hello all, wanted to know if I can get some help on this. I would like to get into HO scale trians. Does anybody know the best quality HO set out of the box for around my tree? I am new to HO. I have plenty of o-27. I would like to give HO a try.
please advise
These days, with all the techy stuff in the hobby (and associated $$$), yours is not an easy question to answer. My recommendation is to pick up a couple of the Kalmbach beginner books - which are always available very reasonably on Ebay. IMO, you need to familiarize yourself with the offerings and decide if you want to proceed. Frankly, I don’t consider a “trainset” as a good start, but that may be best for you.
Anyway, get a couple of the mags and study them, and go from there. And, if you absolutely must get a set first, Bachmann Spectrum is always a good buy.
Bachmann sells train sets. You can find better online prices. Even Amazon sells them online with free shipping.
I have seen them at train shows with a couple small layouts running DC only trains with the standard power pack.
Now, do you want DC, DCC or DCC with sound train sets?
If you go sign up at the Bachmann forums, there is a HO forum you can ask at. There are company reps and many users of Bachmann products who will recommend which set will be better than others. Diesels are easier to work with rather than steamers. There are connections between the tender and loco which some seem to break. All kinds of Bachmann products also. Keep you receipts in case there is an issue. Bachmann has a good replacement policy for new trains. If there is an issue, it is usually the loco.
If you don’t know anything about DCC, do some research first. Bachmann DCC equipped locos can run from a DC power pack also. You just cannot make any changes to a DCC loco without a DCC controller and the basic Bachmann DCC controller does not allow for much more than running the loco and using it to make different sounds on a sound equipped loco. Ok, much more info than you asked for.
I have been using Bachmann trains for sometime and there are Gotchas you might say. That is why I recommend asking some users there.
There are Bachmann bashers still around but Bachmann does have a lot of good trains. Do some research.
No idea about other brands of train sets.
Rich
Something to watch out for with the Bachmann products, make sure the set comes with Nickel Silver track, not steel track. Bachmann sells both. NS is much better than steel.
Edit.
I missed the, around the tree. Bachmann sells a variety of these sets.
Rich
I would look at Athearn Ready To Roll train sets. They are excellent for the starter set. They are durable, easy to work on, excellent paint and detail, and the new locomotives are DCC ready if you should ever want to go that route. They also are available at most hobby shops that have HO trains. Also they come in a nice sturdy box for storage after the holidays or if you need to store them after running them before you have a permanet layout to keep them on.
Ralph
If you can find one a Atlas or Kato set would be top of the line.
Check the better on line hobby shops for these sets.
I would suggest an MTH set if you already know some about HO, or Athearn sets because they have GREAT quality and more detail. But if your a starter, don’t know much at all about Model railroading, then get a Bachmann set because its cheap, and will get you through a few years.
But if you are going to buy a Bachmann trainset, don’t buy a bachmann steamer(their 0-6-0, for a couple of reasons, mainly because I’m assuming that you will want to keep this set for a long time, maybe even when you have your full fledged layout [;)]
Their 0-6-0 is…
Just some of my opinions…
Thanks
Charles
Go to www.walthers.com click the trains tab then click the train sets tab. There is a lot available.
Also www.athearn.com there are train sets available in the RTR line. Any thing from athearn, kato, atlas. 1st choice. Walthers mainline 2nd choice and, bachmann 3rd choice. Lifelike don’t know current stuff. Used to be junk.
Bachmann is not bad but may have more issues over time on the drive train.
Atlas is out of stock of train sets (don’t know when the last run was) so they may be hard to find.
Go to trainworld.com click on starter sets, then click on ho starter sets, will give you Bachmann, Athearn and MTH sets and their prices, quite a few to look at. From an overall quality standpoint the Athearn or MTH are probably your best bet, but for your initial needs Bachmann would also work. the advise to stay away from a steam loco in these price ranges is good to follow, also nickel silver track is preferable to steel track.
