This page contains a list of Bachmann On30 cars that can be added to any On30 train set or model railroad. These are all "Spectrum" cars, which means that they include additional features not always included on cars that come with train sets. Overall this includes attention to detail and exceptional craftsmanship. At a minimum, each Spectrum car includes:
These cars are also all models of "narrow gauge" cars. Most are models of the kinds of cars used between 1880 and 1920, with largely wood construction. They represent the "heyday" of narrow gauge railroading, when hundreds of small lines went places and served communities that the big railroads couldn't afford to serve. In several cases, I've included comments about specific railroads being modeled and why those cars may be of particular interest.
The following classes of Spectrum On30 cars are described on this page. Each description includes at least one link to a reputable supplier.
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 On30 Spectrum Boxcar, Oxide Red - Boxcars were among the first cars used on railroads in America and they were among the most versatile, carrying everything from furniture to pickles to Model Ts.
This model is an example of an inside-frame wooden boxcar that was typical on most railroads between 1850 and 1920, but was gradually replaced by steel cars in the thirties and forties. The brake wheel on top (instead of on the end) is typical of narrow gauge boxcars. These cars were not nearly as tall as their standard-gauge counterparts, where the brake wheels are moved to the end to prevent them getting knocked off on tunnels or bridges.
By the way, most railroads used "red" cars because the cheapest pigment you could buy was rust. It might be called "boxcar red" or "tuscan red" (Pennsy's name for it), or a dozen other names. And they might vary in tone from one railroad to another, but they varied in tone from one "dye lot" to another even more. In other words, this car shows the most common color for all railroad cars, period, especially before WWII. It does not have a roadname because many On30 railroaders have unique names for their railroads, and this makes things easier.
  To check on price or availability, please click the Amazon button to the right.
On30 Spectrum Ventilated Boxcar, Unlettered - Sometimes boxcars moved produce or other goods that wouldn't fare so well if they were sealed tight. The ventilated boxcar was one solution. Like the boxcar above, this one is unlettered so you can add your own road name.
 To check on price or availability, please click the button to the right.
On30 Spectrum Shorty Boxcar Pair with Murphy Roof - Some boxcars were shortened so they could go around tight curves on industrial railroads. This version by Bachmann is sold in pairs. They are in very short supply, but I put a photo here so you'd know that they were made at one time and could go looking for them if you need something like this.
 Click on the button to the right to check stock.
 Note: Amazon has several other box cars that are in too short a supply to post here. To see what they have on the day you visit, or to look for other cars in case the cars above run out of stock, please click on the button to the right. Other kinds of Bachmann On30 cars will also appear on the search results page, but you might see something you like anyway.
Stock Cars
 On30 Spectrum Stock Car - Colorado and Southern - The great American southwest was one place that stock cars were especially needed. Not only did the cattle have to reach the market alive; they had to reach it in good health, because the price the drovers received depended on the appearance of the cattle.
If you run many stock cars in a train consider using a "combine" instead of a caboose - the drovers often rode the trains along with the cattle, so seating had to be provided for the drovers as well, and the combine served as as a caboose.
To check on price or availability of this model, please click a vendor button to the right.
Note: As of this posting, the only Bachmann On30 stock car showng on Amazon is the one above. I've added a search button just in case others are added later. If you want to see if any have come online since I last refreshed this page, please click on the button to the right.
Gondolas were named after the long boats used to haul goods over rivers in the days before rail travel. They could hold anything you could shovel in, as long as it didn't need to be protected from the weather. On railroads with tight curves, gondolas were often made short with high sides so they could carry a big load and still negotiate the track. On railroads with smoother curves, gondolas tended to be made longer and lower to keep down the center of gravity. That said, many railroads and industries built gondolas for special purposes, so the proportions varied widely, especially among small narrow gauge railroads, where they were more likely to be built from materials on hand.
Update for 2014 - As of September, 2014, no Amazon vendors have any Bachmann On30 gondolas of any kind in stock. I'll leave photos of three different kinds Bachmann has made on this page so you know what was available once and what you may be able to find somewhere. Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience.
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Low-Side Gondola |
High Side Gondola (rustic)
(This one was only made for a very short time, so it has been especially hard to find.) |
High Side Gondola |
If you want to try your luck on Amazon - on the off chance that they've added a gondola since I posted this page, you may click on the button to the right. But the last time I did this, I saw a lot of HO gondolas and other things that weren't what I was looking for, so be careful to read the description on anything that comes up.
 On30 Spectrum Side Dump Cars - Set of 3, Unlabeled. - This is a unique product based on a Large Scale version (for garden railroads) that won a Reader's Choice Award in Model Railroader magazine. Three matched side-dump cars are completely functional - you can fill them, then use the levers to raise the sides and dump their contents. These are based on countless cars used in quarries and mines of all sorts all over the country for over a century. If you want to add a great deal of interest in a very small space, these cars are for you. A set of these behind a Bachmann Spectrum Porter tank locomotive would tell a story all by itself.
To check on price or availability of this set, please click a vendor button to the right.
 On30 Spectrum V Dump Cars - Set of 3, Unlabeled. - When a mine or quarry had to move a very heavy load out of a very small space or over very rough trackage, they would use a string of these. Again, a set or two of these behind a Bachmann Spectrum Porter tank locomotive would give your railroad unique interest.
To check on price or availability of this set, please click a vendor button to the right.
 On30 Spectrum Tank Car - For a time, Bachmann made On30 tank cars in several lines, including "Gramps," a perennial favorite. At the moment, only two unlettered versions are widely available - an "oxide red" version shown in the photo to the right and a silver version. Again the models have very authentic construction, including the strapping holding the tank in place.
