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You have an EXCELLENT EYE! Yep, that Pacific would be a great loco to own, though it might even be a little bit TOO GOOD for a young kid, who will no doubt exhibit an interest in running trains hard and fast. Consider the price tag; this is a model engineered for serious modelers, who like to get picky over the details (the "rivet counters") and who yearn for reliable and smooth slow-speed operation. I've never seen one of these in operation, honestly, and probably won't since I model the early 1970's, but my guess is that if you do invest in one and take good care of it, it will still be part of your roster when you mature as a hobbyist and start building your second or third layout. Model Power and Bachmann are two manufacturers known for their poor-quality N-scale equipment, and who have in recent years introduced top-of-the-line products in an effort to counteract that public perception. They offer a lot of cheaper equipment, which is still very unsatisfactory, targeted towards casual or new hobbyists, and this makes it hard to recommend them as a brand name. I wouldn't want you to get a bad taste for model railroading based on inferior products. This is why I like Life-Like so much, because their equipment is across-the-board mediocre (well, they do have a top-end line of products similar to the other two) and also across-the-board affordable. Their engines run, some of them very well. Another good brand for beginners is Atlas, especially in terms of freight cars, but their stuff tends to be more expensive. Atlas's engines are intended for slightly more serious hobbyists, and they may come with incompatible couplers; it depends on what "vintage" you get, since Atlas has been around a long time and originally they abided by the standard Rapido coupler. These days, though, Atlas markets their stuff with Micro-Trains-compatible couplers, which look more like the real knuckle couplers railroads use, and are the type that dedicated hobbyists use (for the most part). Micro-Trains itself is at the top of the scale, with the highest-quality rolling stock, alongside Kato which builds the best-running engines. If it were me, I'd start off with Life-Like engines, perhaps a GP-18 or two (they cost less than $30 at most train shows), and then I'd be reasonably sure they would run well, and I'd not care too much about abusive use. I'm still using my Life-Likes today, after replacing couplers with Micro-Trains and making other improvements to match the higher quality of my other equipment, and that's after a decade of being in storage while I went to college and whatnot.
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