I was wanting to put up a temporary train for the holidays. Instead of the typical holiday train, I want to put up a Civil War train. I usually mess with N scale diesels but I want this to be HO with sound. I was wondering who makes the best Civil War era engines. I'm guessing most if not all were 4-4-0s. There are no specifics yet besides it being a temporary Civil War layout, so any suggestions are appreciated. Probably will be L-shaped layout with simple track plan for the space I have. Plus I'd like to have it running by Christmas. It will be small and I guess it will have to be sectional to take down every year. Maybe I should number out a few questions. 1. Who makes the best HO 4-4-0 with sound. DCC if possible. 2. Who makes the best civil war era rolling stock preferably flat cars. 3. What is the smallest radius I can use with a 4-4-0. ( I don't want to take up a lot of space) 4. Most Civil War miniatures come in "mm" size (ex. 54mm). What size would go with HO? It will be a winter scene (no snow) set in the South. To make it "Christmasy" I'll probably put a cut down Christmas tree on one of the flat cars like the soldiers are transporting it to winter quarters. As for anything else I am up for suggestions. Thanks!
Well, Bachmann makes a 4-4-0 with DCC and sound. A really nice one at that! http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=3525 wee bit pricey though. Bachmann also makes an entire line of civil war era cars. In fact they make entire sets. http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=3668 You can also buy trucks to scratch build your own cars as they were very simple back then. With a 4-4-0 it all depends on who makes it. In HO you probably could get away with 15-18" radius curves with the shorter equipment. I'm not sure about exact scales but 28mm seems to be close to HO. Being if a person is 28mm tall, that equates to 7.3 feet in HO. A little too tall but close.
Coachc - As to your first two preferences - sound and DCC - nothing is available in the way of an affordable HO 4-4-0 civil war era locomotive. The sound equipped, DCC Bachmann engine cited by Geep_fan replicates an engine of much later (about two generations later) vintage than the civil war era. Bachmann's standard DC operated civil war train set is probably your best bet, although with the 150th anniversary of war currently being observed there are several other limited sources. Incidentally, the Bachmann set can be purchased through Amazon and perhaps elsewhere for much less than the list price. The Bradford Exchange also currently offers some unique items, at a somewhat excessive prices, which can be found here http://www.bradfordexchange.com/cat...s&utm_term=civil war ho trains|Broad|Category Although probably beyond your current area of interest, several small manufacturers offer rollingstock kits to build various civil war era cars. If run at a modest speed, I see no reason the Bachmann 4-4-0 shouldn't do well utilizing 18" radius track. You might even try 15" with that small a wheelbase and get away with it. I make no claim to being any authority on die cast military figures, but I believe that 20mm figures are correct for HO trains. The Bachmann set does come with a small number of appropriate civil war soldiers, cannon and horses. There are some great HO civil war era model railroad enthusiasts, so you might wish to Google that and see what may come up. NYW&B
You want the BEST. Just no sound but maybe you can do that yourself. Only 75 will be made. http://www.precisionscaleco.com/ Rich
Civil War train Precision Scale will have a brass one in November in case The Powers To Be pull the link I provided. Mantua sells a General 4-4-0 that could pass for one. Not much detail though. The drive shaft between the loco and tender spoils the effect. I have some tender drive 4-4-0's. Locos for 1860's are quite rare except for the Mantua General or those some have kit bashed. Yahoo has a old time HO Group. Rich
