Bachmann Iron King HO Scale Electric Train Set questions...

[ajbruno]

I am new to electric trains...we recently purchased the Bachmann Iron King HO Scale Electric Train set to run under the children's Christmas tree for our 5 year old grandson's enjoyment.  I know very little about setup and maintenance for these trains.  If he likes the train set, we may start to upgrade.  But for now, the set comes with 155 pieces and for our initial budget that is all we can get.

Do we need to set the tracks on a plywood surface in order to run?  Or can the tracks be laid upon a carpet directly?

what are some of the issues I should be aware of? 

Any guidance is appreciated.   Thank you.

[hawaiiho]

I would very strongly recommend against setting up HO track up on carpet.
Keeping the track level is just the beginning of the problems.
Fibers from the carpet are bound to get into the locomotives. Potential real problems.

My recommendation would be to go with plywood, however,  I have used 3/4" foam sheet which I painted to seal it.

Will

[simkon]

HO trains should not be run underneath live Christmas trees, because of debris and needles falling from the tree the track will get dirty very quickly, the needles and debris will likely block the track and cause a derailment, and the debris can get inside the locomotive and damage it. Secondly HO trains on the floor is also not a good idea especially if you have pets and small children or if you are setting up on a carpeted area. HO trains are much more fragile than O scale trains, so pets and small children can be detrimental because they may accidentally be stepped on or knocked over or become your pet's new favorite toy. It is best not to use any trains smaller than O scale under a Christmas tree, and G scale if it is a live Christmas tree.

[hawaiiho]

quote author=simkon link=topic=14934.msg119973#msg119973 date=1290541935]
HO trains should not be run underneath live Christmas trees, because of debris and needles falling from the tree the track will get dirty very quickly, the needles and debris will likely block the track and cause a derailment, and the debris can get inside the locomotive and damage it. Secondly HO trains on the floor is also not a good idea especially if you have pets and small children or if you are setting up on a carpeted area. HO trains are much more fragile than O scale trains, so pets and small children can be detrimental because they may accidentally be stepped on or knocked over or become your pet's new favorite toy. It is best not to use any trains smaller than O scale under a Christmas tree, and G scale if it is a live Christmas tree.
[/quote]

I completely missed the part about "under  the Christmas Tree".
I remember, when we were young, our parents gave my brother and I an S -gauge American Flyer set for Christmas.
They put it up under the tree, but would not let us run it until it was moved to the table dad had built.
I'm sure HO and tree needles would not be very compatible. We had a dog, but he stayed away from the tree.
I was also wondering about HO for a 5 year old. HO has pretty small parts. I think the key there is supervision.

[ajbruno]

Thank you for the responses...to clarify, it is an artificial tree.  I don't think any debris should be falling.  Our 14 yr old Lab was put down a few yrs ago...no pets.  And my better half is constantly cleaning.   

That being said, I will have to go out and get some plywood to lay out the track on.

Any good methods of storage?  Containers, bags for small parts, etc.?

[Michigan Railfan]

Aj,

You don't neccessarily have to put the track down on plywood. Since the track is on an artificial roadbed i.e raised up from the ground, and the fact that you have no pets greatly reduces the chance of fibers and hair etc. from getting in the locomotives. My trains have run on carpet except at my friends house, and they still run fine 

[bobwrgt]

I run one all the time under the tree. On carpet you can also just use a clean sheet to eliminate the fuzz. Pick a color your wife likes.
You could also use some of that heavy paper roll that they use to protect the floor with when doing construction. It's brown.

Bob