Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
jaabat wrote:The Polar Express or NYC Flyer sets get my vote. Jim
I hate to start a brand controversy, but do check out the MTH starter sets. You will get a much better transformer than with a Lionel.
http://www.cooltrains.com/
At this site hit (shop now) and then do a catagory search on (0&0-27 Gauge Train Sets.)
This will give you a nice cross section of what is available in both brands.
It seems to me that the Polar Express would fill the bill in theme and price. I was strumming through an Historic Rail catalog last night and saw where they have a Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer set for $189.00 Not in a Christmas theme but maybe for that price you might be able to add some theme.
http://www.historicrail.com/historicrail/product_info.po?ID=6713&product=Models+and+Kits&category=activities&subcategory=Toy%20Trains
Go with HO scale. you have a wide seliction to pick from and at www.walthers.com you can pick what set you would like, the price range, even the scale. I went there to day they have some great sets for under $75.
I use nickle sliver, Life-like, power-loc track. snaps together and it's up off the carpet so if let's say water is spilled next to it. the track will not be on wet carpet insted it's on a plactic elivated roadbed. but stay away from Bachman power packs they get hot if you change the speed of the train often and use it for more than 20 minets, Atlas is a good brand. Train shows help if you are short on cash. I got a load of stuff for $18, and spent most of it in the first hour I was there.
Colby Miles
age 13
Maine
Chris, you couldn't have picked a better time for purchasing a starter set. Lionel is really putting out starter sets in several roadnames, and they are selling them in chain stores like Target. MTH had all but cornered the market in ready-to-run starter sets until Lionel's resurgence in this endeavor. Both brands have their strong points.
MTH engines in starter sets are smooth runners with a lot of heft. The rolling stock will be sturdy and handsome. The transformers are plug and play, and the banana plugs are easy to hook up and get running.
On the Lionel side, their new FasTrack system is fabulous, and there are a lot of add-on sections available now. Something about that big orange box just grabs your attention.
Or, you can bite the bullet, purchase a top of the line transformer (Z4000) and a complete circle of O-54 Gargraves track, and top it off with whatever you want. (as was my choice a decade ago before all these snazzy starter sets became available )
I recently purchased the Lionel Spokane Portland & Seattle starter set. While opening the individual orange boxes, I kept saying wow! I hadn't been that excited in quite some time. Would definetely recommend this set to others....
Lionel's Union Pacific Fast Freight Set with Trainsounds is a good one. My son got the Santa Fe version they did last year for Christmas . The set has the nice berkshire loco and a dump car and the uncoupling track. You can find these sets for around $240 which I think is great value for what you get.
I added a few Christmas items like the operating egg nog car to add more play value.
Enjoy
Nick
jefelectric wrote: I hate to start a brand controversy, but do check out the MTH starter sets. You will get a much better transformer than with a Lionel. http://www.cooltrains.com/ At this site hit (shop now) and then do a catagory search on (0&0-27 Gauge Train Sets.) This will give you a nice cross section of what is available in both brands.
I agree with JOHN, check this site out he'll give you a fair shake. Good guy to deal with.
laz57
Sorry to correct you fifedog, but MTH never was close to having the market cornered on starter sets and they are further away from that now. Having worked in the retail end of this hobby for some time, MTH was third in starter set sales behind K-Line and Lionel. Lionel has always done the bulk of sales in the 3-rail hobby and the bulk of Lionel's sales are from non-command starter sets and traditionally sized starter retaed items.
Lionel has the name recognition that gets folks to look for a train set. During their run, K-Line had some very decent starter sets and on many an occasion I witnessed not an MTH set sale, but a K-Line set sale to a customer who had started off looking for a Lionel set.
