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Bachmann Train Sets: If Bill Gates Were a Model Railway

Bachmann Industries, which produces Bachmann train sets, is the world’s largest manufacturer of model trains and railway equipment. Slowly and steadily acquiring larger and larger shares of the market, but absorbing other manufacturers that have struggled, Bachmann is, in a sense, the Microsoft of model railways. Most surprising of all is how long, relatively speaking, Bachmann has been in the train business: the first N-gauge products bearing the Bachmann name appeared in 1968, followed by the HO-gauge range in 1970. Since so, Bachmann sets can be had in almost every major scale, with the exception of the diminutive 1:220 Z scale. Your train case may say Lilliput (European, mostly German prototypes) or Graham Farish (width N British), but everything is still Bachmann. In addition to its wide range of American models from the steam and diesel eras in N, HO and O gauges, Bachmann has recently begun to fly the flag for some of the most specialized model railway niches: narrow gauge modeling .

A word or two about caliber.

The width refers to the space between the two parallel tracks on which the train runs. In the real world, by far the largest proportion of major railroad tracks are spaced precisely 4 feet 8½ inches apart. In fact, it’s so ubiquitous that this gap, 4 feet 8½ inches, is known as the standard gauge. However, some railways and some entire countries have, for various reasons, spaced the rails closer together. In southern Africa, Japan, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, and New Zealand, for example, the spacing is 3 feet 6 inches. In the US a number of charming short lines are still in operation today where the width is as little as 2ft 6″.

In the world of model railways, Bachmann, more than any other manufacturer, makes it possible to experience the unique joys of narrow gauge railways on HO, O and G tracks. Lilliput, Bachmann’s European subsidiary, manufactures a range of prototypes of 2ft 6in locomotives and rolling stock on HO gauge, while under the Bachmann brand, there is a growing range of On30 models: On30s are 1/48 scale models running on gauge 30 inches. – 30″ in the real world, that is 16.5mm wide on your model railway. Bachmann’s G scale models represent the large and rather expensive end of the hobby. They are wonderfully large metal and plastic parts, Detailed and chunky, they’re Digital Command Control (DCC) ready and, as if that’s not enough, they’ll run outside in the garden too!

Bachmann train sets really do offer a great entry point into the model railway hobby. The catalog showcases a number of engaging themed starter sets for the youngest train fanatic. The popular Thomas the Tank Engine sets are well represented in this range, but these are good quality model trains, running on exactly the same HO track as any of the more expensive prototype models made by Bachmann which are sold at a higher price. tall. The volume of production and the cleverly targeted marketing of this company mean that Bachmann is here to stay and we, the model railway builders of the world, are very lucky for that.

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