Could one of you who are experienced in garden railways give me your best advice.
(1) I want to know which is the best manufacturer to buy from ( LGB or Bachmann), in terms of durability, safety for kids and ease of use. I have read a little online and is leaning towards the LGB.
(2) Does LGB have diesel locomotive in many American trains especially interested in Union Pacific.
(3) Which is the best locomotive to start out with in terms of pulling power or what is the best starter set.
I need your help to finalize making my decision. Thanks a lot looking forward to some great responses
1. LGB is by far the the best in quality, durability and ease of use. Bachmann are much more detailed but more fragile. Two problems I find with LGB, one they are expensive and two as of now they are hard to find at least any american trains. Apperently LGB is struggleing or was. I would say their future is not very bright.
2. I think LGB only has steam but I could be wrong. Check e-bay
3. From what I hear the best LGB engine is the Mogul. Expect to pay a nice price though. As for starter sets the best for the money is the value starter set. Im not sure if they still make it. You might have to search around or try e-bay.
Im sure others will help you out more especially those who are LGB fans. Me Im a Hartland fan. You might want to look into Hartland trains. They are durable, made in the USA and the price is good.
http://www.h-l-w.com/,
mi-cctrains: If we knew where you live (if you had data in your Bio) someone should be able to suggest which stores to visit.
LGB is very durable and reliable. LGB had money problems, was bought out by Marklin who is now in money problems. Diesels in LGB are available but not very many, mostly European. If you do find what you want in LGB you better be prepared for sticker shock. Bachman is also mostly reliable and fairly easy to get. There are other brands available. Aristo-Craft, H-L-W (Hartland Locomotive Works) to name just a few.
The "best" engine to start with is the one that you find which will handle your physical limitations. What is your minimum curve diameter? What is your maximum grade?
As a general recommendation, I say find a starter set you like, put it in the ground a let the "seed" grow from there. Most starter sets will handle four foot curves very well, and do even better with larger curves. Always investigate the required minimum curve for an engine before purchase.
Tom Trigg
From your questions about diesels, you seem to be indicating standard gauge locos, not narrow gauge.
Bachmann makes narrow gauge stuff.
Your choices are LGB, Aristo, USA trains and AML in 1:29, but LGB is really not 1:29, nor scaled accurately. This may not bother you, but you should look at them.
Pulling power? Larger locos are often heavier so will pull more. USAT had traction tires on some locos that gave them a lot of pulling power, but they are being phased out.
I'd start with a loco like an F unit that can handle pretty sharp curves, or a GP7 or an S4 or NW2 in diesels, depending on what strikes your fancy. I like the F units since if you need more pulling power, you justadd more of them in a consist.
Regards, Greg
Visit my site: http://www.elmassian.com - lots of tips on locos, rolling stock and more.
Click here for Greg's web site
I would not bother with a starter set. All come with a tiny power pack and 4 foot diameter track is is pretty worthless unless running around the tree at Christmas.
New issue Aristo diesels are pretty reliable and easy to upgrade to RC and sound with the plug and play plug. The FA-1 is pretty kid friendly.
-Brian
A couple years ago I was right where you are. My advice is first, before anything else, figure out the "story" yoru garden railway will tell. Sounds silly, but it helps you narrow it down. Is it going to evoke mainline railroads of the 50s, with steam giving way to diesel? Is it going to be about narrow gage and the old west? Mining or logging? Is it going to be a modern mainline RR with long modern freight? Or a commuter line?
Obviously it can be whatever you want and whatever mix of stuff you like. But I found that it worked better when my wife and I figued out the story. Our story has ended up being about a small branch line runnig standard gage in the 40s and 50s. But we still have some stuff that doesn't fit that.
As far as manufacturers, I would not count on LGB, Great stuff, I have some, but I think they were/are now/may soon be out of business, either permanently or maybe for a while. Bachmann specializes in narrow gage rolling stock. It has an old time and vaguely "old west" look to poeple like my wife, who don't really care about "fidelity." Even their low end stuff is really nicely detailed.
Aristocraft is the least expensive and in some ways it's really great. Their diesels pull well and are nicely detailed without being too breakable. An Aristocraft Fa-1 would be an excellent choice--decent puller, easy for kids to manage
Bachmann has the most available starter sets, but the track is no good for outdoors. USA trains makes a starter set but it's hard to find.
