I am beginning some interior detail work on a few of the Bachmann Big Hauler Jackson Sharp Coaches. I’d like to get rid of the stock plastic bench looking seats and go for more of a realistic look. I’ve looked at Ozark Miniatures and Grandt Line. Grandt Line has exactly what I want except theirs is On30…too small. Do any of you have any suggestions of where to look??

Thanks,

Richard

Richard,

First, I think your coach is 1:22.5 scale, though it is a squished/shortened model.

There are several sources for wooden seats. Iron Horse Engraving make a couple of 1:20.3 coach kits, and John could probably be persuaded to cut the seats a tad smaller for you. His email is [email protected].

Similarly, the Lasergang in Germany make the Carter Bros kits and supply the seats separately. Harald speaks english and is very easy to work with. He might be able to supply 1:22.5 (or 1:24) scale seats for you in either plastic or wood.

His email is [email protected],

Richard it’s true that the Bachmann Jackson Sharp coach and combine are Gauge 1, 1:22.5. Hope that helps you in sizing modifications.

Richard,

This is from Wikipedia. 1:22.5 scale is not Gauge 1 (1:32 scale).

“Although vintage 1 gauge trains use the same track standard as modern G scale, scale modeling was not a primary design consideration in 1 gauge’s heyday, so the actual size and scale of the locomotives and cars varied. Generally, 1 gauge equipment works out to approximately 1:32 scale (roughly 10mm = 1 foot). G scale at 1:22.5 means the 1 gauge track represents 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge track. Such railways are to be found in, among other places, Switzerland, the inspiration source for many commercial G gauge models.”

WIth a solid seat / back these might work… http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-pcs-G-scale-1-24-Park-Benches-4-platform-Mixed-Color-/260772417928?epid=1831844126&hash=item3cb73f5188:m:mTihnw6QDmyjsyT56V1v_fg

Thanks everyone for the reminder on gauge. I also checked out the two links Pete posted…regarding the source for coach seats to replace the ones in the Bachmann cars. I did have a little trouble with the German (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif). But both seem to be what I’m looking for…

I just thought today about a guy near me that does all of our laser engraving for Cub Scout plaques we order each year. He does laser cutting as well. So I’ll be checking with him to see what he is capable of. He does beautiful work on the plaques we order and has even branched out to doing other gifty type things such as wooden pen and pencil sets.

Richard

Thanks Boomer!! Those are an awesome find!!

Richard

Check your big box stores for Lemax products as they make some very nice benches that will work with those cars.

I read Joe’s reply and I’m still confused about scale and gauge. Track for both “1” and “G” is 45mm? Is this correct:

1:22.5 Ga: 3 Standard 4’81⁄4" Ga.

1 3’ narrow 3’31⁄3" Ga. I THINK the Bachmann coaches are supposed to be narrow guage.

0 2’ narrow 2’41⁄8"

Jim Overby said:

I read Joe’s reply and I’m still confused about scale and gauge. Track for both “1” and “G” is 45mm? Is this correct:

1:22.5 Ga: 3 Standard 4’81⁄4" Ga.

1 3’ narrow 3’31⁄3" Ga. I THINK the Bachmann coaches are supposed to be narrow guage.

0 2’ narrow 2’41⁄8"

Jim, you really don’t want to go there . . . (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)

The original “gauge 1” spec included an implicit scale (1/32nd). Nowadays we have so many scales on gauge 1 track that you must specify the scale first and the gauge. You did a good job on the 1:22.5 stuff, though we often fudge these and call O gauge a model of 2’ (Gn2 in convemtional/NMRA parlance.)

Yes the Bachmann coaches are narrow gauge, but they are significantly compressed even for 1:22.5 and the track prototype is nearer 39" gauge. We purists (rivet counters) use 45mm gauge as 3’ using F scale, 1:20.3.

Jim Overby said:

I read Joe’s reply and I’m still confused about scale and gauge. Track for both “1” and “G” is 45mm? Is this correct:

1:22.5 Ga: 3 Standard 4’81⁄4" Ga.

1 3’ narrow 3’31⁄3" Ga. I THINK the Bachmann coaches are supposed to be narrow guage.

0 2’ narrow 2’41⁄8"

OK, but it’s going to be a tad math intensive, and please excuse me if I sound a bit pedantic.

(Well, not only that, but it hardly makes a lot of sense…)

First, scale and gauge are not necessarily tied together. Gauge is typically measured as a distance between the rails. Scale is the ratio (or whatever) of a model to the real thing.

