TOYS VS MODELS..............

[Anonymous]

Hello, I just joined the forum. I just recently got back into trains about a month ago after being out of the hobby for about 17 years(Since I was 13 years old). I'm attempting to recreate the CSX line that runs behind my Grandmothers house in Cincinnati and have collected several Chessie and Conrail cars so far. While I've been collecting these I've ran into so many companies that manufacture cars and engines I don't know where to start or who's the best. I've been told that companies like Bachman, Tyco and AHM are "Toy Trains" that are worthless junk, but Life like, Athearn and several others are "Model Trains" that are better made and much more collectable. I've never had any problems with Tyco or Bachman but I also have never ran an Athearn or life like to really see the difference. What companies have you had the best or worst success rate with and who would you recommend?
Thanks alot!
Jonathan

[Fergmiester]

Welcome Jonathan

Once you go to the local hobby store (LHS) you'll be able to make some comparison shopping. There has been some recent threads with opinions on who makes good equipment. You'll find very quickly that things have changed since you've left. Tyco is no longer and Bachmann has come along way. AHM/Rivarossi has also improved vastly and you will find prices to match.

As I said before if you scan the last twenty pages you will come across some more info on what your looking for. At the top of the page you'll see a search the forums box. This is the internal search engine. Use words like Proto, Athearn, Rivarossi etc and you will get the threads that may be of help.

[Anonymous]

To begin with, I would suggest restricting your purchases to Athearn, Atlas, Kadee, Kato, LifeLike Proto 1000/Proto 2000. These are all good manufacturers - there are many others that I have probably missed, feel free to add to the list! Other manufacturers are variable - Bachmann make some decent locos, and some awful ones. Best bet here is to examine one in your LHS before buying - ask if they can test-run it, this will give an idea of the running qualities. I would recommend Proto 1000 locos as being superb value for money - they are near-silent, have good haulage abilities, are nicely detailed (with the option of adding extra detailing later), and are reasonably priced.

[Anonymous]

If you're going to be buying any Bachmanns, get locomotives from their Spectrum line. Yes, Athearn, Atlas, Rivarossi, P2K and P1K are also great. Have fun!!!!!

[Anonymous]

if you want to have really nice locos get kato

[Anonymous]

The Bachman Spectrum line are decent enough models, I just feel they don't pay enough attention to detail. Example, I have a G-scale Bachman 4-6-0 that has no slide valve rod action [going in and out]. My Rocos and Brawa HO-scale do it perfectly. If others can do it in a smaller scale, then why not Bachman. By the way, anything I pay $400/500 bucks for is not a toy.

[Anonymous]

Hey no Bashing Bachmann! Even their standard line is pretty good !!

[Anonymous]

Jonathan,

[#welcome]to the forum!

The one thing I've learned this past year since I returned to MRR is you get what you pay for, that is, in most cases. My first purchase was a "set" of inexpensive cars made by Life-Like. When I received them (UPS) I found they were junk. This put me off Life-Like, thinking that if this is any indication of their quality then I wasn't going to waste any more money on Life-Like products.

Reading the posts on this and other forums I guess I got what I paid for. Less money = less quality. There are many modelers that like Life-Like especially their Proto 2000 series (P2K).

If you are going with ready-to-run (RTR), you will need to decide how much detail and quality you're willing to pay for. Plastic vs metal grab irons, plastic vs metal wheels, plastic vs metal couplers. BTW, Kadee couplers are rated the number one coupler by several of the "poll" posts that I have read.

I have presented many questions in answer to your question but there are a lot of things to consider when buying locos and rolling stock other than the manufacture. The big questions being "How prototypical do you want your trains to be?" And the second question is "How deep are your pockets?"

You need to consider how much rework you are willing to do once you have put out the money for than "RTR" car. IMHO RTR really stands for Ready-To-Rebuild. You buy a piece of RTR rolling stock then before putting it on your layout you replace plastic wheel sets with metal and change the plastic couplers to Kadee's, then weather it...

Don't get wrapped up with name brand, buy it if you like it, rework it if you want, but in any case Enjoy the hobby!

[Anonymous]

Thanks alot everybody. I've been to the hobby shop and I'm amazed at whats available. I saw trucks that are completley made out of metal with actual springs in them[:D], couplers that looked like the real thing and cars and loco's that had some weight to them when I picked them up. I know I might sound silly right now but seeing all this has just broadened the possibilities of what I can do with my layout and rolling stock. Of course my pockets may not be as deep as I wi***hey were but it will all come in time[:)]
Thanks again everyone.

[Jetrock]

To echo what some have already said, you'll probably be better off to buy a few higher-dollar pieces than to have a fleet of extensive cheap rolling stock. Spending a little extra for quality is a worthwhile investment, and you won't have a zillion extra cars cluttering up your railroad.

Take a look around and browse--it's not too difficult to tell the difference between a cheap engine and a good one, both in terms of detail and paintjob as well as operation (any hobbyshop worth its salt will have a test track.)

Often manufacturers will have several lines of engines--a toy-train line of cheaper stuff and a higher-quality line. While the low-end Bachmann stuff tends to be pretty cheesy, their "Signature" line of locomotives is very nice indeed (at least in HO scale diesels) in detail and nice running.

Although if you want a basis for comparison, buy a couple of the cheapest, lowest-quality cars you can find just so you can get frustrated with their derailments and disappointed with your lack of detail--you won't feel so bad when you either throw them out or give them gladly to an eight-year-old to play with.

[Roadtrp]

I just bought my first set of freight cars, and I intentionally went for the inexpensive stuff. This will be my first attempt at weathering cars, and I decided I would rather throw out cheap cars than expensive ones if I don't do so well.

The cars I purchased were:

Roundhouse: 1 tank car and 1 hopper, about $12.50 each
Bachmann: 1 hopper, about $10.00
Life Like: 1 caboose, about $10.00
Model Power: 2 box cars, about $6.00 each

I was actually surprised at the quality of the Roundhouse cars considering the relatively low price. They also came with both Rapido and knuckle couplers.

The Bachmann and Life Like cars were what I expected -- moderately detailed and no problems with operation.

The Model Power cars have a tendency to derail and will be the first units I weather. [;)]

[Jetrock]

Okay, you have a good point there--it's nice to have some "expendable" cars you can practice on before you get a $500 piece of brass under your paintbrush.

The Roundhouse stuff is nice.

some tips: sometimes a relatively "cheap" but well-detailed kit (like the Roundhouse, or Athearn blue-box kits) plus some high-quality but not pricey components (Kadee couplers, metal wheelsets) can result in a pretty nice car for a reasonable price.

And the Model Power stuff is good for kamikaze death-experiment weathering techniques. Hey, who wants to make a boxcar covered in ivy??

[DSchmitt]

Sometime with a little effort and some upgrading (often minor) the cheap toy can become a better model than the expensive model. Some people really enjoy this aspect of the hobby. Don't overlook a potential treasure just because it's junk.[:D]