Kids starter trains

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone. Im just starting to rediscover the train hobby with my 4 year old. He has a Brio set with Thomas cars, a Thomas take-a-long set, a Thomas set made by TOMY (how many Thomas 'guages' are there? and all are not compatible..) and his favorite, the Fisher-Price GEO-TRAX which I even enjoy. Running 4 IR controlled 3-4 car trains concurrently on the same track with manual switches and risers. We even run one backward, against the flow to keep our interest up.
Recently I pulled down a 25 year old Bachmann set that I had when I was a kid. It has a collection of Bachmann and Tyco track and switches and a Bachmann 4 car train headed by a GP-7 Diesel of Santa Fe livery. It was in poor condition as the engine was very spotty on where it would pick up the DC off the track. I cleaned the track and it got a little better, but it was never good enough to make a complete tour around ny track. I gave up on it after My boy broke the fragile coupler on the front of the diesel and started to cry. This is a train that is intended for 8 and up I believe. Anyway, a few days ago, my cheap sister picked up a Life-Like starter set called the Rail Master. It is 36" circle with 4 cars and power supply, nothing fancy, but it was $5.97!!! I asked where she bought it and I went back and bought the last 2 sets they had. So now I have 3 sets and want to start building a 4X8 for the newly vacated guest room. Im not looking for the best, but I am looking for the least expensive source for track, not the road bed track, but the standard code 100 stuff like ATLAS snap-Track. Do they still make the brass colored rails? Mail order is fine, as the life-Like web site has a few rolling stock cars for 1.50! This is a hobby that I can expand on with minimal cash outlay with deals like this.
I actually think the GEO-TRAX is a very well built product and can see my kid getting a few more years out of it. I just bought the stramliner with view cars on Ebay for 12.00. This is the best looking engine of the whole bunch and it is not available ANYWHERE for some reason, I dont think they made alot. OK, looking forward to getting this off the ground. Thanks in advance

[Anonymous]

I want to [#welcome] you to this forum, Nathan01. Sounds like you're off to a good start. There are others here who can help you better than I can. I just wanted to say welcome. If you can, please stop by the coffee shop. There is always good advice there. Though, it is a get-to-know-you kinda place. Here's to many more years of MRing fun.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nathan01

....looking for the least expensive source for track, not the road bed track, but the standard code 100 stuff like ATLAS snap-Track. Do they still make the brass colored rails? ...

[#welcome] Nathan01

Avoid brass track if possible. It's a problem to keep clean.

Here are some links to articles from Model Railroader that will help. Just click on the highlited words.
Sectional Track
Cleaning track
Cleaning Wheels
Banish Derailments

I posted some advice for the folks new to model railroading. Here's a short cut

[RoyalOaker]

Nathen01

Welcome to the Forum. I am new here also.

I have a three yr old that loves trains. He has a bunch of the wooden track with Thomas engines. Those geotracks look cool, but we have avoided them because he has the wooden stuff.

Yes you can still get brass track. I found a bunch at a hobby shop for a dime a piece. This particular shop buys old sets from people and I am sure that is where this stuff came from. I don't think you can get any brand new any longer. This worked out well while I was sampling track plans. I have since switched to new nichol/silver flex track.

You may find this stuff on e-bay also. There are always large sets of inexpensive stuff available on e-bay. You may have luck at garage sales if you are into looking around.

Train shows are also a great source for older, cheaper products.

Good luck and have fun. I have found that, with training, my three year has learned to handle the HO scale stuff very well. I only let him play with cars I am willing to lose. He is a pro with getting them on the track. I have an old AHM loco he uses when he wants the power.

[simon1966]

My boys are now 5 and 7. Thomas has gone out of favor with them, but they both still play with the Whittle Trains locomotives and all the wooden track. The Whittle trains are made in St. Louis by a family business. They make modern diesels and freight cars marked for many current and fallen flag railroads. These are really great toys for extending the life of the wooden track. They are on the web at www.woodentrain.com if you are in the STL area, the store/assmebly place is well worth a visit as they have a huge woodentrack layout.

[Anonymous]

[#welcome] aboard

As advised by others, I'd say to stay clear of buying more brass track if at all possible - it does require a lot more cleaning compared to nickel silver track. Having said that, it'll do in the short term - good advice I've seen is to use it in sidings and other low-traffic areas as these don't tend to need cleaning as often. Sourcing track cheaply is always tricky - Peco flextrack and switches are superb but I hear they're a bit pricey over there?

Another suggestion would be to visit www.kadee.com and investigate switching over to their couplers - they are very good and the best of the knuckle types. They also have info on fitting these to pretty much everything under "conversions". Fit uncoupling magnets under the rails at the start of each siding and you can switch cars hands-off - great for realism. Hope this helps!