Aristo makes a small diesel starter set:
I'd skip it though. It won't pull much, the cars don't match, you will quickly outgrow it
Good luck and have fun!
Mike brings up a point I neglected, many starter sets have very few things you will want when you really get going. Never use 4' or 5' DIAMETER curves unless you are forced to. Try to have at least 8' and better, 10' minimum diameter, then you can run 95% of the locos made.
Often in the starter sets, as Mike mentioned, the rest of the cars don't match. One exception in starter sets is the USAT ones, the one with the S4 switcher comes to mind, but again you will get track in too small a diameter.
In addition, the transformers supplied are usually not up to the task.
Mike's advice is good, pick your "era" and what you will model.
Try going to my site and reading the beginners FAQ's... the link is in my signature... start at the beginning...
Thanks guys information I am receiving are all pretty good and helpful. I have since decided not to get a starter set but to purchase a decent locomotive (still not decided on brand yet) and buy tracks and cars separately.I think the starter sets and and single loco are almost the same price so if anyone knows where in the Houston TX or Huntsville TX area where I can purchase please let me know.
This hobby has really been fun and I've met a lot of nice people and gotten lots of great advice.
Greg's pages are a great resource (see his website) and so is George Schreyer's "large Scale tech tips" page.
Also this page has some excellent tips
I'm not sure about texas, but you can find good deals on track on ebay--used track is often just fine, although shipping can be high.
In general, go for the widest curves you can
ml-cctrains(1) I want to know which is the best manufacturer to buy from ( LGB or Bachmann), in terms of durability, safety for kids and ease of use. I have read a little online and is leaning towards the LGB
I have several LGB sets and engines and rolling stock, plus a whole lot of their track and switches. LGB is very good quality (they established the high bar for quality years ago) but the comments about the brand's recent financial troubles and uncertain future are accurate. They had a great little American starter steam set in UP dress, but it was short narrow gauge style (cute, not prototypical for UP).
ml-cctrains(2) Does LGB have diesel locomotive in many American trains especially interested in Union Pacific.
LGB once made some standard gauge "scaled" equipment in Union Pacific colors, but you will have to search for it used. Currently they are only into European models and are not producing much American profile equipment at all.
Union Pacific engines and rolling stock are available from Aristo-craft, USA Trains, and MTH. All companies offer good quality with more than adequate detailing for viewing in a garden railroad setting, without the details being to fragile and prone to breaking. MTH are 1/32 scale which is correct scale for G gauge track, but the equipment is noticeably smaller than Aristo/USAT 1/29 or LGB "scale" (hovers around 1/27 for std gauge eqpt).
These companies also offer very good quality track systems; although Aristo-craft's track line is far more extensive than the others. Aristo-craft & MTH both offer pretty good power supplies/train controllers, although you will read a great amount of diverse opinion on how to power your garden RR. There are many excellent mfrs of DC power controllers, DCC systems, battery power/remote control RF systems, and some variants. Sorry, no, there is no "best" system. Everyone has their preferences depending on how they use and run their trains. More research needed here - but to begin with you can get some good recommendations in this forum for a simple power pack that is a level or two up from the starter set el-cheapo variety.
Aristo-craft catalog: http://www.aristocraft.com/catalog/index.html USAT catalog: http://www.usatrains.com/ MTH: http://www.railking1gauge.com/default.asp
Couple of on-line stores to check for good prices: RLD Hobbies, Ridge Road Station, others in this forum will recommend more stores. Al
WAY COOL INFO gbbari- you sound like you know much about these LGB people.
ml-cctrainsWAY COOL INFO gbbari- you sound like you know much about these LGB people.
Although I did a lot of research before starting to collect LGB, I don't know nearly as much as many folks who frequent several of the large scale forums. If you are still interested in more LGB information, I suggest that besides this forum, you might also consider joining the Yahoo group named "LGBFamily". That specialty group has a concentration of true "hardcore" LGB aficionados who have collected and run the brand for decades. Folks there are more than helpful in getting info for specific models, parts, more online resources, etc.
You will find enthusiasts for every brand across the forums so there are a lot of good resources for you to read and research. Al
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