To each their own...
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What I find odd about Bachmann is that, for as good as their models are, their wiring and electronics are well known to be troublesome at best. I have not had a single Bachmann engine which had the correct color wiring on the motor (they all run backwards), and most people - myself included - rip the circuit boards out of the tenders rather than trying to use the sockets. To top it off, the connectors between engine and tender are frustrating to use, and the wires on my ten wheelers hang so low that they pick turnouts.
So my overall impression is that I would definitely recommend a diesel to a beginner, but I would hold off on the steam until someone has enough skill to open the model and relocate or replace the wiring.
I don't see why. I prefer the Bachmann electronics, the tender board, and especially the connectors. It's a slick little package. To disconnect the connectors, you use a jeweler's screwdriver as a prybar, and catch the lip of the plug and gently pry up. They come out without issue. If you pull on the wires, yes, they rip out, and if you mishandle them, they come undone.
I like the electronics enough I've bought the boards right from Bachmann. It's expensive, but they're a drop in for anything I need. Anybody, if you're taking them out of tenders, I only ask that you carefully undo the two screws that hold the connector to the tender floor, remove the screws that hold the board to the floor, put all four mounting screws and the board in a ziplock bag, and get my address via PM. Or you can chop the posts and brackets out, keeping the screws attached to the pieces; the screws are the hardest parts to replace! I can always use the sockets on the engine side too, so if you're taking them out, carefully disassemble the locomotive, leave about a half inch of wire attached where you clip them off, and, throw them in the bag too!
Rule number one in all electronics is to never assume the wire colors are accurante!
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I'm afraid I'm going to disagree with you here, Benny. While a poorly running model may be fine for you and I, since we have the skill and patience to repair it, as a toy (and possibly the only loco on a layout) it would be extremely frustrating. I feel that a child's first model needs to be robust and reliable. If it breaks, they're likely to just throw it away or put it down and move on to something less annoying. That's what I always hated about the Bachmann, Life-Like, and Tyco train sets that I lusted after as a kid. They were so tempting, and they were many people's first (and last) experience with model railroading, but they were so bad that many moved on to other things.
That's why I'm asking this question. I want to know if the Bachmann engines are good enough to be a kid's first train, and to keep them interested without constantly breaking down, derailing, or otherwise losing their play value. I don't play with mine enough to assess their durability.
You're looking at a guy who broke his teeth on a 1988 trainset, the very kid all the 'experts' say runs people off form this hobby. You can take the train addict away from the trains, but you can't take the trains out of the train addict. All these concepts the old people talk about [quietness, slow speed operation, pilot appearance] had absolutely no value to me when I was 8, or 10, or 12...barely when I was 20.
Your hypothesis is true when it comes to the runners - the kind like the slot car runners, the people who can't understand that the process of building it is as important as making it go.
When we first set up my set, My dad exhibited behavior that cleared suggested he was a "robust lionel" type. He grabbed the cars and roughly "Clunk-Clunk, clunk-clunked" them on the track by roughly running them back and forth over the rails until they were railed. I saw he was doing it wrong, because despite his efforts, they were NOT going on t he tracks. I then showed him how to put each truck on the rails by carefully lifting up each truck. He got fed up, frustrated and left. it wouldn't have matter if it had been good HO, no amount of good HO would have worked with my dad, he's too coarse. Me, it's been Bachmann HO from the very beginning, everything worked just fine along with it. I loved the quiet whine of the Bachmann prime mover, the growl of the Tyco U-25B prime mover, and the roar of the Tyco C-636 prime mover - they didn't need Sound cards or speakers.
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The reason that I would advise the first set be diesel rather than steam is that even though the Bachmann steam engines are well designed now, the valve gear and side rods still make them delicate if mishandled by children. If the child is old enough to learn to handle the locomotive correctly so that side rods are not bent or damaged, then a Bachmann steam engine is viable.
Bachmann siderods are robust enough to handle being dropped. They don't bend anywhere like someother brands, and they're not fragile like Proto. I would full heartedly recommend even a Spectrum 2-8-0 or the Alco 2-6-0 to a kid, along with the old 0-6-0 and 0-6-0T, If that is what the kid wants to run [steam]. I've been a steamhead since I started, I only tolerated the diesels because I couldn't afford steam! The bachman diesel was $12.95 [and WELL worth it!!] in the catalog, steam started at a bit more, so you see, there wasn't much choice for me back then!!