HOn30 Engines and Trains
HOn30 modelers now have available, ready to run, mass produced engines! BCH in the North America and German MinitrainS have done for HOn30 what Bachmann has done for On30 by offering seven engines. Many two foot and 30 inch railroads were short or industrial lines and the BCH engines fit right in.
There is a four wheel Plymouth diesel engine, a four wheel Baldwin tank steam engine and a four wheel Koppel tank steam engine. The Plymouth and the Baldwin are available converted to Micro Trains couplers. The Koppel can be easily fitted with an American style pilot and Micro Trains couplers. German MinitrainS offer an 0-4-0 with 4 wheel tender, an 0-6-0T Porter, a 0-4-4 Forney and an 2-6-2T Baldwin. German MinitrainS also offers a variety of European diesel and steam engines. All of these engines are manufactured with European hook and loop couplers. Railway Models can provide a service retrofitting the Plymouth and the Baldwin with Micro Trains couplers.
The BCH engines were last sold as MinitrainS. They were first produced by the German firm, EGGER-BAHN. EGGER-BAHN was the first company to manufacture a narrow gauge railway in HO (1:87) scale on 9mm gauge track. This combination is HOn30 for an actual gauge of 2 ½ feet (30 inches) or in Europe, HOe for an actual gauge of 750 mm. Of course, this is not the same thing as N gauge, which also runs on 9mm track but represents standard gauge of 4 feet – 8 ½ inches in 1:160 scale.