Since these are in such short supply, I'm just going to post one photo so you can get an idea of what they look like.
The link to the right will take you to an Amazon "search" screen that should show you what, if anything is still available when you check. With any luck, some new ones may "pop up."
 On30 Spectrum 2-Bay Hopper Car - Unlettered - This hopper is modeled after a real narrow-gauge steel 2-bay hopper car that was used by companies like the East Broad top.
This hopper's load is dispersed through doors on the floor instead of through the side as occurs on a gondola. Such hoppers are still used today in many sizes and shapes. The photo shows an unlettered version that was one of the last versions Bachmann made before the recession.
By the way, since "boxcar red" paint is cheap and coal is black, 90% of the hoppers you saw between 19900 and 1970 were either this color or black. The fraction now might be a little lower.
Note: Since these are in very short supply, instead of linking to a specific product, I will link to an Amazon search screen that should show you what is available when you visit this page. Click the button to the right to check price and availability.
 On30 Spectrum Staked Flat Car - Unlabeled - This staked flatcar is provided without a railroad name in case you want to put your own railroad name on it. It is also provided in the color that most railroads have preferred for most of their freight cars over the last century.
Note: At the moment, no Bachmann On30 flat cars at all are listed on Amazon. However the button to the right will take you to a search screen if you want to look for yourself. In the meantime, we left a picture online in case you wondered what they looked like and maybe wanted to try finding one somewhere else.
Cabooses
The caboose was a traveling office, a kitchen of sorts, and a good place for the train workers to keep warm on a cold evening run. 
On30 Lighted Spectrum Caboose - Midwest Quarry - This caboose is typical of the cabooses used on long freight runs, in which it was common to have someone in the cupola keeping an eye on things, especially during switching maneuvers. The caboose was a traveling office, a kitchen of sorts, and a good place for the train workers to keep warm on a cold evening run. This illuminated model features detailed handrails and authentic arch-bar trucks.
 To check on price or availability, please click the button to the right.
 On30 Lighted Spectrum Caboose - Sans Cupola - For a short time, Bachmann also made this caboose. It's a model of a real-world caboose that served a purpose as a traveling office, but did not require someone to watch extensive switching maneuvers, so there is no cupola. These were most common on industrial railroads and very short lines. I can't find it anywhere at the moment, but I'm leaving the photo up for your reference.
On30 Lighted Spectrum Drover's Caboose - Unlettered - This caboose includes a passenger compartment. In the Old West, when cattle were shipped to market live, the drovers would come along in a car like this. Sometimes train routes that didn't have enough passengers to justify a passenger train would use this kind of caboose for the few that got onboard. This illuminated model features detailed handrails and authentic arch-bar trucks.
 To check on price or availability, please click the button to the right
Note: In case the cabooses above sell out, or if you want to see what other road names are available when you visit this page, the button to the right will take you to an Amazon screen that shows the Bachmann On30 cabooses they have listed.
Bachmann's On30 passenger cars are all based on wood-framed cars (sometimes called varnish) that were popular on many railroads between 1860 and 1910. These are "open platform" cars, which means that a person going from one car to another actually had to go outside and navigate a "jump" between platforms. By 1910, "closed vestibule" cars had replaced these cars on most big Eastern lines, and by 1920, big metal cars called "heavyweights" were starting to replace "varnish," except for "excursion" or tourist trains. The heavyweights and the modern cars that replaced the wooden cars were more comfortable and far safer, but many people remember the "varnish" fondly.
Update for 2014 - Back when Bachmann was issuing several train sets a year, they used to make extra cars for "add-ons" in the same railroad names. When they stopped issuing new passenger trains after the recession, most of the On30 passenger cars eventually became unavailable as well. For the moment, we will simply be posting an example of each body type and a link to an Amazon search screen for that car in case new products have become available since we last visited this page. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact us if you have any questions about this.
 On30 Spectrum Coach - At least one coach like this one used to come in every Bachmann On30 passenger set. They are illuminated and very well detailed.
As of this writing, this unlettered olive coach is the only one what is widely available, though hopefully other road names will come back eventually.
 To check on price or availability of this model, please click a vendor button to the right.
Note: In case you want to try your own search for Bachmann On30 coaches, the button to the right will take you to the search results screen.
 On30 Spectrum Baggage Car - Baggage cars handled all sorts of shipments; in some cases this included U.S. mail, cash shipments to company outposts who needed to pay their employees, and even, on occasion, chickens in crates. The baggage car also occasionally served as the "office" for the conductor, much as the caboose did on freight trains. Baggage handlers and conductors preferred a dedicated baggage car to the combines which were sometimes used. Hoboes liked them too. The baggage car usually followed the locomotive tender and nobody came in or out the front door (if there even was a door), so they could ride on the front of the car in relative comfort and safety.
To check on price or availability of the model shown above, please click the button to the right.
Note: In case other baggage cars have been listed since the last time I visited this page, the button to the right will take you to a search results screen on Amazon.
 On30 Spectrum Combination Car - A "combine" is half passenger car, half baggage car. These gave the railroads who used them flexibility. Most often they were used on routes that had little passenger traffic. They might be the only passenger car on a train that otherwise carried freight; one example would be a train with a lot of cattle cars and a handful of drovers who were riding along. Or a combine might be added to a short passenger train when a little extra capacity was needed.
Note: Unfortunately most vendors (including Amazon) are completely out of these cars in any road name. We will leave the picture up for your reference.
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On30 Railroad Cars from BIG Train StoreTM
