First time train hobbyist

[Esshandler]

I'm looking for direction when it comes to building a train set for my 3 yr old who is very interested in trains. Can tracks be interchangeable from one brand to another? Silly questions to some but for someone new.....I don't have a clue!

[Nathan]

There are many possible answers depending on what size of trains you plan to use.  In Large scale the low cost Bachmann 'Big Hauler' series comes with 'indoor' track that is not compatible with the 'outdoor' track that Bachmann sells.  The 'outdoor' track will work with several other brands with little or no problems.

In the smaller scales some manufactures make adapters between their track and other brands, but not all of them will work together.

How good is the 3 year old with the toys it now has?  This will help in deciding which size trains to look at.  Are you near a hobby shop that has a large selection of trains?  Take some time to talk to them with the 3 year old there.

Are you near any model railroad clubs?  Take the 3 year old to see them and get a feel for it's future in the hobby.

Start with a simple loop and add a few turnouts as the 3 year old gets better at putting them on the track and running them.  If you stick with the same brand and style of track in the 'starter set' you get, let the 3 year old work with you in 'making the layout bigger' so it feels it is it's layout, not yours.

Nathan

[Doneldon]

Ess-

Welcome to model railroading and this board. I know that the hobby has hours and years of fun for the two of you to share. I've enjoyed it for nearly 60 years, with kids, grandkids, with friends and alone. It's all been great.

I urge you to consider something on the large side for such a young child. Others on this board will disagree but, in my experience, the fragility and precision of small trains is too frustrating for little ones. That means I suggest that you limit your searches to either O-scale (1:48 proportion) or Large Scale (many proportions varying from 1:32 to 1:17). Note that the smaller the proportion, the larger the train so 1:24 has trains which are twice the size of 1:48 in all three dimensions. That means a total of eight times as large. O-scale is the size of Lionel with which you are surely a little familiar. 1:24 is the size of the LGB trains from Germany which you may have seen at holiday time. There are several "large scales," as indicated by the range I cited but all run on the same 1-guage track. Thus, some (1:32) are proportioned to be regular trains running on standard track (56.5" between the rails) and the other gauges represent narrow gauge trains, i.e., trains which run on rails set less than 56.5" apart. Also, note the difference between the terms gauge (distance between rails) and scale (how much smaller the model is than the real thing). This isn't just a precious piece of arcana; the terms do have distinct meanings which can get obscured if they are used interchangeably as so many of us in model railroading do.

Okay. O-scale. 1:48 scale, same size as Lionel, mostly runs on three rail track with AC power. This scale offers a huge selection of equipment from a number of manufacturers though you won't see much other than Lionel outside of hobby shops. The advantages of O-scale include its durability, how easily small children car get the trains on the tracks and run them, its wide availability (even Menards sells some!), the availability of lights and animation, sounds and the ease with which it can be set up and taken down if you can't dedicate permanent space to a railroad. However, you can have a layout which a three-year-old will find very interesting on a 4x8 sheet of plywood or even smaller. The downsides are that it isn't exactly compact compared to smaller scales like HO and N, it can get pricey pretty fast and your son (I'm assuming) won't be able to push his trains around by hand.

Large scale. Two-rail trains running on DC power. Large scale has tons of equipment now, including some which is very affordable. After all, you don't want to spend a slug of money on trains which are likely to be damaged in play and which may or may not hold your child's interests long term, though any reasonably intelligent and mentally healthy child will unquestionably fall totally in love with trains and follow the hobby forever. Bachmann makes a good selection of large scale trains including regular trains (mostly steam), Thomas the Tank Engine (little kids love Thomas and his friends and their stories), and the L'il Big Haulers (more modestly priced and detailed trains designed for young railroaders). The prices shown for the large scale trains on this site will scare the devil out of you but be aware that you can find them much cheaper on line, on eBay and often in stores. Large scale has most of the advantages of O-scale, plus you can run it outdoors (even in northern climates). It can get very expensive if you let it and it does need more room than smaller scales. However, you can easlily run it indoors either on a permanent layout or one which goes up and down. I had a 6'x9' large scale layout in my basement which my grandchildren loved and with which I was able to teach them a lot about railroading, including switching, consists, clearances and more. We downsized our home last summer so I had to sell the large scale set up because the only train room in the new place is for Grampa's HO layout.

The last option I'll run by you would seem to contradict my earlier advice that you go with larger trains but what I'm going to mention has other virtues to make up for its diminutive size. There are wooden railway sets out there which are absolutely great for small children. The kids can rip them apart and put them together any way they want without fear that anything will get broken. Unfortunately, the original wooden railway toys are monstrously expensive. However, there are some new manufacturers, including Tomica and something like Doug and Nancy) with wonderful toys at a fraction of the wooden railway's cost. Tomica has plastic pieces and all powered locomotives but the motors disengage so children can push them around. The others are wood. Some have motors which disengage; others do not. The wooden ones have the advantage of using magnetic couplers which are far more durable and easier to use than the plastic hooks which Tomica uses. I made 3.5'x7' train tables for two of my grandsons and they ended up being both of their favorite toys. I plan another for a new grandson this summer. The wooden trains have lots of items which are not Thomas, which is perfectly fine, but I liked that the Thomas trains linked in with videos and story books to read with the kids. This is definitely the least expensive path.

