question from a newbie about a starter set

[Anonymous]

I'm a newbie to o scale and just starting to look at starter sets. This year I've purchased Lionel XMAS cars for the years my daughters were born. I've been kind of looking at the winter wonderland set, and i'm hoping they'll be cheaper after xmas...fat chance! Anyway, I saw a Lionel Burlington Northern set with coal cars on the Lionel site but I couldn't afford the second mortgage. I'm trying to find the web site for MTH to see what they have to offer. My other question is what would be a good starter set and what would I expect to pay for it? I think I would like Burlington Northern because that is what used to pass thru my town when I was a kid. Thanks for any help!

[Anonymous]

The MTH site is :
mth-railking.com

I would expect to pay anywhere from $200-$300 for a decent starter set. They can be had for less sometimes, but you have to really look. My local train store has a few decent sets in the high 100's. I'm partial to RailKing (MTH) stuff myself even though I grew up with Lionel and Marx.

Check your local sears store. A few weeks ago, I got a MTH Santa Fe set for $125 (discounted half price from $250). Probably none left now though. I apid less than cost for the set. So I couldn't pass it up.

Kleins in Baltimore,. MD (www.trainstuff.com) currently has the Lionel PA Flyer set for $149.99. Were it me, I would upgrade to the New York Central Flyer set (199.99) to get the Railsounds. Those are both pretty good prices. Could probably do a LITTLE better, but you'll really have to look.

[brianel027]

It's not in their catalog, but K-Line has a BN Freight Set with an MP-15 diesel and 4 cars of the smaller 027 size and a lighted caboose. Saw one on ebay for around $160.
Now I don't really care about Lionel Railsounds or various computer control systems... most guys I know who have Railsounds end up turning it off, so what's the point of spending extra money for it. The current Lionel Pennsy Flyer is a decent starter set for around $130 mailorder... steam engine, box car, gondola with load and caboose. There's also a Southern Diesel Freight Set with a GP-38, 3 cars including a lighted searchlight car and caboose for around $175 mailorder.
K-Line made a series of freight sets with an MP-15 diesel under the general title of Overland Express. The cars are a little smaller, 8-9 inch long versus 10-11 inch, but I like the smaller cars. K-Line has made these sets in Lehigh Valley, Burlington Northern, Santa Fe, Pennsy, Union Pacific and Western Maryland among others. There's some on ebay now... just scroll through the K-Line listings.

Frontiercc is probably right in that MTH Railking are probably the best made sets. But the above Lionel and K-Line sets are not bad either and are certainly more affordable. The K-Line sets I mentioned don't all have horns. But you can add sound if you want later with the MRC Sound Station for around $50 you can push buttons and make all sorts of train noises... kids seem to love that thing! I heartily recommend it for a layout with kids! You plug it in to the wall - no special wiring to the trains. You also get plastic trucks on the cars versus die-cast metal, but you can always replace the trucks later on. I frankly don't mind the plastic trucks and like the ones Lionel currently uses.

I understand where you're coming from on the money... but you need to get started someplace. You can always improve and upgrade later down the track, so to speak.
Also K-Line made that MP-15 diesel in BN as a separate sale item that pops up on ebay now and then and can usually be had under $75. So you buy another set and add the BN diesel later... there's another idea. You can see the K-Line MP-15 on their web site or in their current catalog. I have a bunch of them with no complaints.

brianel

[Roger Bielen]

The current and just past issues of the other O-gauge magazine, O-Gauge Railroading, have articles comparing low and high end starter sets from the chief manufacturers.

[Anonymous]

i would sugest not get one with a someking steam engine you could ovewr flow the smoke genorator and you will never get the track clean again.

[Anonymous]

Pick-up a copy of CCT or OGR mags and check the ads for deals.
Hope that helps.
Keith