I should start with why I care about this issue. When I started in garden railroading I knew nothing. Buying models from both on-line as well as brick and mortar stores, not once did anyone explain the oddity of g scale track being standard at 45mm but used by different scales of equipment. The complete opposite of what I knew from my HO days. All they wanted was to make a buck. Over the first year or two I spent a few thousand dollars only to discover as I put my layout together that I had a hodge podge of different sizes of cars and engines. For those sellers who have gone broke because of this BS business practice. Good riddance. You got what you deserve.
This thread is to help others learn from my very expensive lesson. Case in point the 20’ car series sold by Bachmann.
So Bachmann is not responsible for what sellers do and don’t disclose…or who just happen to be flaming idiots. Unless of course Bachmann is miss advertising their products from the get go.
Item one: the box labeling clearly claiming the car is 20’.
Here is one from Cliff with the label stating 1/20.3!
How about this one.
From Bachmann’s home page as of today (July 9, 2026).
Log Skidder with crates on 20’ Flat Car (Large Scale)
Non-operating log skidder on 20’ flat car
Now compound that with stupid or dishonest sellers. This joker has the wrong car for the serial number.
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/126919268253?
Item two: That is what you get for buying on E-bay. Here is one from Trainz.
[Bachmann 95344 G Scale Florence & Cripple Creek 20' Boxcar #588 EX – Trainz?
Onward. Item three: what if Bachmann is right? The car is 1/20.3 scale. Judge for yourself.
Just a tick short of 22’ in 1/22.5 scale.
Same for being 20’ in 1/20.3. Close enough, maybe but there is more than one dimension to consider.
How about height? This is green-man. He is a 3D scaling tool of a 6’ tall 180 lbs man in 1/20.3. A perfect fit if you cut off his head.
So what is this series of cars. They are sold as part of the Big Hauler line but if Spectrum is Bachmann’s 1/20.3 line why aren’t they packaged for it? Truth is they don’t match anything from either line. Maybe that is why they have a different serial number.
This series uses 95XXX numbers.
Big-hauler uses 93XXX or 98XXX.
Spectrum is 88XXX or 89XXX.
Here are the three cars together. You see the difference in details, trucks and general design. Over all quality.
The car series included a flat, a low-side gondola and a boxcar. I don’t know where Bmann got these cars but I feel they tried to capitalize on the length alone since it measured close to 20’ in 1/20.3. They were much closer to 1/24th scale. Even stranger they are high quality construction. The cars featured body mount couplers and metal details for the handles, steps and door guides. The wheels are metal as well. They handle small radius curves well and track wonderfully.
The trucks can be purchased from Bmann under the description: "20’ Complete Truck (G Universal) for $13.65 each. The wheels are still available in blister packs but the cars are out of production. They can be found on E-bay usually at premium prices now.
So Bachmann lies, big surprise. As do on-line retailers and E-bay sellers. My point is the cars are not 1/20.3 but probably closer to 1/24. I can’t really equate them to any particular prototype beyond general resemblance to early wood side cars.
Since I was stuck at the time with a dozen or more of these I used them for Monkey Circus.
I don’t have deep pockets. If I am supporting a business with my hobby dollars I expect honesty from the merchant and value for my money. If your standards are lower…well how’s that working for you. Hope this helps someone avoid a misleading purchase.
Thank for listening to my rant. I now return you to the regularly scheduled garden train subjects.
