little joe train set

[Anonymous]

hey everyone i was looking at some train sets and ran into the little joe life like set. is this a good deal? i have seen the engine that comes in it and it looks like a z scale but it is an n. im not sure if it is worth it thankyou for the help

[Anonymous]

Leave it on the shelf and walk away...
No offense to Life Like products, but I had a friend that bought one of those Little Joe sets a couple of years ago, and it only lasted a few days before it died.
Save your money and go to a "real hobby shop" and buy your engines. Cars aren't all that important as long as they have the correct couplers, but engines are a whole different ball game. You can spend $65.00 on a lower end Bachmann steamer that will run good for a couple of weeks-if that, or $85.00 on a higher end steamer that will give you many years of use if you take care of it.

trainluver1

[Anonymous]

Dont touch life like no matter what scale, they arent durable, and they arent life like. Good to make sure the kid really wants trains, but thats it.

[bcammack]

The Life Like N scale set with the GP-20 in it is probably the best one available. It's an excellent, contemporary split-frame locomotive. Unfortunately you still get the funky trainset power pack and stuff.

I'd recommend buying a Kato Unitrack K-1 track set, an MRC Railpower 1300 power pack, a Life-Like GP-20 locomotive, and an assortment of Industrial Rail freight cars. You'll have essentially the same stuff as a trainset, but it will be far, far superior quality stuff and will form a strong foundation for a good hobby experience.

www.toytrainheaven.com has the very best prices on Kato Unitrack. It's great track. I think the K-1 oval starter pack costs around $26 + S&H.

Life-Like has a web special right now on that GP-20 locomotive for $17.00.
http://www.lifelikeproducts.com/trains/nscalecars/nscalelocos.htm

That's a huge value. The F7 and the GP-38 are both plastic framed, trainset quality locomotives and aren't even half the locomotive the GP-20 is.

Industrial Rail cars are available at Hobbytown USA, usually for a couple dollars per car. Their essentially Life-Like cars in Industrial Rail boxes. Perfectly adequate starter cars.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

My introduction to N scale was the Little Joe Life Like trainset. In spite off this very poor set set, I persevered and stayed with Nscale. The Little Joe set is a waste of money. I don't know how a LHS can sell it without feeling guilty. When buying Nscale steam, try before you buy! There is a lot of trash in Nscale steam and also some good pieces. No way are you gonig to get a good steamer at Little Joe prices. One of the best deals in Nscale steam is the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 Consolidation. The new all metal Model Power Pacific and Mikado are not bad. I would have to disagree with Trainbuff 101. Life Like does make some good Nscale engines and some really crappy Nscale engines. The same can be said of Bachman/Spectrum Nscale engines. Atlas is my favorite company which makes Nscale trains. Always always always try out the Nscale steam before you buy! A company can produce a really nice product and their next product have serious flaws even if it is expensive.

[rrgrassi]

little joe should be called little junk