Unlettered 0-4-0T with DCC, Sound and Vertical Cab Paneling - The Porter company made many hundreds of custom-built locomotives that were so small, many railroaders called them "teakettles."

Porter's "tank" engines had no tenders. Instead the water they needed was carried in tanks right on the locomotive. On this model, the tank wraps around the boiler, giving the locomotive a "potbelly" appearance. Without a tender, an engineer could switch cars much more efficiently, and the weight of the water over the axles gave tank engines additional traction. This helped make Porter's tank engines mighty for their size - they could fit almost anywhere, pulling heavy loads over hastily-laid track. Though the earliest Porters were build well before the turn of the century, many stayed in service until well into the 1950s. This model has vertical panelling to represent a wooden cab. It is painted a soft black color but has no road name in case you want to add your own.

Features of this model include:

• precision can motor
• metal motor bearings
• operating headlight
• completely hidden drive train
• gear drive
• separate detail parts, including die-cast water tank and boiler, bell, whistle, pop valves and handrails
• separate sanding lines and piping
• detailed cab interior with operating cab light
• diecast, finescale drivers and spokes
• magnetically operated E-Z Mate couplers, front and rear
• realistic sound
• DCC for precise control when operating multiple trains at once on the same track

To check price and availability, click on a vendor button to the right.

For a non-sound version (which is slightly older stock and somewhat cheaper), click the button to the right.

A Unlettered DCC-equipped 0-4-0T with Horizontal Panels. This is another version of the Porter 0-4-0T. Its cab represents a slightly different construction, which could represent "all-metal," however. This one has DCC, but not sound. It is slightly older stock but costs less, so that's a plus. To check price and availability, click on a vendor button to the right.

Paneled, Unlettered 0-4-2T - When a Porter might have to go beyond easy access to fuel, the Porter company recommended these 0-4-2T locomotives. The non-powered trailing wheels supported an extra-large fuel compartment. A special counterbalancing design kept most of the weight on the drivers, though. Like their little 0-4-0T brothers, these Porters could run on almost any kind of track. This model has all of the same features as the 0-4-0T described above. The cab on this version represents a wooden panel.

To check price and availability, click on a vendor button to the right.

Note: If the above porters are out of stock by the time you get to this page, click the button to the right to see the other Bachmann On30 Porters that Amazon has listed.

Two-Truck Shay - Ephraim Shay was scholar and logging company owner who solved a decades-old problem: how do you build a small, but powerful steam engine that doesn't literally pound the rails (a real problem on light, hastily-laid trackage)? The answer was to move the pistons to the side and use gear shafts to drive the wheels. This not only spread out the force of the pistons, but it "geared down" the torque, allowing a relatively small boiler to provide a great deal of pulling power. Yes, you couldn't go very fast, but it wasn't safe to go more than a few miles an hour on most industrial railroads anyway. Shays were favorites on 30" logging and mining railroads in hilly regions.

To check price and availability, click on a vendor button to the right.

To check price and availability, on the deluxe version, unmarked, with built in realistic Shay sound, click on the Amazon button to the right.

Note: If the above Shays are out of stock by the time you get to this page, click the button to the right to see the other Bachmann Shays and similar locomotives that Amazon has listed.

This model is an upgraded version of the locomotive included with most Bachmann On30 Starter Sets. Features of this model include:

• operating headlight
• completely hidden drive train
• see-through clearance under boiler
• precision, 5-pole skew wound can motor (with hardened carbon brushes)
• numerous metal detail parts
• finescale pilot
• sprung center axle for superior tracking performance and electrical pickup
• short-coupled tender with hand-tooled coal load

As of September, 2014, there are a few unlettered "bumblebee" moguls available. The "bumblebee" pattern was actually invented for a movie - the old Western lines tended to have black locomotives and rust-colored cars because they were easier to maintain and the paint was cheap. But as soon as folks saw the bumblebee pattern, tourists started expecting to see it when they went on narrow gauge rail excursions, and the railroads complied. This is unlettered in case you want to add your own railroad name.

To check stock on Amazon, click the button to the right.

Ooops, we just found another On30 mogul that was crossreferenced wrong. it's a On30 Spectrum 2-6-0, D&RGW #136, which is a very pretty locomotive in my opinion. Click on the button to the right to jump to the description.

Note: As of September, 2014, Amazon only has the three moguls above listed. If you want to see if they've added any, click the button to the right to see the Bachmann On30 Moguls that Amazon has listed on the day you check this page.

