Is On30 a viable alternative to the “G” Scale stuff for outside use?
cale

Only if you don’t try to run in weather. Sunshine only. I ocassionally take mine outdoors, but only when the sun is shining and then bring them in when I am done for the day. Large scale is designed to be run in weather, but On30 is not.

I don’t know of any track that is UV resistant or proof. If anyone does, I’d surely like to know.

madwolf

I would suggest checking with various British sites. They run a lot of O guage outside but I’m not sure if they have any On30 (HO size) track that’s suitable. Since Bachman is the #1 distributor in GB it would stand to reason that they might have some that’s available. You might also snoop around the Bachman website too.

Warren

Personally I wouldn’t run my On30 stuff outside, I live in England BTW. I had thought about it, but looking at the mechanisms and the real scale size of water droplets, make it a no no for me.
But I could have a real nice RR out there…just dreaming
Rod

Warren Mumpower said:
I would suggest checking with various British sites. They run a lot of O guage outside but I'm not sure if they have any On30 (HO size) track that's suitable. Since Bachman is the #1 distributor in GB it would stand to reason that they might have some that's available. You might also snoop around the Bachman website too.

Warren

Hey Squeaky, welcome back. Do you know anything about the PECO track that is modeled on On30 narrow gauge? Are the ties UV resistant?

madwolf

Steve, I know that Peco makes quality track but I’m not sure if they make it for outdoor use or not. They would be my first thought for outdoor use though. Have you checked their website? I do believe they make 45mm outdoor track.

Warren

If its any help I use some Peco G45 and SM32 track, and have had some of it outside now for nigh on 15 years. It is as sound now as it ever was.
Rod.

Gents:

I currently use PECO’s “SM32” track for my outdoor 1:20.3 construction RR. This is 32mm (0) gauge track with wide spaced ties to give the appearance of the lightly laid, temporary construction RRs from the days prior to the development of large road trucks.

The PECO rail is code 200 nickel silver and the plastic ties are as (or possibly more) UV resistant than any of the 45mm track from LGB or Aristo. The turnouts are also very high quality and appearance. I have had some outside for ~5 years with absolutely no sign of any degradation.

I would assume PECO uses the same construction materials in all their track products.

BTW, I get my PECO track from John Weigel at The Peterboro Railroad. John is very knowledgeable and really good to deal with. His email address is:

[email protected]

Happy RRing,

Jerry Bowers

For those that are interested, I got an e-mail from a modeller in England today and he said that he has used the Peco On30 track outside with no side effects. All their track can be used outside.

Warren

I’m just waiting for Battery/RC tech to get to the point I can slap 'em in an On30 tender…

You should be able to do it with lithium ion batteries, stuff the electronics in the boiler, fill the tender with the batteries.

Regards, Greg

Or vice versa…will make an interesting investigation this winter…

If you are really pressed for space, get some prismatic li-ions, you know, in rectangular shapes. You should be able to find some for cameras in the stores, and could really pack the power in a small space. That’s why I thought of the tender since it’s usually square. Round batteries waste a lot of space.

Regards, Greg

I stumbled across thiswhile wandring through the OGR site. He has a pretty extensive outdoor On30 layout.

Something like that would be far more fun constructed in 7/8 scale. My old eyes would thank me a lot for it…

Warren

Would take 4 times the space to do something like that in 7/8 scale…ASk me …I know…I do both scales already…So 55 x 4…

thanks Steve, interesting for sure…with the boys it may not be a good alternative for me right now…esp when I have 5 G scale engine and about 200’ of track that needs to be laid!

thanks again, that is really cool…

cale

Steve Featherkile said:
madwolf

My brother-in-law has had H0 Peco NS track outside in Wales since 1983. Is that long enough for ya? And yes, the sun shines there, and there are extremes of weather, even by US standards, minus 10C to plus 33C is typical.

Pretty sure ALL the PECO track is like this, regardless of scale.

Also, an article on an outdoor permanent 0n30 layout and its building was in ‘Railroad Modeller’ about three years ago, if I can lay my paws on it I’ll give you the reference.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

This isn’t On30 but I’m making plans to build a Gn15 with my G scale out here on the California desert. Peco track and switches is what I plan to go with.