From the time of the Civil War, different gauges were often used. The most common "wide" gauge was 5 feet, but there were nearly a dozen types of "narrow" gauge in existence, which included the following:
- 12 inch gauge (1 foot)(mining and light duty industrial)
- 18 inch gauge (mining and industrial)
- 20 inch gauge (used in Copper Mining in the Southwest)
- 24 inch gauge (2 feet) (used on industrial and common carrier railroads, especially Maine)
- 30 inch gauge (used for mining purposes)
- 36 inch gauge (3 foot)(most common narrow gauge in the US)
- 42 inch gauge (often used in logging operations, used on Nova Scotia lines)
- 48 inch gauge (4 foot)(Also used in logging operations)
It seemed that 3 foot gauge was the most well suited to the Western United States, and many railroads used this gauge, including most Colorado Railroads.
2 foot gauge was quite small, but worked well on compact systems in Maine and on the steep slopes around Black Hawk and Central City in Colorado.
So then, why would anyone model in 30 inch gauge for US prototypes? Well, to put it simply, On30 allows for a lot of artistic license, kit bashing, and scratch building. You see, 30 inch gauge in O scale is the same, or nearly the same, as standard gauge in HO scale, with 'O' being 1:48 scale and 'HO' being 1:87, or nearly half the size of O scale. Thus, with some modifications, HO scale equipment can be used for On30 projects.
In the 1990's Bachmann Trains realized that they could market On30 commerically without having to make new track, or build locomotives from the ground up. Thus, the 2-6-0 mogul and the street car was introduced and sold as holiday sets for Lemax and Hawthorne Village Christmas displays. From there, the product line grew and evolved with Bachmann at one time producing over 2 dozen different locomotives and powered equipment, plus a line of freight cars, passenger cars, and accessories.
Being cheaper than the other narrow gauges, many people from 2000 to 2010 flocked to On30 for (as near as I can tell) three reasons:
- Ability to model narrow gauge without having to tear up track since most modelers use HO scale as their chosen size, the track didn't have to be re-gauged, unlike HOn3, Sn3, or On3. The only other scale that supports this ability is Large Scale, where 1:20.3 size trains run on 45mm track to represent 3 foot gauge, but 45mm also happens to be standard gauge for 1:32 and 1:29 size trains.
- Cheap, easy to modify, good looking commercial equipment. With the trash economy, Bachmann has been hesitant to produce many new models in the last few years, but the sheer volume of products available online and at train shows is immense, despite being a niche market.
- Radio Control. While RC control in HO scale is possible, it appears to be much easier in On30 due to the larger volume of the equipment. You see, part of the problem that plagues smaller size model trains is that dirty track and wheels leads to hesitating equipment. By making the locomotives battery powered, the need for wiring track is eliminated.
- Equipment is cheap, or can be scratch built easily.
- The size is larger than HO scale, allowing for better details (and easier to maintain).
- Represents narrow gauge, which ran through rougher terrain than standard gauge, plus made for interesting railroads.
- On30 has a certain character that I don't see elsewhere in the modeling community
- Being halfway between 2 and 3 foot gauge, 30 inch gauge allows me to use artistic license when modeling.
- Tight turns and small equipment but with larger buildings and bigger figurines and vehicles.
- Hasn't been done to death like HO scale (which I like, but find a little bland, lacking the same character)
- I get to model places that are often looked over and forgotten by the mainstream of the hobby.
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