I know this is the “scale” forum, but I’m “one of us”, and am thinking about getting into G or O scale for my kid (soon to be kids).
My 2 year old is just beginning to enjoy his small Brio-Thomas trains. I’m thinking maybe the next step will be a larger scale.
We visited the San Diego Model Railroad museum last weekend. He had little interest in the HO and N layouts, but went absolutely berserk at the 3-rail O-scale layout. He started yelling out train noises and going nuts. It was awesome.
I’ve been struggling with HO layout concepts - wanting some sort of continuous running, yet not really having the space for that. So now I’m considering a purely switching layout in HO, but then doing some larger scale stuff with my son. This would feed my “realistic” bug, as well as my “fun” bug.
So, my question is: which is more kid-friendly, G scale (I know it’s not really called a scale, but you know what I mean), or 3-Rail O scale? I’m suspecting 3-Rail O is easier to reconfigure on the bedroom floor. But I honestly have zero hands-on experience with O scale.
(I’ve been following the O vs. HO for kids thread - just wanted to throw G into the mix without stepping on the other thread topic).
Do you have a back yard, or are you a cliff dweller?
If the former, G-gauge (choose scale to suit) in the Great Outdoors might be a good choice.
If the latter, Lionel 3-rail is more likely to be the better bet.
Your youngster’s reaction (or lack thereof) to HO might be different if he had hands-on control. OTOH, there are advantages to keeping a distinction between, “Children’s trains,” and “Grown-up’s trains.” Who knows if, sometime in the future, you might be asked, “Dad, am I big enough to run your trains yet?”
Hi, I am a multi-scale modeler, I enjoy HO down at the club (Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club, Portland, OR) and mainly O-Gauge at home. I also have some Bachmann G Big hauler stuff (not the most expensive G available, but the best suited for what You are considering) Plus I have also collected a little N-Scale over the years, and I’ve had S-Gauge American Flyer when I was younger.
My recommendation would be O-Gauge, with Lionel being my personal preference. These are VERY RUGGED trains, and WHEN, not if something gets broken, Lionel is second to none in customer service. They have sent me many replacement parts for FREE. I have gotten 7 Nephews, a 2Nieces, a Granddaughter and some Family Friends started with O-Gauge, and when something needs Fixin, Uncle/Grandpa Doug is who they call first, and a phone call to Lionel has ALWAYS resulted in the part I need in the mail in short order.
My Granddaughter and 2 Nephews were started at 2 years old (with adult supervision) and they did very well, and had a BLAST. Aside from the ruggedness of O-Gauge trains, the 3 rail track will let you do any track configuration such as reverse loops and Wye’s without any special wiring needed. O-Gauge also has a lot larger variety available than G-Scale ( although still nowhere near what is available in HO) A couple of small Locomotives that I would recommend, although they are not Lionel, are RMT’s Beeps for a small diesel, they look very nice and run well and have a price of about $69.95 last I looked. And also K-Line’s (by Lionel now) 0-4-0 Porter for a small steam locomotive, at about $99.95, I believe, very cute and good running engine based on an actual locomotive. Both of these do have some detail parts that may be susceptible to damage, but they do have a nice advantage, that they will not go fast enough to launch themselves off the track on curves, even O-27, so they are safe for even the youngest to learn throttle control with. On a floor layout too fast on curv
I prefer the 3 rail O for younger children. Both the G and the O have the hands-on appeal and manual fun - staging scenes with wood blocks, Lincoln Logs, Hot Wheels cars, and whatever else is readily available. Both can have the cars loaded and unloaded manually, and can be pushed instead of operated remotely (kids younger than 7-8 prefer to push on their own rather than remotely controlling something).
3 rail O can fit on a reasonable table top when it’s necessary to move off the floor. G takes a little more space that is often hard to find.
But only O has the easy-to-implement animation of operating cars and accessories. Occasional night operations is a must with 3 rail O. The sounds, smoke, and lights in the dark are fascinating. Watching the giraffe bob its head, the gateman come out of his house at a passing train, or pushing the button and dumping the coal, are as much a part of 3 rail O experience as the trains themselves. Causing the milk man to place or throw the cans onto the platform (depending on voltage) usually puts a smile on everybody’s face. Hokey and unrealistic? Absolutely! But it’s priceless family fun!
Everyone is different so I can only share some experience and you can determine if it is applicable or not.
I’ve had HO scale since before I can remember. No problems, I learned all the electrical stuff to make multiple trains run etc. Applied what I had learned to the N-scale when it came out big time in 1969. It wasn’t until a couple years later when I was in Junior High that I decided to start “collecting” Lionel. Wow, I never had so much fun with much less equipment. The third rail power let me make layouts with abandon not having to worry about left/right power. The durability of the track let me work much quicker not worring so much about damaging the track on (dis)assembly. I would often go through 2-4 different track plans a day. It left one outside rail to use for signalling (after I insulated it of course), so I had working crossing gates, semaphores. Then there were the accessories. I could actually load real stuff onto the trains and really transport it.
I started my son (and each of my subsequent children) with his first G-scale (Kalamazoo) train when he was 2 years old. We added a new car or turnout to the set every year. I am certain he will pass this equipment on to his grand children. There has only been one unrepairable accident and if I recall properly it was my fault. The G-scale equipment was difficult for him to get onto the track. The cars are so heavy it took both his hands to hold it leaving none to align the trucks onto the track. The two rail design limits the layouts that he could make. I know battery power & radio is a solution to this now, but it wasn’t at the time. LIkewise the children can use it to transport real things. We often just had a point to point layout between their rooms where they would ship teddy bears & tea sets bac
A Bachmann Big Hauler G-scale train set or Lionel O-scale train set would be best for a young child. HO is too fragile and is easily broken. Small parts can come off and be swallowed. Nearly every HO scale piece of rolling stock warns that it is for “Ages 8 and Up” on the box.
There is a reason Lional built O-27, it was kid friendly. It was a great toy. If the kids become scale modelers, then HO is great, but a kid who likes toy trains is not the same as a modeler.