Garden Railroad???

[Roy Small]

 I  just received my starter set, that I  had wanted to put in the back yard. But looking at the product list on the Bachmann web site  I  noticed all the track Bachmann had was listed as indoor track.  Does this mean the track ,engine and cars are also indoor stuff!!!  Will someone please advise me.   Thanks,  Roy Small

[Tom Lapointe]

The track Bachmann furnishes with their starter sets is steel & will quickly rust anyway to uselessness  outdoors.  Running the trains outdoors is fine as long as you use either brass (LGB or Aristo-Craft) or stainless-steel (Aristo only) track.  I wouldn't advise leaving the locomotives out permanently in the weather, although their's no problem running them in damp conditions or even snow.  Power packs should be plugged into a ground-fault protected outlet; you may eventually want to get something a bit heftier in power output than the starter set pack, which is usually just barely adequate to run the train.

                                                                                                                 Tom

[Paul W.]

Roy,
Welcome to the world of garden RR's. You are correct that the Bachmann track is ONLY to be used indoors, it will rust in no time if left outside.
The engines and cars are fine to run outside. However, most folks don't leave their rolling stock and engines outside, due to the effects of prolonged UV rays and the elements.

Good luck!

[Cascade Northern]

On the notion of track.  There are many many many different companies that make outdoor quality track.  USA Trains, LGB, Aristo-craft, Accucraft, Piko, Sunset Valley, Llagas, etc.  Bachmann track is okay, if you are going to have an indoor layout.  Picking what the company and type of track is pretty much how much do you want to pay for it.  Some companies and types are more expensive than others.  And, like said, the locomotives and rolling stock are okay to run outside.  They can withstand the elements.  It is a good idea not to keep them outside, however.

[foureyes]

Any track that's 45 mm (1.75 inches), can be used with  your starter set.  In addition to the other statements, you can use aluminum and nickle silver track.  It all works.  Only watch the size (height or code) of the rail, as that makes joining sections difficult.

The hobby standard is code 332 (.332 inch) as that's what LGB started with, and the others followed.  I use code 250 as it doesn't look so oversized.