What train set should I buy for Christmas?
Choosing the right train set
(click here to discuss this article)
When choosing a train set you first need to take into account the age of the
person you are buying it for. For this reason I have split my advice into
children and adults.
With the massive number of entertainment devices in the modern home there are
many distractions from pursuing a model railway hobby.
Before you read this advice remember that the right set is not always the set
they want nor is it the set I recommend. You should balance what the person
wants against what would be more entertaining for them. This is the difficulty
of buying presents for others.
Children (under 14)
Well for children the key words are operating interest and
ability to expand the railway. With that in mind, I would always get a set that
includes at least one point and preferably two. Watching a train go round
and round a loop of track (or stopping it and watching it go the other
way round and round the loop) gets very boring very quickly. Sidings = Interest.
To get the most out of the sidings I would advise you to buy a
freight set which has an assortment of different wagons. This allows you to
shunt wagons from one siding to another, drop wagons off to be loaded and pick
up loaded wagons. With trucks or flat bed wagons your children have the option
of loading them with toy cars, soldiers, lego bricks, etc.
Passenger train sets have limited entertainment value for
children (I was a child once). You can leave a carriage or two in the sidings
but it's not that exciting or different, particularly when the carriages all
look the same and they can't carry a load.
If possible I would also recommend you buy a few
track packs
and/or extra wagons. Hornby's trakmat system allows you to build a model railway
layout step by step. Each packs adds some more track to your layout without you
having to figure out which pieces of track to buy. These items can be bought
after Christmas if their interest holds. Remember there is no point spending
hundreds of pounds/dollars on a model train set if they are going to lose
interest in only a few weeks.
For this reason I would recommend the following sets:
Hornby - Valley Drifter Train Set
Product Code:
R1270M
RRP Price: £98.99 NMS
Online Price Price: £
Click Here
Production Details:
Hornby Valley Drifter Train Set. The
romance of the railways in the United Kingdom was
arguably at its best when hundreds of minor railway
lines traversed the countryside. In those days the
locomotive drivers would have unscheduled stops along
the line picking up or dropping off goods as they
meandered from village to village. In consequence it is
probably not surprising that some of the local
inhabitants who relied upon the railway would have
called their local train ‘Valley Drifter’. This set
includes a Hornby MidiMat and an oval of track which can
be enlarged to a simple but effective layout with the
addition of Hornby Track and Accessory Packs.
Technical Specification &
Detail: Finish: Satin, Designer: HH, Age
Suitability: 3+, Motor: 3 Pole, Wheel Configuration:
0-4-0T
Price: £
Quantity Available:()
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Hornby Network Traveller Train Set
Product Code:R1279M
RRP Price: £119.99 NMS Online Price Price: £
Click Here
Production Details:
In Great Britain the railways were a
key part of the industrial revolution, and ever since
they have had an integral role in moving the country's
freight. The Network Traveller represents a regional
train tasked with the responsibility of supplying goods
and materials to small towns and villages far away from
the big cities. The people whose livelihoods depended on
these supplies often had great affection for the trains
that delivered them.
Tech Specs: Item Length - Without Packaging (cm):
59.8, Item Scale: 1:76 Scale 00 Gauge, Finish: Painted,
Colour: Multi, Operator: BR, Designer: BR, Wheel
Configuration: 0-4-0, Liver: BR Blue, Minimum Curve
(mm): Radius 3, Motor: 5 Pole Skew wound.
Price: £
Quantity Available:()
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Fantasy Model Railway Sets
For younger children a Fantasy set is a great way into this
hobby. This would normally be in the form of Thomas the Tank
engine or Harry Potter Hogwarts express but both are currently
unavailable new from Hornby.
Recommended Sets For Adults (aged 14+)
Adults are a bit different as they are more likely to appreciate the high level
of detail on modern model railway products. For this reason I would recommend a
more expensive high quality set. I would still recommend a freight set for
interest but this is less important for adults. They can always expand the set
at a later time. I would personally advise you to buy a quality historic express
train set. Something like the
Flying Scotsman or the
Master of the Glens (P2) would be good options. These models are often of sufficient
detail that they can be displayed as ornaments if the model railway interest
fades.
For the reasons above I would recommend the following sets:
1. Hornby Flying Scotsman -
This is one of the most popular train sets for Christmas. This
set comes with 4 LNER teak coaches and includes track pack A and
B which gives you two sidings to enjoy. The newest version of
this set has uses the new track packs and building packs. The
track packs that are included in this set gives you one long
siding which will hold most of the coaches and comes.
You may want to buy at least another track pack
(track pack C) to give you another loop of track to run on. If
the hobby takes off I would suspect the next purchase will be a
freight loco and wagons.
Hornby Flying Scotsman Train Set
Product Code: R1255
RRP Price: £249.99 NMS
Online Price Price: £
Click Here
Production Details:
Hornby Flying Scotsman Train Set.
Technical Specification &
Detail: Gauge 00, Finish Standard, Length 293mm,
DCC Type DCC Ready, Period Era 3 (1923 - 1947), Class
A3, Designer Sir Nigel Gresley, Minimum Curve R2, Age
Suitability 3+, Motor 3 Pole with Flywheel, Wheel
Configuration 4-6-2.
Contents:
The pack includes locomotive, 2 LNER
Teak coaches, Track; Basic Oval (1178mm X 1010mm) and
track pack A, Wall Mounted Power unit for operation from
AC mains 220-240V AC 50Hz, Train Controller, Power
Track, Trakmat: Midimat (1600mm X 1280mm).
Price: £
Quantity Available:()
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Price: £
Quantity Available:()
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DC or DCC? What is DCC?
Both DC and DCC refer to the method of powering and controlling the movement of the model locomotive. DC stands for Directional Current. DCC stands for Digital Command Control.
DCC control has almost done away with the need
for isolation sections. With DCC you can have a single siding
full of locos and only the one you want to move will move.
In the past to run more than
one train you needed a second controller and a second loop of
track. If you wanted to cross from one loop to the other it
involved moving the first train in to an area where it could be
isolated for example in a siding before you could move the
second train on the first trains loop. If you then wanted to
move the first train on to the second trains loop you would have
to put the second train in an isolated section and then move the
first train out and on to the second loop.
Confused? I know I am
Remembering which switches
to move to do this and having enough isolated sections of track
big enough to hold both of you trains on one loop of track is
very unlikely unless you previously thought of this.
DCC takes away all the
complex point work involved with operating more than one train
on your model railway layout. You also wont get the problem of
crossing the circuits (sort circuits) by changing the points, or
accidentally running two trains at the same time because you
didn’t isolate one of the trains or you switched the wrong
point.
The only problem with DCC is leaning how to use
it and the fact that it is very possible to run two train’s head
on into each other, but then it wouldn’t be fun without a hint
of risk. There is also the problem of modifying old locos to run
with DCC and fitting DCC chips to DCC ready locos. It would also
be difficult to return non DCC locos that have been modified to
run on DCC back to DC control.
The above problems are easy overcome with some
time spent learning the control and paying your local model shop
to install DCC chips in to any old locos you have. All New DCC
sets come with DCC chips fitted to the locos and are the best
way of introducing someone to DCC control. If you have never had
a model railway set I would probably recommend you go straight
for a DDC set if price is not an option.
If you think that DCC is right
for you then I would recommend the following DCC Train sets:
Unfortunately there are no DCC train sets available from Hornby
Suggestions
If you have any suggested changes to the model railway sets
recommended on this page please email me with your suggestion and comments. This
page will be under constant review as new model railway train sets and
associated products become available: email:
info@newrailwaymodellers.co.uk
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