# Bachmann Spectrum On30 2 bay steel hopper



## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

I just bought a pair of these On30 steel hopper cars from e bay. I didn't think that I'd win the auction because my max bid was 35 dollars, but I got them for 34 dollars, plus shipping. These are new in the box, they're undecorated oxide red. 
These are very nicely done freight cars! I don't know how close to prototype they are, I don't have any plans for cars like this to compare these cars to. These cars have nice details, with all the grabirons and stirrup steps added on. There are a few features of these cars that I found really interesting. The center frame spine of the car is a die cast part, which gives the car a decent weight. The coupler boxes are set up for the standard HO scale hight, but they also have a slot for a higher coupler mounting. I compared that coupler height to the height of the couplers on my San Juan 3 ft gauge short caboose, and they're a little higher, but a drop coupler would solve that problem nicely. The other interesting thing is that the trucks on these cars are wide enough to put On3 wheelsets on without any problems. Also, the wheelsets that come with these cars are double insulated on non-shouldered axles, so they can easily be regauged by twisting the wheels out on the axle to 3 ft gauge. I'd recommend these cars for both On30 and On3.

I might get a couple more of these, if I can find a good enough deal on them. Normally, I can't afford them.


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## Andre Anderson (Jan 3, 2008)

Amber, 

These cars are fairly accurate models of EBT cars, I think they were designed for hauling rock rather than coal, coal being lighter per cubic foot the EBT used 3 bay cars for coal.


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## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

Interesting, thanks for the info!


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

They are models of a set of four hoppers built by the EBT in 1930 to replace the aging Hancock & Calumet wood hoppers the railroad had been using. Why they only built 4 is unknown. It could be that they simply decided that the 3-bay hopper were fully capable of hauling the ganister rock, as a number of them were set aside specifically for "rock" duty, and stenciled as such. 

Later, 

K


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Amber, 

I assume you read my comments which are now defunct? If not, I'll try and reproduce them.


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## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

Yes, I read them. Too bad all the pictures you posted disappeared. They were good pictures.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Amber on 23 Apr 2012 10:18 PM 
Yes, I read them. Too bad all the pictures you posted disappeared. They were good pictures. 


The pictures are still in my "1st Class" space. (Pity the s/w isn't 1st class too.)



















































This is what the yard looks like today. There's probably 100-200 hoppers hidden in those trees.


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