How much for a train set?

[Dawnrider]

We're looking to buy our first train set some time in the near future(should i say layout rather than train set?) and was wondering what to expect to pay for a starter set. We saw a couple at York but there were no prices and we forgot to ask(they were rather busy and so were we). I don't want to go overboard but i'd like one that represents steam rather than diesel.

[Trev]

If I were you, I'd buy the cheapest set you can find, and then add to it bit by bit and as and when funds allow. Cheapest OO set I can find in the October 'Railway Modeller' is the 'Old Smokey' passenger set by Hornby. Expect to pay around £70, but for that you'll get track, a controller, a loco and coaches.

The fun really gets going when you start to add to it. Way back when I was a lot younger, I bought a cheap set and then began to buy bits and pieces as the weeks went by. After a couple of years I had eight locomotives, plenty of rolling stock and a triple circuit that could only be set up on my bedroom floor on a Sunday afternoon. It was never a layout as such, just a very large train set...but boy, it was fun!

[Dawnrider]

Thanks Trev. That Old Smokey is the one they had at the gift shop at York NRM!

[LesG]

As has been said it depends on how much you want to spend what space you have available, what gauge you are going to model and are you planning to try DCC or the old fashioned way.

I am in the process of trying to get a new layout off the ground ( its being a long process) in n-gauge. So far most of my base boards are built and up but also along the way I've been buying some bits and pieces for future use.

Les

[Dawnrider]

Ooh Les now you've asked! I have no idea of the difference between an 00 or an N guage,and whats DCC?(direct current as opposed to AC?)

[hairyhandedfool]

Roughly speaking, N gauge is half the size of OO gauge, so in theory you can have four times as much stuff in N gauge.

Traditionally, a controller (DC) sends X amount of electricity to the track and every train that is on that track will move. DCC works a bit differently, each loco is fitted with a chip, the controller sends an encoded signal to the track, the loco with the right programming will respond to that signal and act accordingly, all others will stay as they were.

Basically:

DC: One controller per track.
DCC: One controller.

As a side issue, DC trains can be used on most DCC layouts, however, they have a tendancy to cook themselves. Most DCC locomotives will run fine on DC layouts.

[Dawnrider]

Thanks for the info hairy.
Any idea what type these are(just wanted to share this neat collection of miniature steam engines at York really! )
http://fc93.deviantart.com/fs35/i/20...by_Stumm47.jpg

[Gandalf]

It depends upon what you want to do with a 'train set',
If it is to amuse the children then N and OO are too fragile. O is more of an enthusiasts gauge as is most G1. G scale is getting more robust and runs well outdoors but for near indestructibility LGB is the thing to go for. I put my 15 stone on the track this morning while pulling out some grass growing between the rails admittedly it is laying on a concrete 'bridge' but the Toy Train ran well for the first time in about a month so no outdoors corrosion. It all depends on what you want to do and how much space there is to play in. My latest efforts revolve around 2 foot narrow gauge on 45 mm track which to all intents and purposes is 1/12 full size or the equivalent of a small 5 inch gauge passenger hauling loco but it runs round a 600 mm radius curve.
I do not envy you your making a decision but for me having been through all the little gauges (and the others up to 7 1/4) the LGB was the best size to restart the garden railway with.
John.(G)

[Dawnrider]

Oh way too ambitious for us,don't want one for the garden(our garden has a terrible slope on it anyway),just a basic train set for us all to enjoy. It wouldn't be for the kids to play with unless we were with them. More for us big kids I suppose. Not that we have the room at the moment. Nice to dream tho!

[Shed Cat]

I think the thing to do is to buy a Railway Modeller magazine and read the adverts and find the on-line retaillers. Sometimes they sell un-boxed starter sets for bargain prices. i.e. it is the normal starter set, but for some reason it is not in its fancy packaging.

As for gauges - I think OO is the place to start.