Suggestions for a Newbie Train Set?

[Jerrys HO]

I started with the Digital Commander set and still use every thing except the track. Gave away or sold all 18r's as that is the only disadvantage to the sets that I found. No sound on board were available at the time except for the Dynamis sets and a little pricey to start off with knowing I was going to eventually go with a better DCC system. The new Thunder Cheif with sound on board seems like a good starter deal and can be found cheap. under 200.00 at the FS store.

[jward]

jb,

I don't necessarily like hobby lobby's politics either, but if I boycotted everybody I thought was screwing over their employees, I would be rich because i'd have nowhere to spend my money.

as far as steel rail goes, I don't use it and haven't for years. but then again, I don't use ready made track on my railroad either. the only store bought track I currently use is an atlas turntable. everything else is handlaid nickel silver code 83 or code 70. that said, my recommendation for this set rests on the fact that it gives a lot of bang for the buck. were I to buy everything separately, the track would be nickel silver, and the cars silver series. the steel track can be made to work until it can be upgraded to something better.

fx,
this set, and almost anything else can be upgraded to dcc if you have the determination and some basic soldering skills. dcc systems are expensive but decoders for locomotives are not. I would suggest that you take a long look at the various dcc systems on the market as they are not all created equal. the lower end ones will run dcc equipped locomotives but won't do much else. a full featured system, even as a starter set, will offer full access to everything dcc has to offer. you can program your locomotives to run the way you want them to for example, or consist them together so that they run together.

there is an advantage in installing the decoders yourself. some decoders factory installed to not fully support speed control, for example the basic dcc onboard locomotives I have will not let me adjust the top speed settings. using an aftermarket decoder will allow you to choose a decoder that supports these settings. this is the route I am taking with all future purchases of non sound locomotives.

upgrading the train set cars to the equivalent of silver series is simple. you replace the plastic wheels with metal ones, and add a little bit of weight to the cars.

overall, the standard Bachmann train set to-day is light years ahead of what they were just a few years ago in terms of quality. as a matter of fact I would rank them as good as or better than the quality stuff I had when I was growing up in the 1970s.

one final bit of advice that will save you a lot of grief. before you run anything on your track, carefully push them over the rerailer section in the set, and make sure that the metal trip pins on the couplers do not snag on the rerailer. if they do, carefully bend the ins upward with a pair of pliers so that they clear. one jaw of the pliers should be on the top of the coupler head where the pin seats, and the bottom jaw on the curved part of the in. gently squeeze until the pin starts to move, then checque the car on the rerailer.

doing this before you run your trains will prevent the pins from snagging the rerailer at speed and bending the couplers, and save you the costs of replacing the damaged ones.

 

[ACY]

upgrading the train set cars to the equivalent of silver series is simple. you replace the plastic wheels with metal ones, and add a little bit of weight to the cars.

Jeff, I actually have purchased a great deal of the white box standard line Bachmann cars and what I do is add Intermountain wheels to all of them, install a Kadee #148 or #5 and add a little bit of weight. I buy the bulk packs of 100 wheels and 25 or 50 pairs of couplers and it ends up being much cheaper than buying a silver series or other brand piece of rolling stock. Unfortunately Bachmann has discontinued this line for separate sale and they can only be found in the lower end train sets.

[jward]

I find a lot of the older white box cars in the local hobby shops, especially hobbytown usa. they are selling them for about 1/3 the price of silver series. even with the cost of upgrade they are still about half the price of silver series. I generally use Bachmann metal wheels on mine, but have been known to use whatever is available on them. I generally run the cars with their original ez mates until they fail, then replace them with kadee 148s. as long as the trip pins are adjusted so they don't snag on trackwork, the ez mates seem to hold up well.

[ACY]

The local club in Youngstown, Ohio doesn't allow anything without metal couplers or drawbars to run on the layout.

[jbrock27]

Jerry I think the fact that you no longer make use of the steel track and have been giving it away says all that needs to be said right there.

Jeff please don't misunderstand or misdirect my point about HL.  This is my "icing on the cake" so to speak as to why I would not buy this set with steel track.  I would be in the same position as you if I strictly let my principals stand in the way of opening my wallet, although beside WalFart, I am not aware of too many other employers I solicit who I know are screwing their employees.  Maybe you know more of them? 
I agree with you 100% that even this set is much better quality than the ones available when you and I were kids.

FX, there is a special trip pin pliers tool that performs the job Jeff is describing.  It is worth the $20 bucks to get it.

When you guys buy or pick up white box cars, do you find they have the "friction" pin set up on the trucks?

[jward]

no friction pins on te ones I buy. those types of cars would have horn hooks. as far as I know, Bachmann had switched to using bolster screws long before they switched to ez mate couplers. all cars I am buying have ez mates already, and are the equivalent to what is being sold in the train sets.

[ACY]

jbrock27,
I only buy the Bachmann rolling stock that has knuckle couplers, I don't buy the older cars with the older couplers and plastic bolster pins. The cars are essentially Silver-Series cars without metal wheels or Mark II couplers (with metal spring), they have a plastic spring and of course the coupler is plastic. The Silver-Series cars sometimes include a load or a bit more detail than the economy line white box equivalents.

[jbrock27]

Got it guys, thank you.  I will have to keep a lookout for these then that have the screw secured truck.  I did not realize this line was out there just prior to Silver Series line.  I only have gotten one like that style before and it was given to me as gift to reciprocate for some wiring I did on an old, old Blue Box Athearn loco.  I replaced the knuckles that had the plastic spring and plastic wheel sets and now it is much nicer, better running car.

[ACY]

For clarity, the white box standard/economy line rolling stock was produced at the same time as the silver series rolling stock. The way I read your post you seem to think these were produced before silver-series came out and then discontinued when the silver-series came out. However, they were produced (with knuckle couplers) from the late 1990's until sometime this year when they were discontinued for some unknown reason and can now only be found in train sets. At my local hobby shop they retailed for five or six dollars. When they first came out in the late 90's, my hobby shop sold them for $2.49 each. For comparison, at the time an Athearn blue box kit was about $4.50 at that time at my local hobby shop.

If only I could go back and time and buy more rolling stock for those prices, but back then I didn't have the financial means to buy as much stuff. Parking cars at the county fair and officiating soccer games was my only means of income in the 1990's.

[jbrock27]

Your are correct ACY.  Your read of what I thought was right on.  Thank you for clarifying what was a misunderstanding on my part.  I have seen these white boxed ones a my LHS, but they are about $10-no thank you.

Hats off to you for being a soccer ref.  I played in high school.  The year after I graduated, they won the class B state title
Refs in any youth sport are under-compensated and under-appreciated, for sure!!

[ACY]

I have seen these white boxed ones a my LHS, but they are about $10-no thank you.

That is too much in my opinion, I would only pay up to maybe $7, $5-6 is a good price.

[jward]

hobbytown usually sells them for about $#6.99-$7.99, about the same price as a model power car. but the Bachmann cars are much better running, and have body mounted couplers instead of truck mounted on model power.

[jbrock27]

Agree gentleman.

Thank you Jeff, I will have to search to see if there are any Hobby Towns around. 

How are the walkways on these cars?  They a molded piece as one with the car box like Walthers Trainline or a separate piece?

[jbrock27]

...still hoping for an answer to my question on the walkways.  Thanks