I was in Costco this weekend and I saw for $47.99 the Bachmann Cargo King set. I know it is far from the best trainset to have but as a gift for a child to spark thier interest in MRR, it is a good start. I picked one up for my nephew for Christmas.
For the benefit of those who are wondering about the scale, since the OP never mentioned it, the Bachmann Cargo King set is HO.
Bachmann usually also releases G scale train sets through Costco and other mass marketers at this time of year.
Bachmanns sets are great starter sets for kids under the tree. And relatively inexpensive so if they manage to tear it up not much lost.
Hopefully they will cherrish and treasure it, spark their interest in model trains and it will last them a lifetime!
{In my estimation far better than LifeLike, though I think LL's are more prevalent at xmas time}.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
My Costco has that one and a different but similar set. The price is better than comparable sets at Hobby Lobby.
I'd be curious to hear how well the set works for your nephew since they are bottom of the line.
Enjoy
Paul
Sometimes I see these "cheap" HO and N trainsets for sale around Christmas and I can already see through the plastic that couplers are broken off and trucks have lost their wheels (and possibly due to no fault of the manufacturer or importer). You can only imagine what a parent who is not themselves a modeler can make of such a gift. Pure frustration ... and the kid is unlikely to enjoy it at all. However, the combination of a cheap train set AND an experienced modeler as parent or uncle or grandparent to help set it up and do needed repairs and try to make it run can by contrast be a good one.
Dave Nelson
Have to agree with Dave here. I think those cheap train sets turn as many away from the hobby as they bring in - the poor quality results in broken parts and frustration as the train can't even make one lap of the simple oval without derailing. 2 minutes of this and the kids turn right back to their video games. A real shame, actually. Those not already in the hobby though have no clue and get taken in by these cheap sets. Years ago MR did a comparison test of some common HO and N train sets, and as I recall none of them was top notch in all areas, only one had track sections that actually matched up without massive gaps, and most locos only picked up power on 2 wheels on each side - combined with less than ideal conditions of setting it up on the floor and you have a recipe for constant stalls as well.
For those of us already in the know, if there is a young family member who might be interested in the hobby, a better set can be made up using a slightly better quality loco and a few cars and track sections for not much more than those cheapy train sets, and have better overall quality and satisfaction. And hopefully another life-long participant in this great hobby of ours.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.