Bachmann vs San Juan Car Company

All the rolling stock I have are from Bachmann which labels their On30 line as Spectrum. I have collected each piece of Rio Grande rolling stock that they sell. My collection did not feel incomplete though, because I knew that San Jaun Car Company sold a great Rio Grande stock car. The San Juan cars are the best On30 rolling stock you can buy, and you know it because of how much they cost. I have always admired their stock car. A local hobby store actual had one on sale so I got one.

San Juan Rio Grande Stock Car

I was so excited....until I got home. I learned a lot about coupler height and On30 standards that day. The problem was that Bachmann for some reason decided to build their On30 cars with HO coupler height. See pictures below.

A HO Box Car aligns perfectly with larger On30 box cars


Close up view of the matching couplers

So if you ever get the urge to run you HO cars with your On30 cars you are set. Otherwise it is kind of pointless, and frustrating if you want to purchase On30 cars outside of Bachmann. The San Juan cars are high quality and therefore are also to scale....even the couplers. The San Juan car did not match up with my bachmann cars. It looked so good, I didn't want to give it up.

My options were to buy a couple of converter kits for the Bachmann cars and run the San Juan car in the same place (boring). Or take it back and try to build my own. I deiced to take it back. I was able to get three new Bachmann cars for the price of the San Juan car.

I started off with a Bachmann unlettered stock car and airbrushed it "Engine Black".

Bachmann unlettered stock car

In the mean time I ordered some decals from San Juan Decals (Actual a different company than San Juan Car Company, but shares a web site to save money...that's what they told me). These are actually the same decals that go on the San Juan cars. They are high quality decals, and to throw in some authenticity they are based in Durango, Co.

http://www.sanjuancarco.com/sanjuandecals/index.html

To fit the large "Rio Grande" logo I need to add some more thin plastic to accommodate the size of the logo and add another piece for the number board. I added another coat of paint to cover the added plastic and let it dry. I let it dry for about a week and then started with the decals.

Working on the decals

Two down, lots to go

Putting on the decals was pretty easy. If you follow the instructions they will turn out great. When I was younger I built a model car with all kinds of decals and eventually they peeled off. I didn't want that to happed so I used "decal setting solution", the instructions actually tell you to use it, and it works wonders for "gluing" the decal down.

Once the decals had a chance to dry I applied a clear flat finish to make sure those decals were not going anywhere. The finish also helps blend in the decals to the model and makes it look nice.

Finished Product


Fits right in place, coupler height and all

I know it is not true prototype, but it will do.


Rio Grande

It was really fun to make this stock car. I thought about doing another one, or even making them and selling them to those who own all Bachmann, and want a stock car. It is my favorite piece of rolling stock that I have. I chose to number the car 5747 for a special reason, which I will get to in a later post.

Next on my wish list is a Rio Grande Long Caboose.

Rio Grande Memories

I found a great web site. www.narrowgaugememories.com. Every Rio Grande scene you can think of is presented here. John West has been taking pictures for a long time on the Rio Grande. I have added a few from his collection. The great thing is his copyright notice: "For the record: Copyright 2007, 2008 John B. West, all rights reserved. However I encourage your reproduction of the photographs for personal use, and photographs may be used in the electronic or print media so long as credit is given to the photographer." Thanks for sharing John.

Five engines in numeric order.

Alamosa roundhouse

#490 used for spare parts.

The future meets yesterday.

On30 #138

Here is my other On30 engine. It is a Bachmann 2-6-0 that is numbered 138. As far as I can tell it is not a prototype, but I am still looking. The closes thing that it matches is a early D&RGW T-12 4-6-0.This engine is actual part of a set that Bachmann sells for around $200. I did not buy the set but pieces of the set off ebay. I was more interested in the passenger cars that came with the set, but after biding and winning those, I was in the "zone" and started bidding on the engine. The engine is not very powerful but it is fast. It can pull about five cars without any trouble, but any more than that and you will see it start to struggle. It has a working headlight and is ready to run out of the box. The Bumble Bee paint scheme is classic and looks great pulling the passenger cars. This is a great addition to the D&RGW model railroad and will see its share of action.