None of this is to say MTH hasn't and doesn't make a decent starter set. There are certainly instances on a comparison where the quality of an MTH set exceeds the others, but so does the initial asking price. And both train magazines have criticized MTH for being so cheap with the initial offering of track in the starter set, first with only a circle, then with 2 additonal straight sections, and then 4. In my opinion, the skimpy amount of track included with MTH sets hurt their sales. Remember, the purchaser of a starter set is probably not a die-hard train guy (yet) and is looking for the best over all value and the most bang for the buck. While MTH may have had the best quality locomotive, the lack of a decent sized starter layout was a concern to many first time buyers I have talked with. And when Mom is holding the purse strings and helping to make the final decision, locomotive quality can easily fall behind the amount of track included in a starter set.
In my opinion, the lack of a decent amount of track in MTH starter sets was a critical error and a huge mistake that they have not yet recovered from in the arena of starter set sales.
And it seems to me that MTH has conceed defeat in this area as their starter set selection has gone down over the years, and the Rugged Rails line has not seen much growth in selection and has seen some heavy cancellations with separate sale locomotives. Even Mike Wolf has said personally to someone on this forum (as that person posted) that he understands his typical customer is a mid-50's aged well seasoned modeler... that's not a description of the typical starter set buyer... unless he is buying a set for a grandson, which I think this "grandfather" effect happens quite a bit.
To the topic of recommending starter sets, all of them have small plusses and minuses when makiing comparisions. Much of the decision depends on how much money you wish to spend and on whether you choose to support a local vendor, or get the better price by going mail-order. K-Line starter sets are still out there and still sealed in the box too, but you'll have to probably look on eBay for those. Lionel's overall starter set quality is today ahead of where it was even a few years ago. The only drawback for Lionel is the continuing problems they've had with the CW transformer. But most folks I've read that have had problems with this transformer, have contacted Lionel and received a replacement. The MTH sets with the smalled sized Baatam (sp?) steam engines were always nice in my opinion. And MTH is the only company to have made modern locomotives in current roads in starter sets, though the older Rail King locos were always a tad on the big side. The best proportioned diesel locos in this area are the older Rail King SD-45 and the SD90MAC, the later is now part of the Rugged Rails line, although in limited selection.
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
I purchased the MTH #30-4157-1 Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Ten Wheeler set that has Proto-Sound 2.0 for $272.99 from Trainworld. The old time look of the ten wheeler is very nice for the holidays. I think the set is an incredibly great deal. Has solid engine, tender, box, tank, and bobber caboose that are 19th century. Nice transformer. The small amount of track is ok for me since I prefer a different brand of track anyways, so a lot of $ isn't used in the set for track I would not use any ways. Lionel Fast Track seems to be very popular now so maybe you would want to start buying that however it is not "inexpensive".
In a starter set I think the most important part is the engine and cars. And these are top notch. Any one who buys a starter set should buy more track and turnouts with the set because a kid will get bored quickly just watching the train go around in a circle.
There is also a Christmas version but if you are going to use it year round it would be limiting.
A couple inexpensive buildings would be nice to throw in too. Bacman and K-Line have a lot, plus the Lionel prebuilt lighted houses and businesses are a deal at the $12 to $16 blow out prices.
Before you buy maybe you should buy a copy of CTT or OGR magazine to see what is available out there and what different options cost. All the companies have catalogues that only cost a few dollars at your local hobby shop.. MTH has a seperate 2006 Ready to Run Sets and Accessories mini catalog. Both Lionel and MTH have web sights that you can check out.
Lionel Thomas, Polar Express, and Holiday theamed sets are also very atractive.
Personal preference should be your deciding factor,
Paul Goodness
In http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/954296/ShowPost.aspx anjdevil2 mentioned he used a 40% off coupon to get a Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer set at Hobby Lobby for $128 and change. It's the very most basic of sets, but $128 leaves quite a bit in the budget for additional track and cars.
I haven't been to Hobby Lobby in a long time, so I don't know if they carry any of the other sets or not.
I don't know what you're planning to use (if anything) in the way of scenery, but when I was at Walgreen's the other day, I saw they had some nice Christmas buildings for $5.99 or 2/$10 that would be a good size for Lionel trains, so you can build a town for the train to run through on the cheap also.
battery powered train work also.
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