On30 Self-Propelled Railroad Vehicles from BIG Train Store™


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Written by Paul D. Race for

On30 Self-Propelled Railroad Vehicles from BIG Train Store™

This page is a "buyers' guide" that describes Bachmann On30 products that run by themselves. All of the products on this page run on HO or On30 track, so they're good add-on's to any On30 or Hawthorne Village® railroad. They're also the right size to look good with a collectible village, such as those by Department 56® or Hawthorne Village®. Some folks use these where they don't have room for a full starter set. Other folks add these to existing railroads or display villages to add "kinetic interest."

The best example of these fitting into a tight space is the Reversing Streetcar set near the bottom of this page - it allows you to easily set up a streetcar system that goes back and forth on a fireplace mantle, shelf, or spinet piano where you couldn't fit a "regular" train set.

For "serious" model railroaders, the rail cars on this page include a built-in DCC decoder. This is a feature that allows you to control more than one train on the same track, if you also purchase the Bachmann DCC Controller.

Note about Availability and Pricing: Before Bachmann started making On30 trains, only a few handcrafted brass pieces a year were usually available for On30 hobbiests, and the market was very small. The number of people modeling any particular narrow gauge line was even smaller (unless you count Rio Grande, which has a relatively large following). To this day, Bachmann tends to make relatively small runs of most On30 products. For example, they may order one batch of an East Broad Top (EBT) set, then not make another EBT set again until they've also modeled a dozen other lines. So if you see any On30 products for a railroad you want to model, get them now - they may not be available for long, and once they become unavailable, they may remain so for years. If you "click through" to see details on a product, and nothing happens at all, or you are routed to a supplier's home page, please let me know and I will remove the product from the buyer's guide until I can find a replacement or another supplier. For more detailed information about why products seem to come and go and why I have stopped listing prices for certain products, please see my article "About Pricing and Availability."

Street Cars

Bachmann On30 Closed Street Car (United Traction). Click for bigger picture

Bachmann On30 Closed Streetcar - This is the streetcar that comes with the above set. It is also available separately; you may run it on any track that comes with On30 or HO trains, but it won't go back and forth unless you buy the automatic reversing set below. The On30 Christmas Train page offers a version in holiday colors if you prefer.

For more information or to place your order, click on a button to the right.

DCC-Equipped Rail Trucks

Rio Grande Southern Rail Truck. Click for bigger picture.

Rio Grand Southern Rail Truck - The Rio Grande Southern was an example of many narrow-gauge lines that went places almost nobody else did. But as passengers and shipments declined during the Great Depression, it became too expensive to run steam trains long some routes. So many small railroads built and rail trucks and busses such as this model, which is based on a replica of Rio Grande Southern Motor #1 that resides in Colorado’s Ridgeway Railroad Museum.

This model is DCC-equipped, which means that it is ready to work with Bachmann's DCC remote control system, but it will also run on regular DC current, such as that supplied with the On30 Starter Sets listed in this buyer's guide.

To check stock, please click on a supplier button to the right.

Unlabeled Rail Truck - This product has become a favorite of model railroaders who wanted to paint it for their own railroads. Consequently, Bachmann makes a unpainted version available. Like the Rio Grand Southern rail truck above, this product is also DCC-equipped, so it is ready to work with Bachmann's DCC remote control system, though it will also run on regular DC current, such as that supplied with the On30 Starter Sets listed in this buyer's guide.

To check stock, please click on a supplier button to the right.

Bachmann On30 Spectrum Village Street Car Set (United Traction). Automated On30Streetcar Set - Bachmann's On30 Reversing Street Car set is the perfect solution for display villages that aren't big enough for a loop of track. The weathered "car barn" hides a reversing mechanism, so your trolley can deliver passengers from one end of your village (or your fireplace mantle) to the other automatically. The Bachmann streetcars are models of real streetcars that graced US towns and villages a century ago. The On30 Christmas Train page offers a version in holiday colors if you prefer.

For more information or to place your order, click on a "check stock" button."

Note: To extend a "back-and-forth" railroad, you will need to use special track. (Regular HO track, even the EZ track that comes with other Bachmann On30 train sets, won't work, because of the extra wiring necessary to run the reversing mechanism.) For straight pieces, use Bachmann #44548 track. For curves, use Bachmann # 44549. If you have questions about this, please contact me and I'll try to help you out.

If you're looking for:

On30 Train sets with everything you need to get started, please check our "On30 Starter Sets" page.
On30 Cars to Add To Your Train, please check our On30 Railroad Cars page.
On30 Locomotives by themselves, please check our On30 Locomotives page.
On30 Trains that are painted for Christmas, please check out the Big Christmas Trains™ On30 Christmas Trains page.
On30 Trains that are limited edition collector's items, please check out the Big Christmas Trains™ Collectible Trains and Village page.

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Note: BIG Indoor Trains™, BIG Train Store™, Family Garden Trains™, Big Christmas Trains™, and Trains and Towns™ are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.

For more information, please contact me