) with a scale 30 inches (or 2&1/2 feet) between the rails, where On3 has a scale 3 feet between the rails. It just turns out that a scale 30 inches is just as wide as HO Scale (87.1 feet in every real foot, or 1:87.1 proportions) track. Bachmann is also trying to make On30 more attainable to modelers by putting HO Scale mechanisms in the On30 locomotives, reducing the cost exponentially. I hope this helps, and again, welcome.