Bachmann trains

[jward]

you can use a hammer to pound screws, but you can't use a screwdriver to screw in nails......lol

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

We looked at the sets offered by Bachmann and settled on 2 or 3 that are plain DC. When I mentioned DCC to his dad, an IT supervisor for a big Wall Street firm, his eye lit up. However this is for an eleven year old who grandfather couldn't tell a hammer from a screw driver. I am looking forward to being drafted into helping to build a little starter layout.

That 11-year-old might be more technologically sophisticated than his grandpa thinks he is, especially if the kid's father is an IT supervisor.

Just sayin'. ... 

[Ken G Price]

As for DC or DCC it may come down to how much they want to spend.
Either one gets them started.
And if the experiment proves successful then they will be hooked and then can decide on what path to take for upgrades.

[Woody Elmore]

As I have written, the neighbors have settled on 3 sets. Grandpa has no opinion but grandma wants a steam engine. I have already warned about the effects of having a smoking engine so that's been ruled out.

As for the track -I have plenty of Atlas flex track in code 100 which I had planned to use in an On30 diorama (with the out of scale ties buried) so extending the layout is no problem.

I told the neighbors that the Bachmann DCC system would not be a technological nightmare to hook up. By the way the boy's uncle is also a tech guy who flew drones for the Army in the first gulf war and is very interested in learning more about DCC.

It was much easier when I was a kid - the main choice was Lionel or Flyer. Then you looked at the sets. Two wires from transformer to track and you were done. Like the song says "Those were the days, my friend..."

Once again thanks for taking the time to comment.

[M1FredQ]

My youngest(of 5) loved trains from the time I think he took his first breath.

At Christmas I have a G-Gauge set up around the tree(5x8). My wife would lay him

down in the middle he would fall asleep and he was a great baby.

3 years ago my Mother-in-law bought him a Bachmann HO starter set. I picked up a

couple of hollow core doors from the lumber yard put a piece of green in door out door

carpet and that kid built and rebuilt layouts daily or weekly. It was E-Z Track nickel with

the roadbed. The only thing we did was replace the plastic wheelsets with metal.

That set runs great!!!!!!!!!! we eventually added a couple of Bachmann steamers and

a couple more diesels including a SD-40. We added an inner loop and that little

transformer runs 2 trains!!!!!!!!!!! It's stuff like that that sold me on Bachmann!!!

Now we have a bigger lay-out with 4- hollow doors for the O-Gauge on the other side

of the basement, and it was a starter set that got us going with that. I know there's

junky stuff but what we got from Bachmann and "L-----" has worked well and the

quality of the sets was impressive!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope this helps.

[Woody Elmore]

I will help my neighbor assemble a layout. I used to be a big fan of homasote but this layout will use rigid insulation. It is light, easy to use and rather inexpensive when compared to other materials.                                     

[M1FredQ]

We recently tore down our layout to make better legs for the hollow doors.

Instead of putting the indoor-outdoor carpet back on( it sheds!) We got some of that "Blue"

insulation from Menards. It comes in large 4x8 sheets. We covered the layout painted it with

latex camoflage green paint my wife didn"t want to be used in the boys bedroom, layed the track

and screwed it in it looks great and really cuts down on the noise level. Now we have left overs to

build up hilly ares and make a small mountain