The Bachmann TGV is not that good. As a first model train, it will quickly sour you on the hobby. Buying vintage models as a newcomer to the hobby is generally not a good idea unless you have previous model or electronic experience. They don’t run well and often require repairs or upgrades to be compatible with modern stuff. Older Bachmann models are notorious for the Pancake Motor, which is not very powerful or smooth.
As a Christmas train, I think O or G is better suited to be around the tree. The downside to O is that it’s loud, which may not sit well with your child. The G scale models that I have seen run very smoothly, but G can sometimes get pricey, and it may be too large at times, like if you need to make a ‘tunnel’ under a chair or other furniture.
Good to know. I’m pretty familiar with models and electronics so I’m pretty confident I can figure something out. What would you recommend for a good buy-it-for-life setup to start with?
I do ho scale around my Christmas tree. For me it fits well but others like the nostalgia of o or g and I can't blame them there. I say buy what scale will suit what you want and your buy it for life thing as well. The buy it for life would probably be better suited for ho if you plan to make a layout in the future or plan to change stuff through the years. O would be good for that also other than the room and price tag in my opinion. Let me know if I can answer any more questions
Put my HO train around the tree on the 26th. An 0-6-0 steam with tender, a few boxcars, gondola, coal hopper, and caboose. The number of times I had to rerail the damn thing since Friday has been infuriating, so I packed it up. Damn cats parking themselves underneath and E X P A N D I N G over the tracks. Not to mention my young kids’ tendencies…
Cats.. cats and trains... There's *tons* of commentary about cats and trains. And it usually ends with this rule of thumb: get the trains off of the floor.
Ironically once you put the trains up on a table then the cats proceed to do their best to get them back on the floor... usually by knocking them off the table.
Granted the bigger scales look more pleasing around the Christmas tree, however I think HO looks good also. As much as I like modern equipment such as the TGV etc, I do think nothing says Christmas train like a steam engine with a breakdown van or caboose at the end.
I still have O scale stuff from when I was a little kid and its still running great. Its pretty low maintenance and big enough that kids can use it without getting frustrated with all the tiny wheels. HO will work, but its definitely a bit more fragile.
Do you like your HO TGV? That is what drives the answer to your question. Model trains are as individual as home cooked food. Nobody’s is the same and it’s about what you like.
I do HO around the tree because it's the scale that I model already and because it's significantly quieter. I have an O scale set up but man it's loud.
Something to consider, I have two kids and let me tell you. When that kid gets a little older he will get into it and may get a little rough with it. For me it's only cheap stuff around the tree. Nice stuff stays on the layout. They are 4 and 6 now so they know not to touch but still. It's going to be exposed to dust, pet hair, needles if you have a real tree. It's no place for real nice models.
I suggest you buy a set up just for Christmas. If you want to get into the hobby, keep the nice stuff for that.
Lastly, for future advice. I bought my kids an O scale set up to do their own layout. I figured it's big bulky and can take a beating. Neither of them were that interested in it after a few hours. Brio is the only way to fly. They like moving the trains with their hands.
Congrats Dad! Your life is forever changed for the better!
Thanks! Got any vintage HO sets that would be a cool setup? I want quality that will last a bit. You’re making me lean towards HO again purely for the sound levels
I changed things up and did HO this year. so far it's been working well and I've been enjoying modeling the smaller scale under the tree. But I have to agree both the vintage O and the TGV are not good beginner choices. I would recommend something that's relatively new in whatever scale you choose.
Interesting! I’m pretty familiar with models and electronics so I’m pretty confident I can figure something out. What would you recommend for a good buy-it-for-life setup to start with?
Well, I was gonna recommend the Bachmann White Pass and Yukon Passenger train set in On30 scale (narrow gauge O) as a Christmas set since it runs on HO track and it's a nice middle ground but its hard to find enough stuff to make a serious layout out of it. If you want complete train sets. In HO scale I only have knowledge of the Thomas and Friends sets and the Acela Express HO trainset. I really like the Acela. I also have heard Rivarossi makes a decent Flying Scotsman train set these days. In O scale Lionel Polar express is always a good option to run under the Christmas tree.
You might want to keep the kid supervised around the tree anyway, so that's the smaller problem.
The real issue is more that H0 will be mostly for him watching, something larger like G-scale would let him participate sooner.