#138 Bumble Bee Paint

Much smaller compared to the K-28

Denver & Rio Grande Western

Ready for some main line work

2-6-0

#473

This is a Mountain Model Import (MMI) On30 Rio Grande K-28 road number 473. These models are a combination of brass and die-cast, which makes them very affordable compared to an all brass engine. Here are some pictures of my K-28.

"The Sports Model"

Was suppose to come with snow plow originally, but because of problems from the manufacturer the snow plows were not shipped with the engine. I emailed Precision Scale Co. about the snow plow and they sent me one free of charge.

I added the coal which I bought from Caboose Hobbies in Denver, CO. Glued the coal down with a 50/50 mixture of Elmer's Glue and water.

The engine does not come with a coupler. Because all my rolling stock is Bachmann I had to match their coupler height, which is actually HO height. (We'll talk more about that later)

Great detail


Great Detail

Narrow Gauge Dreaming

Me: I had a cool dream last night.

Wife: Yeah? What about?

Me: I dreamed that I was riding the narrow gauge into Telluride Colorado and there where all kinds of trains. #473 was there, but there were no air pumps on the front. It looked weird. Like when somebody shaves their mustache.

Wife: Your a nerd.

My Layout

Having my own layout didn't even cross my mind until early 2007. I went to a Model Railroad Show put on by Hoslters (Local club). That is when I saw it...a On30 K-28 #473. It was amazing. I grew up riding the trains in Durango and Chama and remember thinking that I would like to have a model that looked just like those trains. When ever I would go to a hobby store I would look for the any sort of a Mikado, but no luck. I was always disappointed when I would see train sets that would say, "Durango and Silverton set" and the locomotive was far from a true Mikado. In fact Durango's Gift shop sells a HO set that is a good example of what I'm talking about.

http://www.durangotrain.com/store/ModelTrains.htm

http://www.durangotrain.com/store/ModelTrains.htm

So when I saw my first real Mikado model I was so excited. I had earned some extra money doing some videography work and kept thinking about that Model Mountain Import K-28. When I bought it did not even have a layout yet, all I had was a piece of flex track that I could run it on. Our house has a mother in-law apartment so my wife agreed to let me build my layout in the kitchen.

Basic plans I drew

Before Construction


Before


Before


First Bench work piece

Bench work

Because space was limited and the required 26 inch radius needed for the K-28 I needed to build a duck-under.

Bench work

Always wear masks and goggles when cutting plywood!


Getting closer


I bought a bunch of flex track off eBay.


Track

When I first laid the track I thought I could get away with having a smaller radius for the curves...but I was wrong. When I ran the first test the locomotive would get stuck trying to go around the curves. So I tore it up and started again, but this time I made a cardboard template that was a little over 26 inches. The template worked like a charm and the locomotive had free reign of the layout.

Welcome

I really enjoy the Rio Grande and model trains. I model the Rio Grande in On30. (Narrow Gauge for O scale that runs on HO track) My wife teases me because I am only 27 and am already into trains and model railroading. I admit there is a stereotype that model trains is for the "older generation". I read an interesting bit of information today:

Back in 1999/2000 Classic Toy Trains, conducted a survey and according to their survey the “typical” toy train hobbyist is:

*A 52-year-old married man with children. He enjoys toy trains in his childhood and became involved with them again about 20 years ago. He shares his interest with at least one relative or friend.

*He is enthusiastic about the hobby. He reads related books and magazines and may even use his computer to help him enjoy it. His interest has not diminished in the past year; in fact, it may have grown.

*His major focus is on the Lionel O gauge trains manufactured between 1945 and the present. He considers himself to be both a collector and an operator of those trains.

*His home layout contains approximately 213 square feet and is either of traditional design or combines traditional and hi-rail elements.

*His anual income is approximately $73,500, and he spends about $1,500 on toy trains and realted merchandise.

From http://modeltraindepot.net/blog/?p=11

I see myself as a "Model Railroad Outsider" because I do not match the demographics of your typical model railroad enthusiast. I have been to a couple of local model railroad clubs and am by far the youngest by about 30 years. Anyway I will use this blog to show my layout and other various train pictures. I am always interested in web sites that are about the Rio Grande or model railroading so let me know of your favorites. Here is an old video of my layout.