Need help

[Pixie328]

Hi all
My boyfriend is new to this and I want to get him an awesome birthday gift. His scale is HO and the theme is BO Baltimore and Ohio. He is doing the 1950's and 1850's. I have no idea what any of this means. Can someone please advise what a good gift would be. Thanks so much

[Bucksco]

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=4115

[Pixie328]

Anything a bit cheaper out there

[richg]

Anything a bit cheaper out there

Yes there is.

http://www.micromark.com/bachmann-ho-scale.html

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Favorite-Spot?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

The Favorite Spot is ebay but a very good company. If you do not like bidding, you can use Buy It Now.

I have bought from both companies.

Before you buy, make sure you know what you are buying.There is DCC onboard, no sound.
There is onboard sound.
The EM-1 comes DCC on board and you have to buy a sound module and plug it into the tender.
There are some locos that run on a DC power pack. The ones with DCC onboard will run differently on DC instead of a DCC controller.

Confused???

Rich

[TimR]

Hi Pixie,

What is your budget?

There is this:

http://www.thefavoritespot.com/p-3925-bachmann-ho-scale-train-f7-a-diesel-locomotive-dcc-ready-b-o-63709.aspx

and this:

http://www.thefavoritespot.com/p-3930-bachmann-ho-scale-train-f7-b-diesel-locomotive-dcc-ready-b-o-63809.aspx

The second one goes with the first. You can get the first without the second, but not the second without the first.  

The F7 diesels were added to the B & O motive roster around 1949.

Favorite Spot also has a website outside of eBay. As Rich said, they are a very reputable company.

[Jerrys HO]

Pixie

A good sound value switcher would be nice.
http://www.thefavoritespot.com/p-3894-bachmann-ho-scale-train-alco-s4-diesel-loco-dcc-soundtraxx-equipped-b-o-9129-capitol-dome-63402.aspx

My wife did the same thing you are doing for me a couple of years back and I appreciated the help this board gave her. I think anything you find B&O would make him happy.

Jerry

[jward]

for diesels, Bachmann makes quite a few appropriate for the era on the 1950s.

the EMD FTa & FTb  have been available in b&o colours. these were among the earliest b&o diesels and always ran in a-b pairs. fortunately, they are among the lowest in price, and you can pick up both for well under $100.

the EMD F7a & F7b were among the most common b&o diesels.

The alco Fa2/Fb2 and Baldwin RF16 sharks were similar streamlined diesels that b&o had in small numbers.

The EMD GP7 and GP9 models were state of the art workhorses in the 1950s. Both types were used on the B&O right up to the late 1980s, and the GP9 was another of the most common types on the b&0.

The H16-44 is also appropriate for the b&o, but their small fleet came in two different body styles. the Bachmann model represents the later style, and Atlas makes the earlier style.

[jonathan]

Pixie,

I am a huge B&O fan (gross understatement).

If my wife were to get me one of these:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=4124

I would be overjoyed.

As mentioned before, they can be had for reasonable costs, if you shop around the discount train sites, like Micromark and Favorite Spot.

Regards,

Jonathan

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

Pixie...Every time I see a girl support her mans hobby, I get jealous. I think it would be hard for you to get your choice "wrong".  Have you looked in the catalog for yourself? The free pdf in the "order catalog"(below) section has better views than the "Online Catalog"  We could comment on ones of interest to you. If you like it too, we might even railroad you into the hobby! They are family traditions in many households. (My Grandma(6, 4-4-0s and a trolly), and 2 Aunts(2 each) and my mom(birkshire) have had "their own" trains. http://www.bachmanntrains.net/Catalogs/2013/2013_Bachmann.pdf  Try and find out if he has dcc, and note the difference between dcc ready vs dcc equipped. Different trains for different jobs too- Does he prefer passenger cars, freight, both? Rare, or common locomotives?  What could his scenario plans be? Towns, open spaces, rail-yard, hills, industry? What does he have already?   
Steam locos fits the early timeframes best. An 4-4-0 American("cowboy style train") fits the beginning of the era best. And there is a fancy "Royal Blue" one. From there its almost like "the bigger" is always "the newer" in steam. Diesels, the F's were one of the prettiest trains B&O ever ran. Industrial? The gp7. The SW2 switcher is a B&O icon too. About the only way to mess this up would be buying Amtrack. (and he would probably like that too) If times are tight, you can never own too many cabooses, or a $50 gandy dancer hand -pump car would fit well into the 1800s - 1900s too.  Happy hunting!   

[Doneldon]

Pixie-

You have some excellent advice about what to get for your model rail boyfriend, and with a wide variety of price ranges so I won't mess with that. What I don't see is anything from the 1850s. There's very little hobby material from that era so let me suggest that you guiltlessly keep to the more modern equipment.
                                                                                                                               -- D

[TimR]

How did Pixie make out with this? Anybody hear from her again? Today is my birthday, Pixie. I have a list of my own if you're interested. 

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

How did Pixie make out with this? Anybody hear from her again? Today is my birthday, Pixie. I have a list of my own if you're interested. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM! Hope your got a new train to play with, or at least got to run um today. I think Pixie('s); (a)-suffered sticker shock at the price of "the little toys" (b)- eyes glazed over with dc, dcc, sound boards etc. (c) - went to support a local hobby shop (hope so) (d)- Dumped him, or got dumped (e)-Bought him a something else after listening to our "train nerd dribble"
To quote a famous filled lollypop /sucker mfg. "the world may never know"