I started this in the recommendations topic and I then thought it was about time to air everyones views on starter sets, again I am sure.
I bought the LGB freight starter set for £170 + postage a couple of days ago from an e-bay seller, my second starter set in 20 years! The set has come in from the States and has a 120v controller. You can see from the pic what you get, a 2-4-0 chunky loco with tender, a tank car, caboose, box of R1 track, controler, track connectors, smoke oil and an engineer. What fantastic value this set is and with LGB quality. I'm putting in another loop that will have some tight bends and I'll look out for a cheap 240v - 120v transformer, so there'll be no waste.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf05b3127cce8f25f2a1d2db00000016108QbM2jJyxcO
ok, I'll have to put metal wheels on the rolling stock with LGB pick up wheels for the caboose and a lighting board, still great value.
What other good value sets have people bought.
Cheers,
Kim
Congrats on your purchase.
It is very similar to the starter set I bought. What are your plans?
I haven't got any trestles or decent bridges on my line so I'm putting in a raised line that will run along the edge of the decking and stay (roughly) at that height around the garden and apart from a deviation around the back of the garden shed it will follw the main line. When the line emerges from the garden shed it will rejoin the main line in a junction station with a small town, this is already at the same height as the decking. The line will run through the shrubs and bushes and will be on a wood plank bed when it's not on raised ground. A nice project.
Hi Kim
I have three starter sets
The first one was a passenger set you know the one with the blue and white and red and white coaches by LGB this was second hand that's the one I started with.
The second was the work train with the feldbahn trucks and bridge beams the loco form this one is carp it had to have 1&1/2Lbs of lead added to it before the loco was any use.
The third was a newer version of the second hand one I first bought I don't like the loco from that one either the plastic valve gear may be closer to prototype but looks well YUK!! give me the simple flat metal valve gear any day or at least real metal valve gear.
While the start sets are all of use and still used and the loco from the first set is just about stuffed now I will rebuild it and repair it as long as the parts can be had
the second two set locos will probably be allowed to die I don't think they Are as good as the first one.
Still haven't been able to track down an old 2020 cab with a different number on the cab.
All the stock has or will get metal wheels before it runs on my track.
A good starter set is worth its weight in gold and may well out live some of the stuff that comes later.
Must find a use for all that R1 track maybe an indoor line jammed in a corner some where
regards John
That looks really nice Kim and at 170 X 2.5= A$425.00 sounds like good value. I too have two starter stes the one John talks about and the ICE train. Both have been "worked" and are great additions to my roster.
The ICE train has got a decoder at each end, Kuggel wheels throughtout and a European sound module. As well i got a pick up to suit a mogul and it will utilise sound magnets as well; it also has a dining car.
The passenger train now has 6 carriages all with kuggel wheels and lighting, dining car and a postal van as well. The Stainz loc also has a decoder and a powere tender with sound also with a decoder.
Rgds Ian
Kim,
Glad to hear you bit the bullet on an LGB American Starter set! Yes, that series of sets are a great value. NOte that besides Santa Fe, they have NYC, Pennsy, White Pass, DRG&W and Union Pacific! My brother has the Pennsy Set. I really would love to pickup the new Union Pacific set.
I just LOVE that LGB starter caboose - that is (so far) my Favorite LGB caboose. I think the freight sets are a little bit funner to have than the passenger coach sets. Especially for youngins.
Note that you can add a sound system- complete with chuff, bell and whistle - to your set for about $155.00US. You don't need it now, but the 65000 series LGB sound systems really make the steam engine come to life. These are little black boxes with a volume control and leads to connect to the track/ power sockets on LGB locos. Quite simple to add to your engine--put the unit in the big spacious tender (coal car) and run the leads to the power sockets or wheels. The optional bell/whistle contact ($35 US) allows you to have remote control of bell and whistle from track contacts. Many Ebay stores have these systems- I recommend to purchase from a dealer and not a private party.
Best of all, these are REAL railroad sounds - recorded from the 1:1 scale real thing - very high digital quality. You can go to the LGB.com / LGB.de website and look up the 65000 units and next to the item there will be a .WAV file you can download to get a sample of the sounds before you buy. There might be music in the .WAV sample, but that is only for copyright protection--the units don't play music in the background!
Besides sound, the 99xxx series track packs are a great value to pickup! They give you sidings and switches (turnouts) for your train empire. One of the happiest moments in my LGB history was to buy a 5075n control box and one electric turnout /one manual turnout and had the layout on the living carpet, feeling like I was a kid again!
Warm Regards,
Tom M.
Had it out on the tracks yesterday. A friend of mine has just bit the bullet after thinking about the hobby for a year or three and bought a 10 wheeler, after he'd gone I ran the new 2-4-0, very good runner indeed. You're quite right about the wagons Tom, I do like the tank car, logic says I should make it the weed killing car but it will probably end up with whisky inside it, take a while to pour a shot through that discharge valve, but what the heck...............
Hey guys,
My first set was a Napa Valley set by Aristo. The 0-4-0 and tender are currently undergoing a repaint since being purchased by CN. Still have the Napa reefer and four wheeled caboose. That's what got me started! Starter sets are a great way to get in fairly cheap and fast. Later eh...Brian.
I love the Crest power pack in the Aristo starter set...The built in momentum (well soft start/stop anyway) takes some getting used to, but just about every small loco I've run with one will creep along really well with it. Those oft-maligned aka "toy" R-1 curves are great for around the tree this time of year too. (Or year round if space is an issue).... LGB sets are always a great value, too.
Bachmann's sets are another kettle of fish. The train itself is really pretty good, but you almost HAVE to chuck the track and power pack and get something else if you actually want to run the thing. OTOH you can always buy an LGB/Aristo/USA R-1 circle of track and a better power pack on evilBay for a pittance and still save money.
Starter sets are just that starter sets; ie to get you started in the hobby or a set youcan get started with and build on.
Rgds ian
philosphy is available free today.
Hi Ian,
In this case I bought it for the value it represents. The loco is a good 'chunky' model with plenty of weight in it and runs well. The tender needed the axles packing with washers because of the side to side play and it 'crabbed' down the track. The loco is connected to the tender by a wire bridge and whilst the tender is wired for power to a socket on the back of the tender amazingly the reversing light is not wired?! The loco on its own is worth what I paid for the whole set and the freight cars + track are a bonus.
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