One of the many delights of On30 is the almost endless parade of ‘critters’ an enthusiastic modeler can build. There’s just one problem, a short wheelbase in On30 isn’t much longer than a short wheelbase on HO, and since we use HO tracks, reliable running is an elusive goal. Fortunately, there are solutions. Years ago, I bought a Bachmann Porter and two Davenports, none of which ran particularly well because of power pickup issues. I eventually overcame the problems on all three by using a secret weapon: Bachmann’s On30 passenger car trucks. These trucks are built to pick up power on one side and illuminate the cars using two of them – not particularly reliable either, but that’s a different story. By using a small square of PC board, a length of bronze phosphorus rod and some solder, it’s easy to transform said truck into a reliable four wheel power pickup, and therein lay the solution to short wheelbase critters.
#3 — A Porter Transformed.
This one started out life as an 0-4-2, but a failed experiment lengthening its wheelbase with a Backwoods Miniatures conversion kit (let’s just say I’m no good soldering brass parts together) left with an 0-4-0, a non working, non sound decoder and nowhere to go. That’s when I discovered the magic of TCS WOW steam sound decoders with Keep Alive. But to use it, I would need a tender for my critter. So, I scratch built one large enough for the decoder, the keep alive, and a speaker. A fresh paint job, some extra details and an engineer, that Porter became one of my best sounding, best looking and most reliable switchers, one which simply doesn’t stall over turnouts or bits of dirty track.
#1 — A Davenport Steamer.
The first Davenport to receive a critter treatment turned the gas-mechanical into a steamer thanks to a Backwoods Miniatures conversion kit I could actually manage because it was made of resin. And this time around, I built a tender with a passenger truck fitted with four wheel pickup right away to house the decoder and give it some more oomph. I haven’t yet put a TCS WOW Keep Alive sound decoder in it for reasons that escape me, but it has a non-sound TCS decoder and runs decently – not as well as #3, but in part, that’s on the mechanism itself which seems to bind every so often. This rebuild left me with a Davenport shell, which is important for my third critter’s story.
#86 — A Davenport Cow & Calf
The second Davenport sat on a siding, unused for several years until the bug to have a properly working, sound-equipped engine that wasn’t steam on the layout. I have one upconverted diesel, a Bachmann S2 transformed into On30 with a Boulder Valley Models kit (sadly, the company shut down in 2016), but I couldn’t figure out how to fit a sound decoder and speaker inside its shell. So, while it looks nice and runs smoothly, it also runs silently, and with most almost all of the engines on the layout making prototypical noises, it’s the odd one out. Anyway, back to my third critter.
Using my experience gained building a pair of decoder and speaker bearing tenders, I fitted my last remaining passenger truck so it picked up power on all four wheels, then built a platform over it and, using the engine part of the Davenport shell left over from the previous conversion, I created a calf using styrene and details from my parts box. This one was fitted with a TCS WOW diesel sound decoder with Keep Alive. Yes, I know, it’s a gas-mechanical not a diesel, but since I’m running an imaginary railway in an imaginary gauge, I can pretty much do as I please.
As usual, the decoder and sound quality are top-notch. Sure, I didn’t do much to the cow except add horns and a bell, leaving it green, the way it came from the factory. Perhaps at some point, I might paint it yellow like the calf, but for now, the story is that the calf was created from a yellow-colored switcher and the shop couldn’t find any green paint on the island, which isn’t far from the truth. I have no green paint close enough to the factory shade in my inventory and can’t get my hands on any for a while. I think it looks kind of neat, actually.
Conclusion
Now here’s the kicker – the #86 Davenport cow and calf combo, along with reworked Porter #3 described above — are my most reliable movers, better than my larger (and more expensive) Bachmann Climax or Shay, let alone the road engines, my Bachman 2-8-0 and 2-6-0.
I ran both #3 and #86 at the slowest speed I dared, all the way from the logging camp on the upper level to the Robson Landing station, which encompasses most of the distance on the layout, and it took almost 30 minutes to cover a distance my Climax will do in five or six because if I run it too slow, it’ll stall.
The little critters never hesitated, stuttered, let alone stalled. I ran them back up to the logging camp with a load of cars while watching tv shows. Same thing. And back down again, still perfect, all the while burbling or chuffing along happily, bells ringing and horn or steam whistles tooting whenever I got up during ads to work the throttle. I’ve dreamed of reliable, slow-running engines with light and sound for a long time. All it took to make my dreams come true where a few Bachmann critters, some passenger car trucks, some TCS sound decoders and a little scratch building.
