Downsizing a bachmann coach

[lownote]

 Or is it upsizing? BAchmann coaches are in some kind of funny scale known only to Bachmann. You can fit two 1:32  figures on the benches, easily, but the windows are sized for something much more like 1:20. Since our railway is modeled 20th century standard gage in 1:29, the Bachmann coaches were just too tall and too short. By 1900, just before steel heavyweights, wooden passenger cars were seventy or more feet long, and these cars were still running into the 1920s

 

So I cut one row of small windows out and  added four windows in length.

 

With paint and lettering it's not too bad

 

 especially if the picture is blurry

 

 

 It's a relatively easy bash if you are willing to overlook the fact that the windows are too high and too big. But much better than the stock coaches for our purposes

 

[ttrigg]

Like the old saying "if it don’t fit, get a bigger hammer." Nice bash job, thanks for sharing.

[dwbeckett]

Very nice strech, Did you lower it too?

Dave

[PJM20]

Looks good! - Peter

[lownote]

 Yes, lowered and stretched. I cut out the second row of small windows to bring the roof down to prototypical 1:29 height. The width was reasonable already

[Mt Beenak]

I like your work, but I am confused. 45 mm gauge at 1:29 scale works out to be about 4 foot 2 (or 50 inches). At 45 mm standard gauge of 56.5 inches would be 1:32 scale. Bachmann built their coaches to represent narrow gauge coaches, not standard gauge, at around 1:20.3 scale . So what 'prototypical' railroad was 50 inch gauge?

[lownote]

 

None, that I know of. You know as well as I do that 1:29 is a *** scale and not accurate to any prototype. I just wanted to make them play more nicely with 1:29 rolling stock, and look more like late 19th century standard gage wooden cars.

I don't think the Bachmann coaches are in 1:20: I would guess they are somewhere towards 1:22/1:24

[Mt Beenak]

Agreed. Having got that off my chest...you do good work. Who said you cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear !

[JohnReid]

 Hi! does that mean that the large scale passenger kits are close to 1/24? This is all very confusing ! Thanks ,cheers John.

[PJM20]

Large scale in kind a like saying G scale, it is a generic term. Only way to find out your scale is to either to lots of mathmatical equations or look at the manufacturer, they usually tell you the scale or just tell us the manufacturer and we will tell you. - Peter

[JohnReid]

 Thanks Peter ! the passenger coach that I am building is Bacmann's big hauler rolling stock kit.It is the LS Jackson Sharp line item #89491 Thank you ! John.

[PJM20]

Bachmann big haulers are 1:22.5? and the spectrum line is 1:20.3. - Peter

[JohnReid]

Wow ! I am glad to hear that 1:22.5 is close enough to 1/24 for my purposes ! Thank you!