I am new to G gauge and still at the pick and shovel stage of building a garden railway.
I am looking for a quality used Thomas in G gauge with coaches so my 8 soon to be nine grandchildren can enjoy seeing the trains run in my backyard. I am also interested in any other similar type trains that young children would enjoy operating and the younger ones see running. My one granddaughter, who is just year and half is just caught up in all the Thomas stuff.
Look forward to your help!
Try Evil-Bay buyer-beware or just buy new
Hi Scoba 1[#welcome] As your grandchildren are young I would buy a new one that will give you a good number of years running. Ebay can cost as not every one is 100% truthfull. I would also recomend LGB track its very good I use only that.[:)]
I was unaware anyone offered Thomas in large scale.
Lionel used to. I think Bachman currently offers one in O.
Tomix (no longer in business) offers Thomas in N-scale, Bachmann in N and HO-scale (that I know of), and Lionel in G-scale (that I know of).
Lionel offers a whole range of Thomas stuff in “O” but not very much in “G”, unfortunately. I just ordered a bunch of the “O” for my grandson to play with when he is out here, at least once a week preferrably more. In the O, he will have his own and Poppa will have his own.
The Lionel stuff (Thomas & James) in G hasnt been produced for close to 10 years, so its Ebay, but be aware that these stripped gears rather easily, and there are alot of these are still floating around out there. I remember seeing these sets on liquidation blow-out for $50 at Pic-n-Save back then, now they often go for $200+ on Evilbay, surprised given the continued aftermarket popularity of the G Thomas line, that someone (listening Lionel?) hasnt reintroduced the lineup, or even a knock off version of it.
If someone were to reintroduce the Thomas stuff in G I’d have to buy several sets. One for grandson (5) and a couple for my own layout for use during open house and when kids visit. Given the plastic gears and the propensity to die, I’d get a spare or two!
Too bad I was not shrewd enough to buy the “large scale” Thomas the Tank engine at Big Lots! Man - what a missed opportunity. But then again, I thought Apple stock was too expensive at $100. I won’t even mention Google.
Anyway, I broke down and bought a used Thomas set on ebay for $275. I consider myself lucky as I have the later version (2001) and the train was in good condition. My son has played extensively with the train and unfortunately this train is now experiencing gear troubles - - exactly as described on this thread. Without replacing the plastic gear mechanism, this train is just about good for nothing. But I am keeping high hopes, because I just put in an order for replacement parts (gear assembly) at Lionel. The Lionel website is not exactly user friendly for ordering parts as you have to literally mail in your order - - and parts may not be available. So it will be some time before I know if Lionel still has parts for the Large Scale Thomas the Train.
I repaired an engine by adding brass shims to the floating gears.
Parts are difficult to find on these engines. I believe 2 different sets were made, one was Thomas and there was a rarer engine made the James.
A friend fixed his couplers by placing hook and loops on all the equipment.
I am happy to report that I received the spare parts from Lionel promptly. Replacing the gear assembly proved more time consuming that I thought, but the outcome is positive. My son once again has Thomas to play with on “Dad’s big train tracks”.
It doesn’t hurt to inquire with the hobby shops, a friend just picked one up for me (new in the box). Sorry, I didn’t ask where he got it. Apparently if you know the right people, there are a few in circulation yet. I plan on using it later this month for a display. Personal preference would have been to put the $ towards a shay … try explaining to a kid that the shay they are looking at really is thomas covered in soot, and that the logging cars behind it are really all his friends … not. 