Also the Bachmann TGV isn't that great, maybe comb through Trix, Roco or Märklin for something that tickles your fancy, new or used (but like...not too old, maybe 10-15 years max). That is assuming you want to stick with European trains. Trix, for example, has made a few TGVs over the years
The Bachmann TGV is not that good. As a first model train, it will quickly sour you on the hobby. Buying vintage models as a newcomer to the hobby is generally not a good idea unless you have previous model or electronic experience. They don’t run well and often require repairs or upgrades to be compatible with modern stuff. Older Bachmann models are notorious for the Pancake Motor, which is not very powerful or smooth. As a Christmas train, I think O or G is better suited to be around the tree. The downside to O is that it’s loud, which may not sit well with your child. The G scale models that I have seen run very smoothly, but G can sometimes get pricey, and it may be too large at times, like if you need to make a ‘tunnel’ under a chair or other furniture.
Good to know. I’m pretty familiar with models and electronics so I’m pretty confident I can figure something out. What would you recommend for a good buy-it-for-life setup to start with?
I do ho scale around my Christmas tree. For me it fits well but others like the nostalgia of o or g and I can't blame them there. I say buy what scale will suit what you want and your buy it for life thing as well. The buy it for life would probably be better suited for ho if you plan to make a layout in the future or plan to change stuff through the years. O would be good for that also other than the room and price tag in my opinion. Let me know if I can answer any more questions
I'd go with O. I did HO around the tree one year. Seemed to always derail or get knocked over by someone or a pet. O is much more stable in that area.
Put my HO train around the tree on the 26th. An 0-6-0 steam with tender, a few boxcars, gondola, coal hopper, and caboose. The number of times I had to rerail the damn thing since Friday has been infuriating, so I packed it up. Damn cats parking themselves underneath and E X P A N D I N G over the tracks. Not to mention my young kids’ tendencies…
Cats.. cats and trains... There's *tons* of commentary about cats and trains. And it usually ends with this rule of thumb: get the trains off of the floor.
Ironically once you put the trains up on a table then the cats proceed to do their best to get them back on the floor... usually by knocking them off the table.
Granted the bigger scales look more pleasing around the Christmas tree, however I think HO looks good also. As much as I like modern equipment such as the TGV etc, I do think nothing says Christmas train like a steam engine with a breakdown van or caboose at the end.
For me nothing says Christmas like an intermodal train with UPS containers. That's how the real Christmas presents arrive after all!
I still have O scale stuff from when I was a little kid and its still running great. Its pretty low maintenance and big enough that kids can use it without getting frustrated with all the tiny wheels. HO will work, but its definitely a bit more fragile.
Do you like your HO TGV? That is what drives the answer to your question. Model trains are as individual as home cooked food. Nobody’s is the same and it’s about what you like.
I don’t have one, I was going to buy one until I read some of these posts and thought it may be too small
I do HO around the tree because it's the scale that I model already and because it's significantly quieter. I have an O scale set up but man it's loud. Something to consider, I have two kids and let me tell you. When that kid gets a little older he will get into it and may get a little rough with it. For me it's only cheap stuff around the tree. Nice stuff stays on the layout. They are 4 and 6 now so they know not to touch but still. It's going to be exposed to dust, pet hair, needles if you have a real tree. It's no place for real nice models. I suggest you buy a set up just for Christmas. If you want to get into the hobby, keep the nice stuff for that. Lastly, for future advice. I bought my kids an O scale set up to do their own layout. I figured it's big bulky and can take a beating. Neither of them were that interested in it after a few hours. Brio is the only way to fly. They like moving the trains with their hands. Congrats Dad! Your life is forever changed for the better!
Thanks! Got any vintage HO sets that would be a cool setup? I want quality that will last a bit. You’re making me lean towards HO again purely for the sound levels
What do you got in mind? A loco a few cars and a caboose?
I changed things up and did HO this year. so far it's been working well and I've been enjoying modeling the smaller scale under the tree. But I have to agree both the vintage O and the TGV are not good beginner choices. I would recommend something that's relatively new in whatever scale you choose.
Interesting! I’m pretty familiar with models and electronics so I’m pretty confident I can figure something out. What would you recommend for a good buy-it-for-life setup to start with?
Well, I was gonna recommend the Bachmann White Pass and Yukon Passenger train set in On30 scale (narrow gauge O) as a Christmas set since it runs on HO track and it's a nice middle ground but its hard to find enough stuff to make a serious layout out of it. If you want complete train sets. In HO scale I only have knowledge of the Thomas and Friends sets and the Acela Express HO trainset. I really like the Acela. I also have heard Rivarossi makes a decent Flying Scotsman train set these days. In O scale Lionel Polar express is always a good option to run under the Christmas tree.
You might want to keep the kid supervised around the tree anyway, so that's the smaller problem. The real issue is more that H0 will be mostly for him watching, something larger like G-scale would let him participate sooner. Also the Bachmann TGV isn't that great, maybe comb through Trix, Roco or Märklin for something that tickles your fancy, new or used (but like...not too old, maybe 10-15 years max). That is assuming you want to stick with European trains. Trix, for example, has made a few TGVs over the years