Go with Athearn, Watlhers or KATO for starter sets. Avoid the cheapo Lifelike, Tyco type train sets to avoid frustation that comes with lower quality.
Or, you can do what Model Railroader magazine has always suggested at Christmas time and build your own set from quality items - basically buy and Atlas RTR engine, a few freight cars and a caboose that matches the road name of the engine, and Atlas code 100 sectional track and an MRC power pack. Athearns RTR engines are generally good too and may be a little less expensive but Atlas have always been tops for smooth running qualities.
Just get a high nose GP and a string of coal cars.
Nothing says Christmas like coal.
If you really want a steam loco, Trainworld has both the Bachmann Durango and Silverton set or the Southern Frontiersman Freight set for $150. These sets include the usual loop of track (unfortunately steel), DC power pack and rolling stock. However, the locos in both sets are the Bachmann 2-8-0 which has earned a great reputation as a smooth and reliable runner. Trainworld sells just the 2-8-0 loco w/ DCC (no sound) for $178.
For only $30 more, Trainworld offers the Bachmann Echo Valley Express set including the EZ Command system, nickel silver track, rolling stock and a “Sound Value” DCC equipped 2-6-0 Mogul steam loco. I own one of these tiny moguls and have found it to be a good running loco with pretty decent sound. It’s size also makes it look great on small layouts. I know that the EZ Command system is pretty basic but this whole set is priced only a few bucks more than the Sound Value Mogul loco alone ($155) so the set is a pretty good deal for getting started.
Original question. We have given him a lot of suggestions. He wants an around the Christmas Tree set.
hello all, wanted to know if I can get some help on this. I would like to get into HO scale trians. Does anybody know the best quality HO set out of the box for around my tree? I am new to HO. I have plenty of o-27. I would like to give HO a try.
Bachmann has plenty.
Rich
HO isn’t ideal IMO for around the Christmas tree. I’ve done it a few times but wasn’t really happy with it. And now that I have a cat, there is no way I would put HO underneath, it wouldn’t stay on the track very long.
I think an ideal Christmas tree train would be larger scale, either O, O27 or G scale. Something big would likey survive a cat too - too big and heavy to be knocked off so easily.
Yes, the OP did ask about HO so if that is a must, then back to the list above, the Christmas tree part is moot - OP can get whatever is best and the tree is just incidental.
In the past I would have told anyone to avoid Bachman as just one of the Tyco or Lifelike class cheapo toy train sets. I don’t own any Bachman because I prefer higher fidelity trains, but I’ve read repeatedly that they have upped their game in the past 5-6 years so quality is improved - so they say.
Are you going to go beyond a tree or just want something for the holidays? If the latter, you might want to consider a larger scale as Rio mentioned. Just look around for some bright and festive colors of cars.
You might eventually consider creating a layout, so that’s the reason for purchasing books, etc.
He says he already has a lot of O-27 trains, so he’s probably not looking for something larger.
Most of the train sets now will get you at least a decent start in HO. The only ones to avoid would be the Life-Like sets, since they’re stil using the cheap “pancake” motor trucks developed to compete with Tyco 30 years ago. The only others I can think of that I wouldn’t recommend are the Bachmann sets with an 0-6-0 steam engine, since that particular model is known to have problems.
For a basic starter set, a Bachmann diesel set should serve you well. The diesels are smooth, reliable runners, the E-Z track system is decent, and in my experience, the included freight cars are prety trouble free. An Athearn/Roundhouse or Walthers Trainline set is about on the same level, and the only trouble I had with the Athearn set was that some of the coupler boxes weren’t screwed on tight out of the box.
For something with more quality, Bachmann Spectrum and MTH are nice, and you can also try and find a Proto 1000 or Atlas Trainman set. Kato also makes some high quality train sets, but you have to make sure they include track.
thank you to ALL responses for all for the info.
keep you posted on progress.