I mentioned some time back a friend who knew I was a model railroader sent me a couple of Bachmann Spectrum items as a gift. Unfortunately I model HO and the items are some of Bachmann’s new On30 models.
I am very impressed with the quality of detail on the engine and rolling stock sent. The 2-4-4 Forney engine is a superb running locomotive. I only wish there was a Spectrum HO version available.
I also wish I had the room to model both HO and O scale but at the moment I do not. Perhaps in a few months…
I had neverr realized the quantity and quantity of the Bachmann On30 line.
Bachmann certainly has produced a number of On30 engines and rolling stock just in the last couple of years.
Is the On30 scale market increasing in popularity over and above other scales?
On30 is the current “fad” scale and indeed probably is the fastest growing scale at the moment. The reaction to it is similar to what was seen with HO narrow gauge back in the 1980’s, except that Bachmann has been doing a better job of supporting this scale than anyone really did with NG in the 80’s. So far, Bachmann has also been keeping the prices of its On30 locos and rolling stock quite reasonable but their latest offering of a 2-4-4T SR&RL Forney, priced at an astronomical $1150 , may perhaps signaling a change in this policy.
I’ve always loved Colorado narrow guage, in fact I have quite a bit of HOn3 equipment, 3 brass locos and a bunch of car kits. But, I’ve always wanted to try O scale modeling. After assembling a Grandt Line HOn3 drop bottom gondola kit (and nearly going insane, great kit, but whoa, so many tiny parts) I decided to try On30.
And I’m really excited. So far I have 3 locos, picked up a Bachmann 2-6-0 on ebay for $30.00. I’m still shocked at the size of this stuff, looking at it through my ‘HO’ eyes. I can live with out of scale track guage, especially when you consider how affordable it is now to model O scale narrow guage. And in a smaller space. So, I’m in…
I have to disagree about it being a “fad” scale. It has consistently gained popularity over the past decade plus, with tremendous support from Bachmann and other manufacturers.
Fad, I doubt it. The new age of On30 ushered in with the Bachmann trainset in 1998 has lasted longer than all the other narrow gauge spikes in popularity combined.
I just picked a few pieces for a reason that I think On30 is still running strong, a Christmas Village train. I kept badgering my wife and her sister that straight HO looks silly in their village of Dept 56 and other manufacturers buildings, after 8 years or so they finally agreed!
Of course their idea is for me to pronptly strip all the prototype paint schemes off and repaint the cars to represent each of our dogs (surrogate kids).
Oh well. at least I got a good train to run thru the village.
I think Ricky is right!! The “Christmas” village people are buying them like crazy - as are a few freinds’ wives… These folks are mostly into the “village” aspect than the mrr part. My [2c]
An interesting thing about the Spectrum On30 is that originally the line was primarily focused on representing Colorado-style 3’ gauge railroads using 30" gauge track; in the last years it’s seemed the emphasis has changed to Maine-style 2’ gauge railroading, much like the HO scalers who use N gauge track for HOn30 representations of 2’ gauge lines.
It should be noted too that the difference between 36" and 30" gauge track is only 1/8" in 1:48 O scale, and it’s pretty easy to re-gauge the Bachmann equipment if you want to use them for 3’ gauge track.
Actually, American Flyer has not been the major player in S for a long time. American Models and S Helper’s Showcase Line are. Both of these lines are offered in AF compatible (AC, tinplate wheels and couplers) and scale (DC/DCC, scale wheels, add KD couplers).
I think part of the popularity of On30 trains is their size. They are very close to S (so close that some people convert Bachmann On30 to S). This is a nice size for building while still allowing a reasonable layout in the space many of us have. So On30 for narrow gauge, S for standard gauge.
Not true, if you really look into the matter in depth. Furlow, of course, more or less spurred the great HO NG revolution in the pages of MR in the early to mid 80’s and the reaction to it was initially far more enthusiastic then for On30, which took a while to really take off among hobbyists. In fact, the HO NG revolution can probably be considered as still rolling forward, just not in MR or RMC any more. Remember, the NG fad even generated enough interst in the subject to support a long-lived publication for that type of railroading, one that’s outlived many other RR magazines!
And then I’d also have to agree with Ricky and Lou that a lot (but certainly far from all) of the sales in On30 is generated through the Christmas Village folks, where On30 is more appropriate/space saving, than Large Scale Christmas trains. This was definitely never a factor in HO NG’s popularity.
On30 started essentially as a christmas tree/department 56 train, and in the early days it figured very heavily in the promotion. But Bachmann has been steadily moving away from that and establishing it more as a kitbasher/freelance scale, and has developed a large following among those not interested in the prototypical operation of a Class 1.
HOn3 -There was enthusiasm with Furlow in the early '80’s but that quickly whithered with what was available, expensive brass and very little track. Trying a revival, but will fail because of no turnouts.
Sn3- Had a rush in the middle to late 80’s and became too expensive.
On3 - Never had a revolution. Too expensive and until recently no turnouts
On30 - Fringe until the Bachmann Mogul. Popularity rose due to the fact it runs on HO track.
As I have always asserted On30 is Narrow Gauge for Everyone. Been to all the revolutions
It is all about turnouts. There is considerably more enthusiasm for On30 than there was ever for HOn3. Compare the available websites and forums.
Bachmann’s latest, highly expensive, 2-4-4T SR&RL Forney, to which I was referring in my original post and as illustrated in MR’s October News & Products page, is done to 1:20.3 proportions and thus is Large Scale.
Bachmann makes the Forney in both On30 and Fn3. Beautiful engines.
The biggest problems I see with HOn3 are the lack of commercial track components (although fastrack turnout kits are helping to ease that pain) and the lack quality motive power. Sure, you can pick up any number of brass HOn3 locos for less than $500, but they’re still brass. No DCC, dodgy performance, etc. Soundtraxx made an exquisite K27 with sound for well under $500, but it pretty much stands alone. MMI has done a single HOn3 piece, and it’s another K27. Yes, it’s an iconic locomotive, but HOn3 is not going to get far without some variety of motive power.
