Dimesions of HO to On30 converted locos

[Dan Vincent]

I'm toying with the idea of making On30 locos from some of my HO locos.

My problem is the width. When I measure my On30 Bachman 2-6-0 Bumblebee the width is 1-15/16 while most HO locos are about 1-3/8" wide.

Making the frame wider on a diesel or steamer should be no problem if you are making everything different.

But....my MDC Shay has those vertical cylinders and I really don't want to move them out.

Has anyone adopted any standards for engine width?

I also want to make a "Duck" similar to the one Shamus made.

Eyeballing a suitable-looking rig gives me a body width of 1-7/8 by 6" long by 1-5/8" high to the roof line. Here is a picture of a paper sample I made for test fitting to an Athearn SW1500 diesel chassis.

My "Tipsy-Turkey" will be loosely based on the fantastic "Waddling Duck" Shamus shared with us. The Turkey will be different with the corrugated siding applied vertically and a different truck.

Next is a trip to the model railroad store for some Evergreen "stuff."

 

[jon-monon]

I try to make my HOn30 stuff around 8 scale feet wide, if that helps. Yep, that's gunna be a challenge widening that shay! If you scratch build everyting, you can alter the width quite a bit and still look good. If you are going to buy rollin' stock, you probably want to follow the standard. I took 8 ft as an average of several NG plans, most of them On30 or On3. IMHO, if you go narrower, your track will look more like 3 ft gauge, or if you go wider, it will loook more like 2 ft gauge. I think a little wider looks great, but I can't say the same for narrower (t's really closest to 2 1/2 ft). But like I said, if you go too far off, the ready made stuff might look funny.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

An idea for the shay would be to model a Shay with cylinders that slant outward. This would give a wider appearence but keep the driveline in line.

 

[Catt]

On the Shay why not just leave the running gear as is and just add a wider cab and walkway.

As for the Turkey body I would suggest going 2"x 6 " x 2" or in 0 scale 8' x 24' x 8'.

 

[shaygetz]

Originally posted by Dan Vincent
My problem is the width. When I measure my On30 Bachman 2-6-0 Bumblebee the width is 1-15/16 while most HO locos are about 1-3/8" wide.

Before I built all my HOn30 equipment, I studied other narrow gauge dimensions. I found that 2 footers tended to be 6' to 6'6" wide while 3 footers tended toward 7' to 7'6". I settled for the upper and lower of 6'6" to 7' as my happy medium and found it works quite well with lightly modified N scale mechanisms. I don't see where you would have to modify the cylinders on your Shay at all. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on your "Tipsy-Turkey". The management of the B&MC's subsidiary, the OCRR has enjoyed the public's response to it's own "Wobblin' Woodie" 'bash http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6482&goto=nextnewest and plans to do at least one more.

 

[Dan Vincent]

Thanks for the tips guys.

The "Waddlin' Duck" that Shamus did looks about what I would think a backwoods railroad would throw together. I like to make stuff that looks like it had to be designed a certain way for simplicity and practicability. Since I've already put in a lot of time staring at pictures Shamus posted, this style will be my first try.

The "Wobblin' Woodie" by Shaygetz is another interesting direction with a complete vehicle towing a trailer..another concept worth pursuing. I have lots of time.

Here is a picture of the Shamus "Waddlin' Duck" I borrowed from another thread here just in case someone may have missed it. To me, this is a gem and a classic of On30 utility vehicles.

Shamus really nailed the type of vehicle that a stretched-budget small outfit would have cobbled together from whatever was laying about.

 

[sumpter250]

On your shay, the cylinders should remain just where they are! Remember, while you're going to O scale, it's still thirty(+) inch gauge. The running gear of your MDC shay is thirty(+) inches, only the body has to be enlarged. On the Bachmann On30 shay, there's a lot more cab and walkway outside the cylinders. Eight feet sounds like an appropriate width for equipment.
Pete

 

[Dan Vincent]

Sumpter,

You're right, all I have to do on the MDC Shay is cobble-up a taller cab and widen the walk-ways.

I have that "Shay, Titan of the Timber" book and it has many pictures of Shays. Might be able to find something close to what I want to do.

Now If I can just remember where I put that Shay for "Safe-Keeping!"