For #1 gauge, there’s 45mm between the rails; to keep it imperial, that’s 1.771654 inches.

A scale model is most generally a physical representation of an object, which maintains accurate relationships between all important aspects of the model and we usually represent scale as a fraction or a ratio…such as 1:22.5.

What this means is that the model is 1/22.5 size of the real object being modeled.

Let’s start with Standard Gauge. That’s 4’ 8 and 1/2" inches, or 56 1/2". If we want to model standard gauge, we take our distance between the rails (1.77") and divide it into the REAL life distance - 56 1/2". That is 56.5/1.771654 = 31.89.

What does THIS mean. It means every foot/inch/yard/whatever of our model represents 31.89 feet/inches/yards/whatevers in real life. Or, to look at it another way, our model is 1/31.89 the size of the original. Let’s round that up and just call it 1/32. So, of course, we typically use 1:29 for standard gauge…

How about 3’ narrow gauge?

Same sort of math. 3’ is 36". So, 36/1.771654 = 20.319994762 (approximately (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)). That’s commonly represented as a ratio of 1:20.32. Of, if you can’t see that well, like me, you just settle for 1:20.

Let’s do the same thing with 2’ gauge. 24/1.771654=13.546631746. Or, rounded up, that’s 1:13.5 scale? Wait, what??? Never heard of that one, you say? They call it 7/8 scale. What this means is that 7/8" equals 1 scale foot. Huh? OK, let’s go through our math one more time. 12" divided by 7/8" is equal to 13.7. Hey, pretty close to that 13.5 business, eh? I have NO idea why they used it.

But, what about the “original” scale of 1:22.5??? How did they come up with THAT?

Europeans (and most of the world) use the metric system. Our narrow gauge is a yard (3 ft) between the rails; theirs is a meter between the rails. A meter = 39.37008". So, back to the math… 39.37008/1.771654 = 22.2223928112. Well, I don’t know HOW you round that and get 22.5, but then again, I am not LGB…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif) (Or, maybe that’s why folks claim that LGB uses a rubber ruler?)

TL;DR: Whatever, who understands math anyway? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Ack!

Ninja’d by Pete!!!

(And I went there…)

But, he’s right. The LGB and Bachmann coaches are a bit compressed. Here’s a shot of one of them on top of the floor of my 1:20 observation car.

LOL…Now back to the original question about coach seats for a Bachmann Jaskson Sharp coach in 1.22.5!!

Richard,

At least 15 years ago I kit bashed a Bachmann combine into a steamcoach. I built up a number of seats using the plastic seat end parts shown below and some balsa wood for the seats and backs. I don’t remember where I got them. They could have been from Grandt Line but not sure. They were supposed to be 1:24 and they were perfect for the Bachmann.

(http://largescalecentral.com/FileSharing/user_2849/My%20Trains/Seat%20part.JPG)

Here is a photo of the finished product.

(http://largescalecentral.com/FileSharing/user_2849/My%20Trains/Car%20seat-2a.JPG)

If you would like me to send you a pair to model from, let me know.

Doc Watson

Greetings Don,

Wow!! Those turned out beautiful and are exactly what I’ve had in mind. I would like to take you up on your offer of sending a pair…let me know how much and I’ll get it to you.

Thanks a bunch!

Richard

While no where near as nice as Don’s scratch & kit bashed seats; I simply painted the floors and the seats in my coach plus the divider in my combine, then added some Aristo figures and some details. This was my first “car upgrade” when I was juts getting started. I don’t think there are any pictures when apart.

Richard,

Email me your address and I’ll mail them to you no charge. I’m going out of town for a few days and I’ll get out to you when I return.

I thought there might be some other modelers out there who might remember these items.

BTW, why do my pictures end up cockeyed when they get posted?

Doc

Hi Don,

I sent the message a little while back so let me know if you don’t receive it. Thanks again for the help.

As far as the pictures go I’m not sure why they are cockeyed. The two you posted above look fine to me. I find it strange that I can’t see pictures on some posts. I see a square with an x. But others can obviously see them because they are responding to them. Strange.

Richard

Don Watson said:
BTW, why do my pictures end up cockeyed when they get posted? Doc

Do you really think this is better? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)

Ok…that’s strange…Don’s pictures are almost upside down when I look at the on my iPad. On my computer?? Just fine…more strangeness…