I’m a new comer to train after about 55 years. I was undecided about whether to go with O gauge like I had when I was a kid or HO, which I always wanted when I was a kid. So I bought a new Lionel O gauge Steam Locomotive Set. Very nice, but I’m still undecided. Is there a good, better or best quality HO set I can purchase, so I can decided which way I really want to go?? Can you compare HO manufacturers to automobles in quality; i.e. Lexus, Mercedes, Chevrolet, Toyoto, etc.??
I would be most interested in the trains of the Old West, around the 1890’s.
In so far as I am aware, Lionel really only makes one “Wild West” train set. Most of the rest of their line is 20th century equipment. So that might crimp your style a bit.
Might I suggest that you look at On30 narrow-guage. Thanks to Bachman there are a lot of well-built and relatively inexpensive locomotives and rolling stock available in that scale. A lot of it either fits within your designated timeframe, or can be backdated to fit.
If the Old West is going to be your theme, that will definitely confine your choices as far as locomotives and rolling stock are concerned. However, you’ve come into the hobby at a better time than if you had even 3 years ago, in that respect.
For locomotives, Athearn/Roundhouse has 4-4-0s in that era. Roundhouse also would have the rolling stock to accompany them - although there’s probably still not a lot of items available in that time frame. You’ll most likely need to scratch-build a majority of your items. However, it’s a good place to start.
Hardcash, have you also considered/looked into HOn3 or On30? It might be a nice compromise for you. There’s also Sn3. Hope that helps…
Choice of gauge is a personal preference thing. I too had Lionel as a child and loved it, but I am into HO now. HO train sets are aimed at the toy market and it shows. If you want a trial HO set I would find your local hobby shop (LHS) and buy some Atlas Snap Track, an MRC power pack, and some rolling stock from Athearn, Accurail,IHC, Roundhouse, Proto2000 and Bachmann. Unless cost is no object, I would hold off on the nice, but pricier, rolling stock from Atlas, Kato, BLI, Kadee, and Athearn Genesis until I had decided that I really wanted to go HO.
That said, I can also reccomend reading a couple of issues of Model Railroader and looking at the ads.
The 1890’s is doable. There is a nice Bachman 4-6-0, and IHC makes a 4-4-0 and a 2-6-0 all of which would be appropriate for the era. Roundhouse/MDC makes a line of 36 foot truss rod wooden freight cars. For passenger service you want open platform, wood truss rod coachs. MDC used to make a line of them 48 foot long.
I’m with you on the time period and I have spent years learning about the 1890’s so if you ever have a question please don’t hesitate to ask me a question. As for scale I think you will find more things from the 1890’s in HO scale. O scale has the advantage of size. If you are old or older O scale would be for you. If you do choose O scale might I recommend 2-rail O scale. I think that would be much easier to deal with in terms of realism.
There is very little out there which is truly 1890s. The B-man’s are more 1910-1920. MDC liked to call their stuff “Old-Time” but very little was 19th century. Their “Old Time” 2-8-0 is a 1900 model. The freight cars are 1910s. Now, if 3-rail doesn’t bother your eyes, than these little details won’t either.
On30 is a compromise…but don’t be mistaken. There are 4 locomotives which are commercially available for the time period: MMI’s 0-6-0t and 4-4-0 ($400), Accucraft/AMS’s 2-8-0 ($400 a piece)…and B-man’s shay. All of B-man’s other On30 models are more along the lines of 1910, 1920+. Their rolling stock is really odd…modern hardware with vacuum brakes and 1870s dimensions…the locomotives and passenger cars have air brakes.
Most people don’t know very much about 1890s railroads…and it isn’t very commonly modeled. HO is probably the best scale for this, or maybe On30/On3. Fn3 (large scale) is stellar for it. (Aside from a Pennsy H1, I can’t think of much from Lionel or MTH that would be appropriate…let alone cars).
In the 1890s, 4-4-0s were giving way to 4-6-0s, 2-6-0s, and 2-8-0s. They were coal fired…not wood which was obsolete 20 years earlier. These 4-4-0s looked more like the 4-4-0s of the 1870s than those of the 1920s. Passenger cars were typically 60’-70’ long, very ornate, and made of wood. The west wasn’t very wild then either…the Wild West was more the 1870s.
I would suggest modeling a shortline in the mid-late 1890s. I would recommend HO unless you could consider a garden. Your road is in transition. You have a straight stacked 4-4-0 (MDC’s or the plain B-man…not the Spectrum), but the new power on the line is an MDC 2-8-0. If they have an electric generator (it looks like a grinder with an exhaust pipe), it is too new. Same thing if it has a small, round headlight (an electic light). You have s
If you are really serious about getting back into the hobby and pursuing the “wild west” theme (and have some bucks), I would urge you to look into On3 or HOn3 narrow gauge. The O scale will cost significantly more, but may be more to your liking. The HO scale has more stuff available, costs less, and you can get more in a given area. I would check both of them out, and remember, you don’t have to buy everything at once - especially locos and cars.
I just checked out MTH’s current catalog and I didn’t see a single 19th century locomotive. I didn’t thoroughly check out the rolling stock. Perhaps in past years they offered stuff (I know they offered the 999, but that was a very distinctive locomotive from 1893…and they offered a General which was a model of it in the 1870s…the General was obsolete and wouldn’t have polished any rails in the 1890s).
The easiest Wild West std gauge railroad to model would be the Virginian & Truckee, I’d suggest searching on the index and learning a bit about potential roads before throwing a lot of money at something: http://index.mrmag.com/
You won’t find any 1890’s sets, but one of the HO ones should help you decide on size. Pages 12 and 13 list some sets - personally I’d go with Athearn or Atlas.
There isn’t much available in any scale for the 1890’s. I would pick a scale first, buy what’s available and plan on kitbashing, RTRbashing, and scratch/parts building what’s not.
