Overland Limited

[Railnut13]

I've been considering purchasing the Overland Limited set and would appreciate hearing any pros, cons (if any) and suggestions from anyone who has this set.  Thanks.

[mdmeyers1982]

I bought this set in December for a Christmas layout. I think the price was right and its a good beginner set for sure!

Pros:

-Looks great... the large 4-8-4 dwarfs my other deisel loco. The amount of rolling stock (cars) included is a good deal as well.
-It smokes! some people seem to not be a fan of that, but I thought it looked cool... especially when coming out of a tunnel.
-Fair amount of EZ track included... more so than some starter kits.

Cons:
-plastic wheels on all rolling stock... I didn't expect this but should have with a starter kit... sometimes they actually pop out of the "truck" or whatever it is called. Pretty sure these can be replaced with metal for a cheap price.
-Derails at times... that engine, while looking good, just barely seems to make the curves at a 22'' radius. I had mine pop off the track (mainly the front wheels) a few times at over half throttle... but I also found I had 2 places that were not 100% level, so I cannot blame the train for the entire issue...
-The yellow "headlight" on the train is a bit dim, only looks good at full throttle


I found my set on Ebay, new, for a great price... look around (especially on google) for prices, as they vary quite a bit.

Good luck and enjoy! 

[Oldschoolnoob]

Just bought mine as a starter for a new layout. SHOP AROUND. We got ours at a 40% off sale at AC Moore of all places.

[Tedshere]

I guess I'd suggest that you go ahead and buy it. I bought it as a starter set and it certainly taught me a lot about model railroading. You'll learn how to tinker with turnouts to make them work properly most the time. You'll learn that you can't always back your train through turnouts where a curve is involved, no matter how much you tinker.
    But it's a good inexpensive set for learning on and for practicing weathering and adjusting rolling stock and all kinds of tasks involved with being a model railroader like wiring, weight & balance, nomenclature and on and on and on!
    Even before you get it set up, you'll be well advised to keep this web page in mind. The guys here are fantastic and will help you out of any problem you might encounter.
    Good luck and welcome to the hobby,
   Ted