Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
krapug1 wrote:You may want to take a look at the new starter set from Atlas, under it's Industrial Rail brand.It looks sharp, and has a fresh look (meaning the steam engine is not the same ol. starter set engine).I saw it at Willis Hobbies in Mineola, LI, and they said they have so far gotten good feedback on them.The retail as I recall is in the mid to high 2's.Ken
Just browsed the atlas site. That steam starter set does look great! Price seemed right too. Now this is Saturday, and I've had a hard week at work, so I may be a little grumpy here. While checking other things at atlas, I came accross a deck girder bridge. I admitt it's a great looking bridge BUT $110??? Lionel has a truss bridge for half that and it has a blinking light on top!! OK, I've "vented". By the way, the Lionel UP freight starter set is my wish for Xmas. Ken
I actually ended up purchasing the Union Pacific Fast Freight. The wife thought the Chesapeake was too much and was not sure if we wanted to spend the extra money on TMCC... She liked this set cause of the train sounds over the hogwarts, that and the operating coal car were the only reason we bought this set over the Polar Express. I actually like the berkshire off the Polar Express set better, but it did not include the train sounds.
Thank you all for all your great advice.
How about the Hogwarts Express made by Lionel? I'm getting the Hogwarts Express & it is a very cool set. I don't see why people think that the Hogwarts Express is a turkey as some say, I don't know why but for $300 it should not be a turkey.
MTH and Lionel both make nice starter sets. You must make the choice based on what your wants and preferences are.
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
The Chesapeke set is a winner w/tmcc, also Atlas has a nice chesapeke and ohio set as well and there is an add on pack for the atlas set. I my self collect starter sets usealy the ones with the 4-4-2 locos(smaller than the berks) I have a NYC and a C&O set very basic sets for around $169.00 but thats just my opinion, the other starter sets I have are a Lionel construction set has a practicaly useless loco and three gondola cars and some construction dodads and vehicals but it was only $99.00 and I have a K-line set from before lionel took over k-line. The rest of my collection is odd locos and extra cars. I have had a problem with one lionel loco and one k-line loco and no problems with MTH but to be fair I only have one MTH set so it is not a valid comparisson to the lionels as all mfg have quality issues the more you buy the grater your chances of getting that lemon set.
MY MTH set is the Buckeye Express by the way.
JMHO, but I am a firm believer that it is better to stretch your budget and get top quality stuff to begin with-- you usually end up saving money in the long run. My grandfather bought my father the Lionel 1521WS set for Christmas 1954- a fairly expensive ($69.50) and high quality set for the day. Well, it still works and we enjoy it to this day- I'd say our family has gotten it's money's worth.
TMCC is great and if you think you'll go that way eventually the C & O is a relatively cheap entry point for command control.
Thanks again for all the super fast replies. You have all been super helpful. In doing more research it looks as tho MTH starter sets come with very little track to begin with, which is a minus in my book. Now that you mention the Chesapeake Super Freight, that might be right up my ally for upgrading to the cool stuff in the future....
Decisions, decisions, the good part it, it's all for fun and not life and death!
FirstSet wrote: Wow, that was fast! I think I am leaning towards the UP set because of the coal action, my wife thinks it would be fun for it to spill out M&M's hahahahahhahah.
Wow, that was fast! I think I am leaning towards the UP set because of the coal action, my wife thinks it would be fun for it to spill out M&M's hahahahahhahah.
Michaels has styrofoam wrapped presents that will fit into the hoppers. That's what we have.
Kurt
YGBSM wrote: You will get a lot of opinions about MTH vs. Lionel. MTH usually has better smoke and Lionel usually has better sound effects (Trainsounds vs. Railsounds). However, the Lionel Fastrack system (like in the UP and Polar Express sets) is generally considered to be better than the MTH track system, at least for starting out. Basically it comes down to personal preference; I think the UP set (or the closely related C & O Fast Freight which has TMCC) is a great choice.
You will get a lot of opinions about MTH vs. Lionel. MTH usually has better smoke and Lionel usually has better sound effects (Trainsounds vs. Railsounds). However, the Lionel Fastrack system (like in the UP and Polar Express sets) is generally considered to be better than the MTH track system, at least for starting out.
Basically it comes down to personal preference; I think the UP set (or the closely related C & O Fast Freight which has TMCC) is a great choice.
You will get a lot of opinions about MTH vs. Lionel. MTH usually has better smoke and Lionel usually has better sound effects (Trainsounds or Railsounds). However, the Lionel Fastrack system (like in the UP and Polar Express sets) is generally considered to be better than the MTH track system, at least for starting out.
I just spoke with a local hobby store and they were telling me that the MTH starter sets are about in the $350 range and are much better. Mostly be cause of better sounds, smoke units, and power units.... is all this true?
I believe the store keep also said that the tracks are much nicer.
FirstSet wrote:I have done some research I think I am set on the o-gauge. Looking at the Lionel UP Fast Freight and the Polar Express.... I was just wondering if they have the same Berkshire or if they are a little bit different? I'm open to other recommendations as you guys are the veterans. This will be my first. Thanks in advance for any help.
I have done some research I think I am set on the o-gauge. Looking at the Lionel UP Fast Freight and the Polar Express.... I was just wondering if they have the same Berkshire or if they are a little bit different?
I'm open to other recommendations as you guys are the veterans. This will be my first.
Thanks in advance for any help.
We just got the Polar Express for our boys for Xmas, and plan on adding to it as time goes on. Such as the Trainsounds tender and other passenger cars. I've been real pleased with it.
Ah, thanks for clarifying, hahahaha When you said air whistle at first, I thought of it as like a mini air horn....hehe
I am still leaning more towards the UP Fast Freight setup.
FirstSet wrote:Wow, that was fast! I think I am leaning towards the UP set because of the coal action, my wife thinks it would be fun for it to spill out M&M's hahahahahhahah.Now the Trainsounds vs Air whistler, what is more fun in your opinions?
Now the Trainsounds vs Air whistler, what is more fun in your opinions?
Trainsounds has more sounds, as I described above. An air whistle is just that. A "whoo whoo" sound that is basically 1930's technology. Which one is more fun? That's up to the individual.
FirstSet wrote: I have done some research I think I am set on the o-gauge. Looking at the Lionel UP Fast Freight and the Polar Express.... I was just wondering if they have the same Berkshire or if they are a little bit different? I'm open to other recommendations as you guys are the veterans. This will be my first. Thanks in advance for any help.
Congratulations on joining the hobby -- it is a great one to be in. I'm not sure about the UP Fast Freight, but I know that the Polar Express has a very nice loco in it. The engine itself is worth around $200...
The internals of the Berks are the same. The Polar Express Berk has a slightly different shell than the UP Berk. Look closely at the front of each locomotive. See the enlarged "cow catcher" on the Polar Express?
Both have the same motor, same smoke unit, and same flywheel. But the Polar Express set has an air whistle tender, and the UP set has Trainsounds - an electronic sound system that replicates steam chuffing, bell, whistle, brake squeal, and crew talk.
Both are nice sets.
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