# looking for a SHORT steam era passenger car...



## retirementhobby (Jul 18, 2020)

hello everyone.
I'm new to this model railroading thing. I'm doing an N scale layout in a very small space, with total width of 10 inches. My locomotive is an 0-6-0 steam engine with a coal shuttle. I am hoping to find a passenger car/dining car/ trolley... that will make the tight turns. I have no idea what to look for. The plan is to have a small excursion train for holidayers. 

any suggestions? thankyou!


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

Here, these _should_ be from the same era of your engine, but I'm not too good at stuff like that.
this, this, this, this, and/or this


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## retirementhobby (Jul 18, 2020)

wow, thank you! I've send a message to one of them, asking about wheel base length.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

retirementhobby said:


> wow, thank you! I've send a message to one of them, asking about wheel base length.


retirementhobby;

Just FYI. All of the cars suggested by Queen of the GN are civil war/wild west era wood passenger cars that would have been banned from interstate commerce by the classic "steam era" of the 1920s through the 1950s. By the 1920s nearly all passenger cars were all steel, or older wood cars sheathed in steel. Generally they were also a lot longer though, Usually 70'-85' long. which is something you don't want.
Bachmann made/makes some 60' "shorty" passenger, and baggage, cars that would fit in better, historically, with the steam era, and your locomotive. I don't know if you care about that or not though, it's your choice. Bachmann also makes trolley cars. The classic, wood "Brill" cars and the more modern metal "PCC" cars. They can handle tight curves too. 
Since you want an excursion train, that might be OK with the older wood cars that Queen Annie suggested. Excursion trains sometimes feature older equipment, like steam locomotives running today for instance. The little wood cars in Queen's links are about 36-40 feet long. The 60' steel cars, or the 40' wood cars. should handle most tight curves . What radius curves are you using? If your whole layout is only 10" wide, the curves would have to be exceptionally tight! The shorter wood cars might be a better bet then.

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## retirementhobby (Jul 18, 2020)

thanks! i'll have a look at your suggestions. 
at this point, I'm so new, I have no idea what's correct,what's appropriate or anything. you've given me food for thought. I know that a newer 78' passenger car is WAYYYYYYY to long. I need something at least half that length, with a very short wheel base. my radius is 4 nches.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

The second, third, and fourth link that QueenoftheGN provided are the length you want.....any of those would be excellent choices....


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

retirementhobby said:


> thanks! i'll have a look at your suggestions.
> at this point, I'm so new, I have no idea what's correct,what's appropriate or anything. you've given me food for thought. I know that a newer 78' passenger car is WAYYYYYYY to long. I need something at least half that length, with a very short wheel base. my radius is 4 nches.
> View attachment 554282


retirement hobby;

From your photo, I'd guess your radius is about 4-1/2" but that is still way small! I didn't know N-scale track even came in that small a radius! Have you considered Z-scale? It's about 3/4ths the size of N-scale. You might ask on our Z-scale forum about their minimum radius track. If you're sticking with N-scale, then the shorter the better, and it would need to be very short. Trolley cars used very tight curves for running in streets, and getting around the corners at intersections. You were going to ask about wheelbases. I own some of the "Old Timer cars, like the ones Queen of the GN recommended. I also have some Bachmann trolley cars both the Brill car and the PCC car, and a Bachmann 60' "shorty" passenger car. Also in my collection are a tram car and trailer set that I bought at a swap meet decades ago. I think they may have been offered by Life Like, but I'm not sure. They are very short and have a short, but rigid, 4-wheel non-swiveling truck under them, like an 0-4-0 steam loco or a "bobber" caboose. Of course I also have full-sized 85' passenger cars. I measured the wheelbases for you, from the very front wheel to the very back. The distance between the kingpins at the centers of the trucks is also shown. All dimensions are in N-scale feet.

Here they are in order of increasing wheelbase.

Car ////// Wheelbase /////// Distance between truck centers

Life Like Tram & Trailer .................... 17' ....................................Not Applicable (no swiveling trucks)

Bachmann Brill trolley ........................ 30' .............................................. 20'

Bachmann PCC trolley ........................ 35' ............................................. 25'

Bachmann civil war wood cars ...... 36' ............................................. 29'

Bachmann 60' shorty steel car ............ 50' ......................................... 38'

Iberia wood car ................................. 50' .................................... 40'

full size 85' car .................................. 74' ...................................... 62'

Traction Fan 🙂


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## retirementhobby (Jul 18, 2020)

wow! you're amazing! my engine is a tiny 0-6-0 and boogies around this track with it's shuttle quite nicely. i'll be looking into all these at a leisurly pace while I hibernate.


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## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

traction fan said:


> From your photo, I'd guess your radius is about 4-1/2" but that is still way small! I didn't know N-scale track even came in that small a radius!


I think you are really close on that radius guess. The smallest track Kato advertises on their American website now is 216mm Radius, which is about 8-1/2 inches. But I found in SCARM where they included drawings for 150 and 117 mm radius curves. I have never seen any, but the 117mm equals 4.61 inches.

I think other than the Bachmann trolleys that I would have trouble trusting anything going around those curves. I wonder if any of their Japanese trains would work on those. From what I have read, their model layouts (and prototypes) tend to be smaller than anything in the US. That would not help with that locomotive though.


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

I wouldn’t expect even their own engines to go around those radius curves, I suspect curves that sharp are for Kato’s tram/intercity line.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Annie;

I think you're right. Those are trolley type curves. Kato does make a few tiny "chibi" locomotives that would be somewhat like a Plymouth switcher, though with only four wheels instead of six. That kind of little loco (Hey, I'm a little loco too!) would be able to run on those curves. I wouldn't try to get a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, or DD-40AX around them though! 😄


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## craftech (Nov 6, 2018)

Just look for "Overton" passenger cars.









John


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

traction fan said:


> Annie;
> 
> I think you're right. Those are trolley type curves. Kato does make a few tiny "chibi" locomotives that would be somewhat like a Plymouth switcher, though with only four wheels instead of six. That kind of little loco (Hey, I'm a little loco too!) would be able to run on those curves. I wouldn't try to get a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, or DD-40AX around them though! 😄


I wouldn't even think you could get OP's engine over those curves, now I'm wondering what else can make it over them


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