Toy Recommendation

[Anonymous]

Hello. I know nothing about trains, but my dad asked me to research this and I was hoping someone here could help me out or at least point me in the right direction...

he wants a "heavy" electric train for his grandson with steam (or smoke?) pellets. about $100 range or so... any info is appreciated. he grew up in the 50s with whatever trains enamored him then... thanks so much!

[CB&Q]

Hi you don't say as to you want just the engine or a train set ? most engines in that time period are still for sale as used but most are pricy. you can get a new starter set with what you need to start runin a train. they start at apprx 175 - 300 depends on what you want you can go to web sites for train suppliers or manufactures of trains. go to www. lionel. com or www.mthtrains.com these two sites will give you an idea of whats available also cost & what comes in a set etc. by the way have you thought about joinin the fun with your dad? It's agreat escape from the fast paced world we live in by the way get afreind to join in as well the hobby needs new & young blood to keep this great hobby goin !!!!!!

[Dave Farquhar]

Another option if you have a Hobby Lobby near you is to try to pick up a K-Line set there on clearance. Prices and selection vary but I've heard of people getting out of there with sets on clearance for $100 or so.

I started to write more but realized I'd just be repeating pretty much everything stpaul said. I wi***here were something available in the $100 range; I think whoever did it would sell a lot of them.

[brianel027]

At this time of year, you'll be hard pressed to find anything really decent below $100. Even sets that have previously been on clearance: dealers and sellers know this is THEIR time of year. Even K-Line sets that I know have been clearance items are NOT right now. You would have to look on ebay and consult with someone who knows their trains, and buy something that has been used. But there are some decent used sets on ebay... you just need to know what to look for. But even there, you'd be lucky to find a used set with a good quality heavy die cast steamer other than a smaller 2-4-2 or 4-4-2 wheel arrangement.

But in a $150 price range, you have a lot more choices. There are the newer Lionel NYC and PRR Flyer sets minus Railsounds. But they still have whistles and smoke and are decent running engines and fine first choices. Again, I'm not wild about FasTrack because of it's small space layout limitations (on a 4'x8' you can do a large oval and that's pretty much it) but it does have advantages for the on-the-floor, around-the-tree layout. You might get lucky too and find one of the K-Line Iron Horse steam sets for around $150. It's an older set, but has their basic steam loco - the smoke unit is unreliable, but it IS a very smooth and quiet running loco with good pulling power. The cars in those sets are the smaller MARX style 027 cars, but for a kid's first train, they are utterly just fine. And you get enough 027 track to do a figure 8 layout as I recall. There are some decent K-Line diesel sets in that $150 price area, like the Keystone King, the Overland Express, the Fast Freight series (in UP, WM, ATS&F, BN and maybe some others) that also come with the smaller MARX type freight cars, but have the decent MP-15 dual-motored diesel. Newer ones have a horn on the loco. Older ones may not. Older ones come with 027 track, and the newer ones with K-Line's Snap-Track, which I would prefer myself over the FasTrack for no other reason than the Snap-Track still allows some layout possibilities on a 4'x8.'

If you need any help or want advice, email me and I'll be glad to assist. Seeing kids back in the hobby has long been a passion of mine and job number one. Too bad the companies don't view it with the same passion that I do!!! Maybe with Calabreese at the helm at Lionel this will change.

[Buckeye Riveter]

The K-Line idea is one of the best. They have some good rugged sets.[8D]

Another option mentioned is Ebay. . If you see something on Ebay, and want us to take a look at it, just give us the URL and there won't be a shortage of opinions. [:D]

At this time of year, in some of the large cities there are trains for sale in the classifieds