I think bachmann F units are a good choice for motive power. Not to many details to break off.
With kids i would do some type of under the bed layout since its less likely a loco on the floor will be dropped.
You could pick up some trainset quality rolling stock at a train show or ebay and upgrade the couplers to knuckle (either with Kadee talgo adapters or replacing the talgos with body mounts).
Joe Staten Island West
Just an idea, get a cheap Bachmann set with a few cars and track, dont worry about them damaging details, use it as an educational tool to show them to be more gentle, I had a Bachmann set when I was a kid, oh and I'm on the Spectrum, never was purposely destructive but I had a tendency to disassemble things to see how they worked.
So get a set with hood unit let the handrails get broken show the kids how to glue them back, it'll do more good than them thinking trains are industructible.
Good luck on your search and hopefully one of the kids will get into the hobby someday!
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
UNCLEBUTCH Wouldn't it be better to teach them a little respect. Instead of enabling them to destroy other people's stuff
Wouldn't it be better to teach them a little respect. Instead of enabling them to destroy other people's stuff
Probably will need to teach them what a bottom switch is? LOL.......
Good Luck!
Frank
I'd recommend any of the following.
-Athearn "Blue Box" locomotives. As had been mentioned "F"s are the sturdiest. Even the ones that are more modern styled with handrails have metal handrails that don't break the way modern production examples with plastic handrails will.
-Standard Bachman F units. These are another basic loco that will run well, you can probably find them for around $40-50 at Trainworld or somesuch.
-Model POwer F units. These are affordable and run well.
-Model power also makes a tiny little switcher that runs well and quite smoothly and is only$20 bucks but might not be able to pull more than 6 cars or so.
As for a drop to the floor or Koolaid, I'm not sure there is any model train that can be relied to stand up to that kind of treatment but the ones above at least have a better chance of surviving with cosmetic damage only and possibly still running.
Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading.
If you want something fairly durable and easy to work on, try to find one of the older Athearn F7s with the metal truck sideframes (60's production). Aside from headlight lenses and horns, there aren't any details to break off, and if by some chance the shell gets damaged, there are a million out there to replace it.
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mbinsewi Wow, from Model Power? I haven't kept up. It looks like it even has see-through grills. Mike.
Wow, from Model Power? I haven't kept up. It looks like it even has see-through grills.
Mike.
Yes, a friend of mine has one. It's built like a tank and runs surprisingly well.
Simon
My You Tube
6181?epid=1400659543&hash=item468e4dfc05:g:vrYAAOSwysFcGuhl
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
I recommend a Bachmann DCC onboard (no sound) SD40 or GP40. The SD40 has a fair amount of detail and is very sturdy. If you want a virtually unkillable locomotive, then a nicely rebuilt AHM HO Sharknose/C liner/ Erie Built will work perfectly. I have 6 operational units from the 1970s.
The Atlas (yellow box) FP7 diesel locomotive made by Roco in Austria is well made and durable. This has been out of production for many years, but you should be able to locate one in eBay .
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
The MTH "O" gauge Rail King set I got for my grandson held up great, as they were handled by many little hands, and cars were changed often.
The Rail King stuff is made for the sharp radius, and handles them fine.
Nice and big and heavy, which seemed to work out just right with little impatient hands moving things around. An occassional short from a derailed car or loco, and the system shut right down.
Or, buy them their own Lionel O gauge set to learn on.......
Sheldon
Get them a big set of wood Brio trains. Build "layouts" for them before they arrive. When they tire of the toys, they might be mature enough for real model trains.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
ATLANTIC CENTRALWhen did KATO ever make an HO F7? They made drives for Stewart
.
Yes, Of course I meant the Stewart models with the Kato drives. My favorite locomotive models ever! They make up the bulk of my roster. They run perfect and are durable as can be.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Keeping kids' hands off of a model train is a challenge. I get it. My young kids also want to touch the trains, move them around, etc. Manipulating them provides them a sense of awe. I remind them that they can play with the trains after we work on the wiring. It usually works. Having rules for operations is important.
