Thread: Toy Train Sets

It looks a lot more sophisticated than the Hornby thing I got which just went in a circle when I was a kid & that lasted well. If it's die-cast metal it will last a very long time. The smoke thing will probably fail but the train will go forever.

That's a really good present.

^ Never had one, know nothing about them, cheers for the info

A lot of that spec mentioned is just dressing. Make sure it is compatable with accessories, such as more track & signals & stuff, he (you too ) will want them after you've started playing, I promise.

I don't know too much - the golden rule, as ever, is you get what you pay for.

Hornby stuff is very good. Check out some of the more serious equipment they sell. Facinating.

Home - Hornby

From the Hornby site. I like the art deco look; range from 60 to 110 pounds sterling. These are all locomotives from the UK:

All classics.

I would go for the Hornby brand if I were you. They've been in the model railway game forever & their stuff is quality.

To answer the OP's question,

If its die cast the body will last forever, the trick/problem is twofold,

the rest of the small parts are delicate - trees, houses, tracks, couplings, etc - how old is your kid?

This is a hobby rather than a toy.....

Also space, you need space, it needs to be left up. you cannot just play with it for an hour and then pack it away (takes too long and wears out the tracks and connections)

It really needs to be set-up permanently somewhere, ie study room etc.

I'm going to buy a special table for it. Any ideas for track configurations? Because I have to buy one of these; bit boring just the oval...

Originally Posted by Loombucket

A little oil, here and there and a bit of wire wool buffing for the track and it is as good as new.

I was always under the impression that model trains were delicate and fragile, glad to hear the are durable. Why wouldn't they be? They are metal, after all.

Originally Posted by kingwilly

how old is your kid?

This is a hobby rather than a toy

He's turning four, but I'll tell him we're "sharing" it, and that should be ok (that became the deal with the rc helicopter ) Any chance of him shocking himself?

They said not really at the hobby store I went to, and they recommended the large, 3-rail O gauge size for younger children, much larger, heavier, sturdier, and the motor is apparently heavy-duty and "maintenance-free."

Definitely go with a Hornby set.
It will be an appreciating asset if you look after it.

This was posted a while back and may possibly still be for sale.
sounds like a large set so expect a bigger price.

"I brought over from the UK many items of Hornby trains... nearly all new.... bought from dealers or Ebay.
Never set up...... I bought it all because I though it would be good for my kids..(and I've always wanted one too.)
It is all so much it would need a huge space to set it all up as a single layout...(I got carried away!)
We have a huge plastic Tomy set which the kids enjoy... but these can be set-up and taken down relatively easily... the Hornby stuff needs a baseboard and more permanent layout
081-4730785
I live in Fang... North of CM"

Originally Posted by Hootad Binky

expensive

Like I said

you get what you pay for

Worth it in the long run.

Originally Posted by Hootad Binky

Toy Train Sets

They're like tits, they were made for kids but dads like to play with them

^ Tits and trains: we had them as kids AND WE WANT THEM BACK!!

Originally Posted by Hootad Binky

My son loves this movie, has become obsessed with trains, so I'm thinking of getting him this:

Good opener. Judging from the rest of your posts me thinks your son is not the only one fascinated with model trains.

Märklin Trains

this was one quality brand 20 to 40 years ago, cast alum...

do no if they turn to plastic now...

This brand was a favourite of many daddy's, i knew some had big wood panels they could lift to the ceiling to store the circuit...

Marklin has collector value for real old stuff...

It will only be a matter of time before he tries his hand at train wrecks. or was that just me?

Takes me back a half century, except my wrecks were unintended...go on, give it to him.

^ I once tried tying Action Man to the tracks of my toy train set (my homage to many a Western).

However given the differing size scales (Action Man was about twice as big as the train) the resulting carnage totalled the train and Action Man lived to fight even further battles for freedom and justice [Although he too met an untimely demise when his mission to space aboard a skyrocket went awry and he got all melted]

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

It will only be a matter of time before he tries his hand at train wrecks

He likes those, but they're forbidden

We're both still sort of in awe of the train, as is everyone else who comes over. It's like: oh, there's a train! That's nice. And then you ask them to place a coach on the track and most of my adult friends are quickly down there with their noses to the tracks.

There's the ritual of assembling it, which doesn't take long, and then carefully placing those two sets of tiny perfect metal wheels per coach onto the track, a challenge.

The locomotive goes quite fast, and can fling sets of detached coaches round the track after a brief acceleration. The rails sound like rain in the night.

This locomotive also has a headlight, which is fun when it's ripping through dark tunnels made from stacks of old vhs tapes. But the train really looks best when it's tracking slowly along, with the illusion of heavy weight, the wheels clicking rhythmically over joints in the track. Sometimes while playing with it we've heard CP locomotives braying and echoing in the distance from the port terminus about 3 kms away, which is kinda neat, for the atmosphere, and that's always been one of my favourite sounds anyway.

Thats a lovely toy I going to get one for myself I mean my son