Hello,
I bought BACHMANN HO McKinley Explorer train set. I am not very happy with it . The couplers came out from the cars. I have EZ track and it doesn’t fit well.
I am new to this hobbyy and trying to find out which one’s are best. Not sure if Bachmann is a top company . I want to stick to HO because of its size.
If someone can help me to decide which one is better and worth to buy it will be of great help.
Thanks
Ken
Hi and welcome,
Most train sets are lower quality. The cars will be low quality and the engines are barely passible. I built my layout out of EX and I did not have a trouble with fitting however the turnouts required a lot of work.
My advice is to set the train up on your rug and enjoy the trains. In the meantime, grab a couple of the Model Railroading beginner books and start your education. When you have a question ask here. When you are ready to start thinking about a layout download one of the free design programs and give it your best shot. Let the guys here critique it and let a good design grow out of your begnnings. Even a small layout is too expensinve to design poorly.
The couplers really should not have come out of the cars. The only thing I can think is maybe they got twisted while trying to uncouple the cars?
I have a Bachmann EZ Track layout as a demo/test track in my hobby shop. The track fit together fiine, and we’ve yet to have a problem with couplers in almost 2 years. And the kids have done everything from derailing the train all the way to walking off WITH the track! No problems!
The standard Bachmann, Lifelike, etc train SETS usually don’t have the best locos or rolling stock in them, but the idea is to get a layout up and running for not a ton of $$$. The stuff isn’t bad… but not quite the quality of a loco that cost twice as much as you entire set!
Our train runs almost everyday, all day, and has since before Thanksgiving, 2003! I think the quality of most of the train set stuff is just fine!
Have fun with what you have, and look forward to what’s yet to come!
Rotor
Hi, and welcome. As you can see, we are willing to listen, to attempt to understand what it is that you expect out of the hobby, and to try to help you to avoid the most common mistakes that virtually all of us rue from our own experience.
I, too, was given EZ-track as a gift, and found it to be pretty good stuff, all things considered. It takes patience to put together, but it is meant to help you to run trains with a minimum of set-up; so, it is relatively safe and simple. You must be careful to use the joiners properly, and to place the joined pieces on a flat and stable surface. Also, as SpaceMouse said, the snap switches (we often refer to them as ‘turnouts’ in the hobby) are hit and miss. You’ll find some of them work just fine, with trains going in either direction, but others will make the train derail. If so, it is usually that the points (the thinning pivoting rails that flick back and forth) have to be filed to a sharper point so tht the rolling stock and locomotives’ wheel flanges (the ridge running inside the rails) don’t ‘pick’ the points and spread them, thus causing the derailment.
As in most hobbies, the introductory stuff is the cheapest and most complete in set form. We all find later that nothing decent comes with a price less than about twice what the sets cost.
So, I agree that you will do yourself a favour to make a go of the set. Fiddle with it and make it run. That way, you will learn what to avoid as you mature in the hobby, and you will also learn that much more about what there is to appreciate in it.
Good luck.
Just curious…do you know if the couplers are the EZ Mates, or horn hook? The horn hook couplers can be a little difficult to uncouple, and that may be why the couplers came out?
Rotor
Thanks for the reply / suggestions.
I am not looking for a big layout, but want to have 4-5 locomotives and a layout which can fit in an apartment.
Here are my questions :
Are there any better companies / product other than the Bachmann. ?
Any suggestions which track (EZ track or ?? ) is good to invest ?
Any popular steam / diesel engines ?
What is the common practice you guys follow ?
Thanks
Ken
You see, there is the rub. Every one of those questions depends on your preferences. Bachman may be the best loco if you are modeling logging operations or 1920’s steam. IF you are modeling something else, well…
IF you have a small apartment, you might want to consider N scale. It will give you 4 times the layout in the same space as HO.
AS to which track, you will probably get as many answers as there are people. I would say that I would get a good flex track and choose your turnouots from there.
But you need to do your homework and figure out what you want to do. There are as many paths as there are modelers. Simply to ask what is best, well, it’s like asking what food tastes best.
Get a couple beginer books and start reading.
Welcome aboard - you should be able to do something useful with the stock you already have. Take a look at www.kadee.com for information on how to replace the stock couplers with Kadees (much more reliable). Is the loco the type with all wheel drive or is it only powered on one truck? The latter type is terrible, the former is pretty good (I have one of their Alaska RR GP40s that runs very nicely considering the price). Hope this is of use!
I will say that Bachman’s engines (except the Spectrum) are not very good. The rolling stock should be good though. I got that set to run with my Rivarossi Alaska RR train and I’ve had nothing but good experiences.
In terms of track like others have said there alot of variables. If you want to have the layout up and running sooner then I’d go with EZ-track or something similar. If you want a more prototypical looking layout I’d go with Atlas. It’ll take quite a bit of time to wire (alot also depends on how fancy you want the layout such as blocks etc). I know Atlas has a book out there called something like “That Atlas wiring book” (you’ll know it when you see it) that is a good resource for someone fairly new to the hobby.
The better locomotives are from Bachmann Spectrum line, Athearn, Atlas, Broadway Limited Imports, Kato, Lionel, and Life Like Proto 2000 (and Proto 2000 Heritage)…in NO PARTICILAR ORDER.
You really should (I would say ‘must’) slow down a bit, put a cork in the enthusiasm and determination to get running trains, and spend some time learning how to spend both your time and money wisely.
We’re not picking on you; we just want to see you succeed. So, you have to do a fair bit of reading-in so that you can learn what questions need answering that pertain to your specific interests and requirements that are coincident with a long-lived and successful experience in the hobby. You won’t regret delaying your eagerness, I promise you.