I find the OP´s question difficult to answer without some more background as to how old the kids are and whether they will run the engines he is looking for on his layout or on some setup of their own.
In my opinion, none of the scale models currently in the market are child proof to a degree they will withstand the rough handling our beloved misfits are most likely to give them. Body shells made from plastic will break and even a die-cast engine will not survive a drop from a table without major damage.
If the children are old enough, i.e. 7 years or older, teach them care, if they are younger, get them a trainset which is made for that age.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
might add the older hobbytown units , while not cheep they have cast bodies and a metal drive train.
SeeYou190 ffgal Looking for recommendations for a sturdy HO sized locomotive that can stand up to abuse for a host of kids, nieces, nephews, guests, autistic relatives, etc. . to the Model Railroader forums. Your first few posts are delayed by the moderators, but that will end pretty soon. Please stick around with us. . Additg to what Steven said, I think the "F units" made by Kato (F3, F7, F9) are the most industrictable locomotives available, while still being top-notch products. They have one piece molded plastic shells so there are no parts to break off, and they run very well. . Please post more details. Will this go on a completed layout for the kids to play with, or will it just be temporary track on the floor? . Have fun! . -Kevin .
ffgal Looking for recommendations for a sturdy HO sized locomotive that can stand up to abuse for a host of kids, nieces, nephews, guests, autistic relatives, etc.
to the Model Railroader forums. Your first few posts are delayed by the moderators, but that will end pretty soon. Please stick around with us.
Additg to what Steven said, I think the "F units" made by Kato (F3, F7, F9) are the most industrictable locomotives available, while still being top-notch products. They have one piece molded plastic shells so there are no parts to break off, and they run very well.
Please post more details. Will this go on a completed layout for the kids to play with, or will it just be temporary track on the floor?
Have fun!
When did KATO ever make an HO F7? They made drives for Stewart, but I have never seen an HO F7 in a KATO package? Did they ever sell those under their name?
I don't pay much attention to KATO, they are an N scale company that just dabbles in HO now and then. They have no real selection of HO to speak of.
I am not sure stuff made for kids, like Thomas and its ilk, is really designed to be tough and durable. That is now how toy companies think these days.
Maybe HO is not really suited to the most destructive tendencies of the very young, but other than loading up on cheap used stuff, I'd look at trains that have the fewest parts that can be broken off. For example an F7 has fewer than a GP9 with its handrails and the like.
Probably the ultimate in durable HO are the old Mantua all metal steam locomotive tank engines without separate tenders: the 0-4-0T and 0-6-0T. By old Mantua I mean circa 1960.
Dave Nelson
I have to go along with what unclebutch says, really, but if it's just your usual kids, doing the things usual kids do at play time, Steve's idea is also a good suggestion.
You can also find lots of the Bachmann, Tyco, old Life Like engines on Ebay, I'm talking the trainset quality, nothing fancy.
Another option would be the good old Athearn blue box diesels. All the details are molded on, the railings are good and study, if you even put them on, which would be up to you, and they run good, and are easy to maintain, and come at a decent price, and run on DC, of which there are many power packs out there for DC.
You can find new "old stock" and used on Ebay, also.
ffgalLooking for recommendations for a sturdy HO sized locomotive that can stand up to abuse for a host of kids, nieces, nephews, guests, autistic relatives, etc.
In HO scale, the sturdiest you're going to find are the trains that are made for kids -- your Thomas the Tank Engines, your Chuggingtons, and the like. If having the trains look at all realistic is important to you, though, you generally aren't going to find "sturdy." Your best bet is to go cheap instead, so when (not if) it breaks, you won't be that worried about it. Pick a low-detail, one-piece-molded body locmotive, like you'd get in a department-store train set from Bachmann, Life-Like, Walthers, or Athearn. Molded-in details means fewer bits to break off.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Looking for recommendations for a sturdy HO sized locomotive that can stand up to abuse for a host of kids, nieces, nephews, guests, autistic relatives, etc. What's the closest to unbreakable you all can recommend?