etired on30
 

I am retired and have dedeided to try take up 0n30 after looking at all the other gauges.I have no kit building skills so I bought a Spectrum Gas Mechanical Loco off of the shelf.I only have experience of 00 in past so looking forward to this scale as I think the others I have looked at are to small (Not LGB which is to big ).........I wondered if someone can suggest correct Driver size (off shelf if possible) to fit loco.If not then a figure I can build.......Thankyou in advance.

Welcome to the Forum John.

Do remember John that American O gauge is a different scale to British: American scale is 1/4 inch to the foot, about 6mm to the foot. I have a small collection of 0n30 Bachmann Stock and ideas for a small layout eventually. I am away from home at present but when I get back after the weekend I will post some links you might find useful.

Best wishes,

John H-T

Thankyou very much. I though O gauge was same. Look forward to hearing from you ....John

OK thanks ..........I looked on web and it looks like for oo30n scale to be accurate 6 ft Driver would need to be 1 1/2 ins tall.The Scale is 1:48 or quarter ins to the foot.Still looking for one.......John

Welcome from me too John and hope you enjoy our company on this forum.
Lots of nice people on here.
All the best
Phil

Hello John and welcome to the Railway Forum.

Thanks since receiving replies I have got paper and pen and calculator out to try to get head around USA and UK O Guage diferrences........This is what I have worked out ...In USA they work to a nice round and tidy 1/4 Scale....but here in Europe we have O Guage at 1/3.58 scale (crazy ??)...In USA 1 ft represents 4ft......In Europe 1 ft represents 3.58 ft.

Having bought the Bachmann Gas Mech On30 I would like to buy some On30 track.Ive looked on web but cant see anywhere.I wondered if someone could help me please...........I dont require much....Im trying to get look right....would the same affect be to buy ho track and remove sleepers ???Do have any members have Youtube postings so I can get ideas ???

Hi John,

Peco do suitable track. I will use it when I get round to my layout.

Here are some links for you:

Supplier: EDM Models: www.ngtrains.com

Publication: 0n30 Annual (from EDM Models)

Slim Gauge Circle: http://www.slimgaugecircle.com/

7mm Narrow Gauge Association: http://www.7mmnga.org.uk/ Excellent 0n30 handbook.

Hope these links are useful.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Thankyou for spending time to answer my question.....I have ordered Peco narrow gauge on30 track......Do you know best scale figures for driver .? is 00 to small as with my gas mechanical the height of the cab is 32mm and as 00 is 4mm 6ft man would be 24mm.I cant see anywhere on web where there is a set of train crew figures available

Try EDM Models as they import from the USA.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

You may have to get figures from the USA. Try these:

http://www.locopainter.com/store/category.php?id=38

http://www.caboosehobbies.com/catalo...?cPath=240_245

Best wishes,

John H-T

Thanks all once again ....I have just purchased a Bachmann 4 4 0 0n30 loco and looked on youtube and saw one working on a static display ie wheels turning going nowhere .Could someone tell me please where I can get these rail riders (If thats what there called ) from as I have no layout just a Diorama.......Sorry to keep picking your brains.Also on how many wheels do I put them ??But it looks like a good way of seeing locos in action

I have bought a couple of ON30 locos and Peco on30 track....I see that locos are quite small compared with 0 gauge .Now I know that UK Scale is slightly different from US gauge .But it is pretty close ....But when you see a scale figure in O gauge it seems out of place with 0N30 ......Also the locos seem midway between HO and O Gauge........Is it me or is it just a missconception of scale on my part.

Basically American 0 gauge scale is slightly different to British. You have already worked that out. It is confusing and takes a bit of working out.

Basically you need figures made to the American Scale. A good selection will be found on the sites I found for you. It may be worth talking to the guy at EDM. He is a nice guy and very enthusiastic. Look at the web site to see where the shows he is attending are, or phone him up.

The piece of equipment you describe is a rolling road. I have the Hornby one which is quite adequate, but other people on the Forum may have other ideas.

Do remember that 0n30 runs on 00 gauge track so you could get an oval of Hornby track and a point or two. I would get 3rd or 4th Radius curves.Then you will be able to try out your locos. By the way are you using DC or DCC for control. Are the two locos you have bought DCC fitted?

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Two are dcc fitted one is dc.....I understand the DCC one will run with DC controller

Two are dcc fitted one is dc.....I understand the DCC one will run with DC controller
I have bought a Bachmann 2 6 0 ..dc only for £50 on ebay..some photos to date

Thanks for the photos.

You may want to consider DCC. The DC locos should not be difficult to convert even if they are not DCC ready. Depends on how confident you are with a soldering iron or you can get them done for you. DCC is much more flexible even on a small layout.

Here are some photos of my 0n30 Collection. I have got a wooden body kit for the Gas Mechanical.

There is one photo with a 00 loco and train for comparison.

Best wishes,

John H-T

Nice set of locos.......I dont really have a layout (I dont have room) I have a 36ins lenght of peco 0n30 track .What I want is to run thes locos on rail risers to see them move without going anywhere but dont know what is required or how many to achieve this.DCC is nice but as I dont have a need at this point as I understand DCC locos are backward compatible with no modifications.As far as dc loco is concerned I dont want to fiddle with model as as sure as eggs is eggs I will break something.It might be something I will try in future but at moment just happy to see them on display...Any advice on rail risers would be welcome....Thankyou

Have a look at My Thread on "My Modular layout" in the Railway Modelling Section. Might give you some ideas. I will bring it up to date in the next day or two.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

I have a Rolling Road from DCC Concepts Australia ([email protected]) which allows me to to run EM, P4, 00 / HO On30, HOn3-1/2, HOm and 9mm/n gauge. it can be used with DCC or DC. I bought mine from Modelmania of Bristol but you can also get one from [email protected].

Thankyou.....Another silly question I have just bought a Bachmann 0n30 4 4 0
loco and it says to connect the tender to the loco via two brown connectors I have to remove firebox cover ..I see message under loco saying remove firebox cover..how do I do that and once removed does it stay removed ?.I dont want to start unscrewing things unnecessraly.I also have accesories like wood tender swap instead of coal and a spare bogie.....I have no idea what bogie is for as I have diagram but no explanation on how to swap...or what all these parts are for .....Help please .Various bits of square plastic as well.
Is conversion to wood easy as it looks good.

I have found using these double sided squares very good at holding track in place attached between sleepers .I only have a 76 ins end to end setup but I think it looks quite good without need for pins.....Easy to pull up track and relocate with no hassle.

Bachmann 0n30
 

Adding to it all the time

You are build up a nice collection. Thanks for sharing.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Firebox on 0n30
 

Bit the bullett and found way to take firebox off and fit connectors .And yes loco takes its power through them.If anybody has similar problem.Firebox lifts off with a bit of pushing and lifting ......no unscrewing.

Bought Caboose but didnt like red so had a go at repainting it.......Not perfect but I am happy with results

Caboose then and now

Caboose looks fine.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Welcome aboard, John.