02-09-2012, 01:07 PM
[quote="pgandw"
I can't speak for N; I model 1900 and earlier in HO and HOn3. In HO standard gauge, there are plenty of 19th Century accurate and generic resin or wood car kits available from Alkem, BTS, Amesville, Silvercrash, Art Griffin, Bitter Creek, Labelle, Ye Olde Huff-n-Puff, Trout Creek, etc. In plastic, Roundhouse Old Time new RTR and old stock kits can be back-dated. Bachmann, Mantua, Model Power, and IHC train set cars can be easily modified for a more presentable appearance - replace trucks, couplers, grab irons, stirrups, brake wheels, truss rods with items closer to scale. Weather the paint a little, and there you are.
just my experiences
Fred W[/quote]
The assumption is that everything from 1850 to perhaps 1920 or so was narrow gauge, which is frustrating because Nn3 is a very limited market.
Historically, it is impossible to understand, because the major railroads were using standard gauge everywhere except in the mountains, and often standard-gauged their mountain routes to make them more profitable. When the gold fields surrounding Cripple Creek opened up, the first railroad was narrow gauge, but two competing standard gauge lines immediately entered the competition and eventually drove the F&CCRR out of business.
Yet despite the overwhelming history, only larger scale narrow gauge rolling stock is available except for the Bachmann starter sets I mentioned. But don't talk to the LHS's about it, or the manufacturers either. They just mumble incoherently and wander off to polish up their larger scale merchandise.
Sure, I can scratch build, but I'm already going to have to scratch build a major portion of my layout structures and quite a few pieces of rolling stock as well, so I don't relish the extra burden on my time in the absence of any sort of coherent reply from the market.
I can't speak for N; I model 1900 and earlier in HO and HOn3. In HO standard gauge, there are plenty of 19th Century accurate and generic resin or wood car kits available from Alkem, BTS, Amesville, Silvercrash, Art Griffin, Bitter Creek, Labelle, Ye Olde Huff-n-Puff, Trout Creek, etc. In plastic, Roundhouse Old Time new RTR and old stock kits can be back-dated. Bachmann, Mantua, Model Power, and IHC train set cars can be easily modified for a more presentable appearance - replace trucks, couplers, grab irons, stirrups, brake wheels, truss rods with items closer to scale. Weather the paint a little, and there you are.
just my experiences
Fred W[/quote]
The assumption is that everything from 1850 to perhaps 1920 or so was narrow gauge, which is frustrating because Nn3 is a very limited market.
Historically, it is impossible to understand, because the major railroads were using standard gauge everywhere except in the mountains, and often standard-gauged their mountain routes to make them more profitable. When the gold fields surrounding Cripple Creek opened up, the first railroad was narrow gauge, but two competing standard gauge lines immediately entered the competition and eventually drove the F&CCRR out of business.
Yet despite the overwhelming history, only larger scale narrow gauge rolling stock is available except for the Bachmann starter sets I mentioned. But don't talk to the LHS's about it, or the manufacturers either. They just mumble incoherently and wander off to polish up their larger scale merchandise.
Sure, I can scratch build, but I'm already going to have to scratch build a major portion of my layout structures and quite a few pieces of rolling stock as well, so I don't relish the extra burden on my time in the absence of any sort of coherent reply from the market.