Bachmann Spectrum Climax - For industrial lines that needed maximum power with minimum stress on the rails, "geared" locomotives seemed to be the solution. This locomotive built by the Climax Locomotive Works, has diagonal cylinders that drive a flywheel attached to a gearing system. Underneath the locomotive, a system of gears transfers power to all four axles. Although this system increases the number of moving parts, it has two distinct advantages over standard locomotive drive mechanisms:

• The system "gears down" the cylinder's output, so that speed (which isn't necessary on industrial railroads anyway) is traded for tremendous pulling power.
• The locomotive no longer "pounds the rails," a problem with conventional steam locomotives that led most mainlines to upgrade their rail systems every time they got a bigger locomotive.

This model represents a 28-ton engine that was produced until 1904 and continued in scattered service into the early 1950s. Features of Bachmann's Climax models include:

• DCC ready
• 5-pole, skew-wound motor
• Prototypically accurate center gearbox distributes power
• Die-cast frame, boiler and cab
• Three cab styles (double panel wood, single panel wood or steel) depending on the prototype

To check price and availability on the Unlettered Climax, click on the button to the right.

Note: Amazon has several other Bachmann On30 Climaxes listed, but they are "onseies and twosies." So if you want to check to see if any other road names are listed, click the button to the right.

On30 14-Ton Stearns-Heisler with DCC, Black - Yet another geared locomotive solution was the Stearns-Heisler. Unlike the Climax above, the "Heisler's" pistons were perpendicular to the boiler, driving the central shaft directly.

Features of Bachmann's Stearns-Heisler models include:

• DCC ready
• 5-pole, skew-wound motor
• Prototypically accurate center gearbox distributes power
• Die-cast frame, boiler and cab

To check price and availability on the Unlettered Stearns-Heisler, click on the button to the right.

Note: Amazon has several other Bachmann On30 Stearns-Heislers listed, but they are "onseies and twosies." So if you want to check to see if any other road names are listed, click the button to the right.

On30 Spectrum 4-6-0 w/DCC & Sound, Black/Red/White - The 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler" was the "go-to locomotive" for North American freight and passenger service between 1870 and 1915 and many were still in service several decades later. Bachmann's Ten-Wheeler models have all the features of their Mogul 2-6-0 locomotives, but are a tad larger. This example is unlettered so you can add your own road name, but has DCC (control technology) and realistic sound.

To check price and availability on the On30 Spectrum 4-6-0 w/DCC & Sound, Black/Red/White , click on the button to the right.

Note: Amazon has several other Bachmann On30 Ten-Wheelers listed, but they are mostly "onseies and twosies." So if you want to check to see if any other road names are listed, click the button to the right.

On30 Spectrum 4-4-0 w/DCC, Black/Red/Graphite - The 4-4-0 was the first uniquely American wheel arrangement. In fact it was called the "American." Most locomotives before this one had drivers only, but the big-powered drivers didn't always respond well to curves. So American engineers invented the "pilot" or "pony" truck. It would only bear a little of the weight of the boiler, but it was sprung horizontally in such a way that it would steer the locomotive around curves. This was the mainstay locomotive of the Civil War era, and it was the direct ancestor of the 4-6-0 (above) as well as the 4-4-2 Atlantic and 4-6-2 Paciric that were popular passenger locomotives on standard gauge railroads right up to the end of the steam age.

This example is unlettered so you can add your own road name, but has DCC control technology.

To check price and availability on the On30 Spectrum 4-4-0 w/DCC , click on the button to the right.

Note: Amazon has a few other Bachmann On30 4-4-0s listed. Unfortunately, searching for them will bring up all kinds of wheel arrangements. Still, if you want to see what other 4-4-0s are available, click the button to the right. You'll have to sort through several different kinds of locomotives, although you may just see something you like better.

On30 Spectrum 2-4-2T Forney Locomotive with DCC and Sound - The "Forney" was developed to support small railroads that had long distances between stops. So they added a tender section built right into the frame, and put supporting wheels under it.

This example has "all the bells and whistles," literally. Some of the other Forneys on the link below this one will be a tad less expensive, but won't have all the features.

To check price and availability on the On30 Spectrum 2-4-4T Forney w/DCC and sound, click on the button to the right.

Note: As of this posting, Amazon has two other Bachmann On30 Forney locomotives listed. Clicking on the button to the right will show you those and several other Bachmann locomotives that come up for some reason. Again, most of the Bachmann On30 locomotives are "onesies and twosies," and I expect many of them to sell out long before Christmas, so if you see something you like, don't wait too long.