Whatever you choose, plan on great fun and positive time with your child.

                                                                                                                 -- D

[Woody Elmore]

HO trains and 3 year olds don't mix. My advice would be to get him a Thomas tank engine set.  I don't keep up on the sets and gauges but I know they are out there. Perhaps a reader would have more information.

There are lots of play trains that do not require any track or electricity. After a year or two you can step up to trains that run on tracks and are powered by electricity.

[M1FredQ]

Right here on Bachmann Jack Lynch of Bachmann was at a Fall get together

and Bachmann unveiled some really nice starter sets in O-Gauge and G-Gauge.

For a little guy I would go with O or G.

I grew up with O-Gauge and it's in my blood.

When I was married and started having kids I got a G-Gauge for around the Christmas Tree.
It has servered our family well!!!!!!!!!  I have set it up outside for parties at the house.

And it has always been a conversation starter and puts people in a fun relaxing mood

When my youngest(now 9) was 3 we started him on the wood Thomas. Since we don't use the kitchen area of the house( we eat on the "island area" in the kitchen. My wife bought a 4x4 foot board placed it on some short stools and that kid of ours played with that set for hours on end. My wife would play the "Oh-No version" of I Luv Toy Trains which eventually had to be replaced our son played it so much!!!!

He always looked forward to Christmas when I set up the G-Scale around the Christmas Tree but at 5 he found my Dad's Train collection I had in storage and started pulling pieces out and begged me to set it up.

Well that was my reawakening to "Get Back" into the hobby and what an experience.
I set up some hollow doors from Menard's on some cheap plastic horses, threw some green indoor-outdoor on top and started laying track. The layout is 9x9ish with 3 separate lines. I discovered "Bachmann" which allowed us to make some purchases without scaring the wife and it has been an incredible "adventure".

You see

When Joey was finishing Kindergarten his teacher was concerned about his reading skills and thought he would have issues in 1st Grade. During the Summer a friend of ours was involved with CN railroad and started dropping off TRAINS and other magazines. Whenever we went to Barnes and Nobles I would pick a magazine or 2 and we checked out books and videos at the library. I read read read to him my wife read to him then he started "reading" himself. We have a huge map of the USA in our pantry and as he learned about rail lines he would run off to see where the cities were he was reading about. We also spent time laying and relaying track, reading catalogs together.

Long story short:

Last May he took his State exam at the end of 2nd Grade and his score put him in the 6th Grader reading and comprehension category!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The teachers were asking us what my wife and i did what schools or programs

All we told them was what we did with his interest in trains. I can't tell how exited we are this happened. This hobby is more than just playing with toys it goes way beyond.
It's the parent child time together,solving problems related to the layout, design, electrical, malfunctions, READING etc. Somewhere this could be a academic/scientific study for some budding PHD to do his dissertation on. Just in our circle of friends he has been able to introduce some of his friends into this "Great Hobby". As I type this
he went to a friends house to help set up a "Bachmann Starter Set" his friend got for
Christmas!!!!!

My advice go big. Yes we have HO but it's not for little ones. And yes we have a small N-Gauge in the center of our O-Gauge layout because we wanted to simulate "KiddieLand" this place in Chicago that had a small gauge train around the amusement park.

Good luck and best wishes.

Bachmann has put a lot of thought into their starter sets and I personally would consider it. Check out the Jack Lynch portion of this website

[Doneldon]

Fred-

What a sweet story about your grandson learning to read. And what super grandparents he has. Congratulation!

                                                                                                                                                            -- D

[LVRR]

It' all in the child. I have a teenage grandson that grew up with my HO layout and has been operating it since about three years old. I have another grandson who is 9, did not grow up with trains, and is like a bulldozer around the layout.

I recommend starting with HO due to the availability and cost. Stay with a very basic set and you won't have the breakage problem of the more expensive collectors stuff. And when something does get broken it won't be something to get upset about.

I let kids of all ages play on my layout and it's seldom anything gets damaged. I do make sure my special items are left on the shelf or way out of reach though. There is a NASCAR track ( about 4 feet by 2 feet ) that I put in easy reach of small folks, this is non operating but does have a bunch of HO scale cars the kids play with. It's amazing how many 3 and 4 year olds navigate directly to the race track  and pay little attention to the trains.

Steve

[Joe323]

With Kids and HO I think its OK to let them operate but You need to somehow limit the top speed because kids have a tendency to try race everything at top speed.  Also I would opt for units that have less detail to break off like Alco F units.

[jward]

what i did with my son was to get him a locomotive he'd seen in real life, and a bunch of old train set cars from the 1980s. and let him run his train on my layout under my supervision. with the low quality cars it was no big loss if he broke one. and if he did, it went onto the workbench until it could be fixed. he soon learned to take care of his trains when he started to run out of operable cars.