Hi folks. Idiot question here from a newbie. I would like to get a small set to put around the C.tree and maybe expand later. When I was a kid we had Lionel,but I think the "H.O." (don't know what it's called these days) scale is more realistic and more compact. Is there a particular brand that is a good entry level choice? I don't want crap but I also don't need to have super high quality either. They don't seem to have train sets in stores around here,and if I go to the specialty shop I'm afraid they'll see me coming.So what should a fairly decent set cost with say 30 ft.track and a couple switches? Thanks loads for any info.
******************** There are three kinds of lies; lies,damned lies,and statistics.---Disraeli
Brian=A0Orion wrote: =A0=A0=A0=A0Hi folks. Idiot question here from a newbie. =A0 I would like to get a small set to put around the C.tree and maybe expand later. =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0When I was a kid we had Lionel,but I think the "H.O." (don't know what it's called these days) scale is more realistic and more compact. =A0=A0Is there a particular brand that is a good entry level choice? I don't want crap but I also don't need to have super high quality either. =A0=A0They don't seem to have train sets in stores around here,and if I go to the specialty shop I'm afraid they'll see me coming.So what should a fairly decent set cost with say 30 ft.track and a couple switches? =A0=A0=A0=A0Thanks loads for any info.
For a Christmas Tree layout, all you need is a circle or oval of track plus a loco and a few cars. Your family will probably want cute li'l buildings and people, and you may well spend more on those than on the train itself.
You're kinda vague about how much money you want to spend. "Cheep" depends on the fatness of your wallet and the tightness of your fist, I find. :-) Keep in mind that those "fairly decent" Lionel sets of the 40s and 50s cost 2-5 days' wages. (People who pine for the low prices of goods in the Good Ole Days forget the even lower wages of the time, usually. :-)) You can get an entry-level set nowadays for about 1-2 days' wages. The price ranges below are based on Walthers' catalogue prices. You can usually get sets 10-30% below this price.
I would rate train sets as follows. I'm assuming that if you stay in the hobby, you will acquire the enthusiasm and skills to upgrade or replace rolling stock. Modelling detail and accuracy tends to be better on better quality sets, but is not up to nit-pickers' standards. But then, what is? :-) I put more weight on mechanical quality, by the way.
4 or less: barely acceptable, run well enough for once-yearly use under the tree. Not OK to try out the hobby, as low mechanical quality makes serious use frustrating or impossible.
5-7: good entry level set, more durable, but will eventually be either upgraded or junked. Mechanically good to very good.
8 and over: best quality set, will be kept as is or upgraded.
Walthers Trainline: $100. Rating 7 Bachmann: $70-200. Rating 5 to 6 Bachmann Spectrum w/ EZ lock track: $200. Rating 7 to 8 Bachmann Thomas the Tank Engine: $80 to $120. Rating 5 to 6 I.H.C.: $70 to $110. Rating 4 to 7. Lifelike conventional track: $55. Rating 5 Lifelike Power-Loc track: $80 to $225. Rating 6 to 7 Model Power Metal Train: $100 to $200. Rating 6 to 7 NB: The Metal Train engines are pretty good, but the cars are far too heavy. OTOH, they are very robust. Model Power: $60 to $150. Rating 4 to 5. Marklin digital: $645. Rating 10.
NB: Bachmann has introduced Easy Digital sets (with digital command control.) I haven't seen any, but expect them to rate about 7 to 8.
The best bet is to go to one of those specialty shops, and put together a set from individual parts: a good quality loco (ask to see it run first!), a few cars, and track (a whole 'nother topic, as the several types with plastic bases are incompatible with each other.) Expect to spend $100 to $200 _after_ discounts.
It would also help you to buy an issue or two of the model railroad magazines. Let's you see what can be done, and the ads give you a better sense of what's available than a post to a newsgroup.
Thanks guys.These two posts have helped me a lot. I went to Toys R Us and they had two sets by Life Like,$30,and $60.They looked OK and I nearly bought the $30 set.But after looking at the specialty shop oferings I realized that if I wanted to expand, then I wouldn't have compatible track,etc.In fact the Bachman sets he had all had black track and he only sells beige EZ track.So I would have to step up to Spectrum and the prices started getting out of hand for a simple Christmas event.I saw the glint in the guys eye and got the hell out of there while I still had meal money. Brian
******************** There are three kinds of lies; lies,damned lies,and statistics.---Disraeli
Lifelike track - cheap and nasty steel rail stuff, unsuited to model railways. Black track - cheap and nasty steel rail stuff, unsuited to model railways. Beige track - Nickel-silver railed toy/model railway track.
Track is the least of your worries, but FWIW here are a few thoughts.
If you want track with plastic ballast base, use Bachmann grey EZ track (nickel silver rail, not steel), but there's no problem mating black and grey-base EZ track if that's what comes ith the train set. If you don't like the looks of it, paint it.
Or use Atlas True Track. Advantage of True Track: The track sections lift out of the base, so when (not if) you Get Serious and start using other track, the match is OK.
However, one brand of track with the molded on base does not match any other brand, so you're stuck if you insist on using it later on. So, best bet is to use sectional track with _no_ molded base - all of it mates with all other, regardless of brand. Just make sure you get the right code code 100 (0.100" high rail) will not mate well with code 83 (0.083" high rail).
Just forget the Lionel-induced "I gotta use the same brand" mind-set. (One reason you don't see much Lionel anymore is that Lionel refused to adapt to NMRA standards. It's a very much a niche market nowadays, aimed at collectors with more than a twinge of nostalgia driving their habit.) Pretty well all HO mfrs make NMRA standard stuff, which means it's interchangeable and compatible. Major issue these days is that cheap sets use the "horn-hook" coupler, and better sets use knuckle couplers (which look like the real thing.) But changing couplers is a minor nuisance, really.
I wouldn't worry too much about expansion. The locos and cars will be reusable, the power pack can always be used to power turnouts or lights, the track can be trashed if necessary. I think of train set track as consumables, myself.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ At first I'll be setting up on carpet(short pile) so I guess I'll use beige EZ n/s track. The Atlas track w/o ballast is only 60=A2 but Probably not good on carpet right? Thanks...Brian
Oh, the trains will run, all right - for a while. But they will pick up carpet fuzz, human and pet hair, dtary thread, etc, and gum up real quick. Very difficult to clean up.
Plastic-base sectional track is what you should use on a carpet. But I'd advise not going on the carpet at all, if possible.
if you want them to run more than a few days and you plan on taking em apart and putting em back together more than once you need something designed for that, most sectional track is designed to be put together once maybe twice if taken apart REAL carefully.
on carpet, if children will play with em, and if you plan on taking it apart more than once or twice I would HIGHLY suggest you not frustrate yourself and get "O" gauge lionel or MTH or even bigger and use LGB. the stuff is indestructable and designed to play and to be taken apart and put back together many times.
HO guage? If there are small children, a cat, a dog, or clumsy friends you may want to opt for "O" gauge. It's more reliable, it'll take the constant running, and it'll take the occasional ornament falling on it.
Look for an 027 set or an entry level set. Good > Hi folks. Idiot question here from a newbie.
What you can do is to buy a piece of cheap plywood to rest on the carpet. If this is a Christmas scene, put a white sheet on top of the plywood, then the track on the sheet. You can even spike it down. If you put all the scenery on it, you can even make it permanent, if you have some place to store it - like leaning against a wall. Gene ABV61-1043.001.HCB
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