Personally, I would consider the Walthers Trainline ALCO FA1, it’s an absolute tank. My trio has taken a pretty bad dive to a hard floor and still works perfectly.
I cant say for diesels as they all seem to have great long lasting mechanisms, but for HO steam, Id have to say IHC/Mehano steam. Very cheap, high quality mechanisms, and low levels of detail designed for rough handling! Bachmann locos these days also have pretty good mechanisms, but theyre kind of overpriced for what they are.
Charles
For steam, I would say the Bachmann Durango and Silverton set, with the 2-8-0 engine. It’s a sweet little engine that is above toy train quality.
Simon
Agree with the Bachmann 2-8-0
Any of the Athearn RTR, Walthers Mainline, or Atlas Trainman series. Pretty decent power train and chassis for a not too high price. Might lack some “high end” options and details, but very good value.
What scale are you in? It might make a difference.
I do mostly HO with a little bit of G.
For an HO Starter Set, I think the GP38/39-2 is good if you’re doing local runs or switching maneuvers. (An F7 is good, but doesn’t have any rearward visability)
My G Scale set had a Green/Red/Black 0-4-0 “Stainz”, as a kid, I thought it was pretty neat.
I think the best “set” is buying your locomotive, rolling stock, and power supply individually rather than in one box. It’s amazing the deals that you can find on eBay on NOS with a proven track record that are much better than what you’ll find in a box set.
Tom
Some local shops can even assemble some for you at a low cost. But that is outside scope.
Ditto! I have the 2-6-0 and 4-4-0 and they’re good, durable locomotives.
Jim
I’m not aware of any Mehano train sets available these days for a North American prototype. Some steamers were sold in Canada under the PC label - they pop up on Ebay from time to time. They are not DCC ready, but the conversion is not that hard.
Bachmann also sells some sets with the 0-6-0 engine. It’s not a bad engine. I would not hesitate to buy one for a youngster. It is not an easy conversion to DCC though…
Simon
Did someone say DCC was a requirement?
No, but a train set can be the starting point of a larger layout. One of my favorite locomotives I had when I was a kid in the 70s runs on my DCC layout today…
Simon
No, the requirements are as follows:
Durable Design with minimal separate pieces
Affordable cost, Less than $100
Easy to repair and replace
Good Durable Mechanism
And Must be able to do 18’’ Radius Curves without issue
I would classify the Bachmann 2-8-0 as rather delicate. Dont get me wrong, its one of the BEST valued steam locos out there, but it has lots of seperately applied detail that proves to be fragile. Still, if you want a set, I agree you cant beat Bachmann’s D&S set if you want value for money.
With the above as your criteria, I would go with a Stewart F-unit. Durable enough and the drives are among the best around. It doesn’t come in a set though. As mentioned, I’d rather buy a train “set” piecemeal to ensure the best affordable quality.
Tom
I have a pair of the Walthers Trainline FAs, and they are top-notch for the requirements you listed.
The Stewart/Kato F units are also great, but it has been 20 years since they were manufactured.
-Kevin
Isn’t the Kato F7…and really all the Kato HO F-units the exact same mold as the Stewart/Kato F’s? I was under the impression that there was no effective difference. So, I’m confused by the criteria here, but I think the following locos need to be added Bachmann 70tonner Bachmann FT. The 70tonner is not technically a Trainset engine, but is priced really low. It’s a nice little engine. The FT is an older design than the new bachmann F7 molds, but it’s solid, I’ve seen a number of club members run these for years upon years. They used to be $60 with the Bachmann/Lenz DCC decoder maybe 6 or so years ago, They’re now $177, but the decoder is a WoWSound. So I guess not currently in the price range, but was for a long time. Find one on EBay and swap in a Digitrax decoder and you have a workhorse diesel.
I am not aware of an HO scale F unit marketed as a Kato model. Every one I have seen has been in a Stewart package, hence the Stewart/Kato designation.
Kato did market an F unit in N scale under their own name.
If Kato did offer an HO scale F unit under there own name, I would love to find out about it. Maybe it would be the same model as the Stewart branded product, but maybe it would be better.
-Kevin
Has anyone considered the Proto 1000 EMD F3?