STARTING OUT

[ediamante]

Anyone,

I have a one-year old son that I want to start compiling for and was looking at an HO scale engine- 3781- are there any pros/cons I should be worried about and was wondering, is steam a big deal- I think he would enjoy it if it had it but wanted to hear opinion- also, does that model have it? you dont find much on the description. Thanks!

[Doneldon]

ed-

I'm guessing that you have a Santa Fe Northern Steam engine. If I am correct, you have four small wheels on all together on a truck behind the pilot (cowcatcher), eight large drive wheels connected by rather large side rods, and four more small wheels on a truck which rides under the cab where the engineer and fireman work.

If so, you probably have a pretty good model, especially if it's a Bachmann loco. I'm not shilling for Bachmann with that statement; it's just that I have a couple of similar models with which I've had good luck. The Santa Fe Northerns were big, powerful locomotives, larger than almost anything that huge railroad ran. It may be a little heavy duty for a beginning layout, however, as it will require broad curves and lots of straight tracks to look good. And, frankly, it's not a good choice for a baby or a toddler.

For now, I'd get a toy engine with maybe a friction motor and a bell or whistle. I'd skip electric trains for a few years. They tend to be a bit too fragile for the little ones and too small for them to handle with dexterity. When your son is three or so, look for a Thomas the Tank Engine train. Thomas is a cute character who has adventures in his make believe world. The Thomas character and his many friends are based on a large series of children's stories by a deceased English parson. There's no religion in the stories but there is usually a little moral lesson like don't get too big for your britches or be loyal to your friends.

There are many, many versions of Thomas, including electric ones from various manufacturers and wooden ones. The former are not so cool for little kids who often want to push their trains rather than watch them move by motor; the latter are hugely expensive. What I found for my two grandsons was Thomas trains made by Tomico or Tomy. These are very colorful and sturdy trains, with a large number of different sets and individual pieces to select from.

What I like most about the Tomico trains is that the locomotives have battery powered motors but the trains are free wheeling when the motor is turned off. Thus, the children can push them without damaging them and they'll still have play value if the batteries run dead. I built low table railroads for each of my grandsons, one a 3x7 and the other a 4x8. Tomy/Tomico also has road sets with cars, buses and trucks which can be integrated with the trains if you want, and even crossings which will stop the cars when a train is passing. These toys are well made and offer a lot of play value -- more than the wooden trains for about 1/4 to 1/3 the cost. Plus, the kids could enjoy the stories, reenact them on their own layouts and watch videos of the Thomas stories (Shining Time Station) narrated by George Carlin and Ringo Starr. (I kid you not!)

"So why aren't these all over the place if they're so great," I hear you wondering. The answer is that I don't know. However, you can easily find them online. The sets are by far the best value; I think I paid about $50 for a set with a passenger train, lots of track including switches and a second deck and a roadway with a motorized truck and a railroad crossing. For another $30 or so I got a second train (freight), extra cars and more track. Both kids played with these trains until they were six or seven, and one has become a model railroader. The kids and I even made some special cars like a lighted dragon car, to act out favorite stories. When they outgrew these trains the kids sold them on Craig's List and spent the money on new toys. (The model rail now has both Lionel and HO trains.)

Some folks start their children or grandchildren on HO trains at three or four, but I'm not so cool on that, although I'm an HO modeler myself. HO is pretty fragile and the motors remain engaged even when the power is off. This means the kids may damage the engines if they push them along the track. Too, HO trains are harder to keep on the tracks, the couplers are much more finicky and fragile, the tracks can be hard to keep together, and the trains (especially the locos) can get screwed up when run on the floor for any amount of time. O gauge (Lionel) is larger and more forgiving of the little ones but they are cheap plastic now and very expensive for what you get.

Whatever you decide, please see trains as a way to have some fun time with your son. Kids just glow when they get to share some activity with a parent or grandparent. It means so much to them. Why, my now 11 year old grandson wouldn't let anybody but Gramps play with his electric trains once he graduated from Thomas. Now he's raising a calf for 4H but he still engages me in train play when we are together at his house or mine.
                                                                                                                   -- D