36 inchers?  here are some
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Proto_2000_HO_36_Flat_Back_Wheelsets_Pack_o_p/920-21257.htm

if you have a nearby LHS they might even have some in stock.


I have used the proto 2000  wheels, 33inchers on my freight cars, good wheels.

i too enjoy reading Jim Banners posts.
He is a mother load gold mine of information, to the point i am surprised he
has not been offered a "how to" book deal or something like that.

Keep up the Good Works Jim!

Post Photos of your trains! that will really help us to ID your trains..
otherwise the best we can do is speculate

Don't worry about always being right the first time,,making mistakes is a Big Part of the learning proccess, you also tend to never forget those lessons learned from mistakes.

to help to get  your learning knowledge going..I think one thing you want to is about quality,,Best for the $$$.

oh, yeah ,,welcome aboard!

I'll run the risk of assuming you are talking about HO scale.
I'll stick to the  more commonly found name brands

You mention Life Like so i'll start there.
Life Like trains themselves,,I consider them, IMHO to be inexpensive "entry"
or "introductory" level trains for young kids.
Young kids tend to rough on things break things,,so if it is a LL and it gets
broken it is not like he broke a $200 locomotive or a $25 box car.
    Same principle with the kids interest,,he will take to it like a duck to water
or he will not. If not the blow to your bank account is not as severe.
If he does develop an interest and quickly learns to take good care of the
trains, then eventually step up to next levels of quality.

Model Power--Mixed lot,,not great but not bad,,one interesting thing is they
offer all Metal Trains in HO.
I have not had much experience with MPs' Trains,,so i'll someone who has had experience give a more accurate account.

Bachmann
- Spectrum is Bachmanns top of the line trains. Consider these
"Daddys Trains only" depending on how young your son is,,your call there. Good stuff.
Bachmann-Middle of the road mostly,,not dirt cheap but not very expensive either.Very good quality for the price always a good choice.
Excellent range of Steam Locomotives at reasonable prices.

Atlas
Like Bachmann there is two levels.
Atlas is like Bachmanns' Spectrum, the top of their line.
Atlas Trainman-Is the much less expensive version but still of very good quality.

Athearn
Again two levels.
Athearn Genesis- top of the line
Athearn-Athearn, my old stand by,This is  the stuff i use as a measuring stick to measure up all others, always a good choice.

Just throwing this idea into the ring..

how about baking soda or baking powder?  Dirt cheap and easy to find.


any comments or prior experience with these anyone?

if you look around enough, there are still some Bachmann Spectrum passenger cars available out there.
they can be found at  modeltrainstuff.com  for about  $20 per car,
but the selection is limited.

Another would be Walthers, they too offer passenger cars with interiors and
lighting. a bit more expensive but more to choose from.

I agree with Sheldon.
If the layout you have in mind is a small as you are suggesting, go with
"N" scale.
In HO scale,with true grit and determination it may be Possible to do that,
but  you are asking for grief and angst with curves that tight.
I think even a gandy dancer would have trouble on curves that tight.

Anyways,,,Good luck!

now that is one SERIOUS water tower ya got there!

Sorry to hear about the "canyon dive", that sucks!
Murphys Law strikes again! That law gets all of us at sometime.
Hindsight being 20/20,next time I would just set the track up on the floor, that way if the Loco goes loco and tries to get airborne the results are not as bad.
But untill new couplers arrive,,that is plenty of time to practice and learn how to controll it,get it broken in[no pun intended]and maybe that is not such a bad thing afterall.

That is an interesting and different locomotive there, what kind of run time
on a single load of water does it get? I thought i saw 20 minute runtime
someplace, can't recall if it was the same scale.

wow! whotta difference! well done!

i like the dripping water effect by the steam whistle, great extra touch that.

I have seen the REAL  Nickel Plate 765,,so by that I really do mean
WELL DONE!

And the steam whistle on the real one is the loudest thing i have ever heard, even louder than the crowd at Wrigley Field when the Cubs win,
louder than a jet airliner on take off, i mean that thing is Loud.

I rarely go beyond 12 cars, of various types and manufacturers though i am sure it could handle more. My layout is 2 4x8s in an L shape.

A certain amount of  "how many" depends on the size and type of layout.
On a massive entire basement type layout like the ones featured in model railroad magazines the answer is "x".
I'll let someone with a massive layout like that answer that one more precisely.

If on a simple single 4x8 anything over 12 and you got what looks like a snake chasing after its own tail.

Grades?  I like level track,,just to keep things simple for now. maybe later
I'll experiment with grades. No further comments.

Compared to others, They work just fine. Break them in right and take care of them and they will return the favor.
Good Low and High speed performance even in DC.
Got three  2-6-2  Praires, one 2-8-0, two 2-8-4s.

you are doing the right thing,,researching before buying.

I have had only one model power. It was new,,and yet it was staight out of
1968.
Traction Tires.----to me that now raises more red flags than a China pride rally in Beijing.
It had a Pancake motor, 4 wheel drive w/traction tires, 4 wheel electrical pickup. the piece o' junk cr@pped out after less than 2 hours.

Or was it a Life Like?
Model Power and Life Like,,bottom of the barrel,,intro level,,,good inexpensive gifts for kids to see if they like model trains and will most likely
wreck them anyways.

If you want quality and will take good care of the trains Go with
Bachmann,Atlas Trainman,Athearn or Atlas, all are good quality, reliable,
and easy to find, and won't break the bankroll, depending on where you buy them.

found some excellent deals on some Bachanns

The UP you actually get is much nicer than the one in the photo, wich appears to be an N scale,,

http://www.trainsetsonly.com/page/TSO/PROD/160-61501

Santa Fe
http://www.trainsetsonly.com/page/TSO/PROD/160-61502

I got both of the above,, the product description of the UP is misleading or incredibly out of date, or describing the N scale.
Both are good decent runners. Strong motors. Reasonably quiet.
Would buy them again.

other Bachmanns
http://www.trainsetsonly.com/page/TSO/CTGY/13040-engspec

yeah,,cool site.
I like the catalogs, especialy the ones from about 1979ish sent me into a time warp. What was latest and greatest then is "entry level" now.
Some of the stuff is still made today with little to no changes.

18 inch works just fine with MOST things.
Locos-Diesel up to a SD-40/45, Steam up to a 2-8-4 or 4-8-2.

Any thing larger go with 22 inchers or greater if your available space permits.
if you are using a 4x8 sheet of plywood or 5x9 pingpong table, then
22 inch is about the maximum that will fit.
and on a 4x8,,22 inchers fit just barely, if a derailment occurs,Murphys Law dictates that  the train will go over the edge and hits the floor.
Rarely will the train fall to the Inside of the table.[this only happens when
Murphys enforcers are off on a coffee break]

Rolling stock, up to say..a 56 ft hopper. anything larger figure 22 inch.

Most Passenger cars like Heavyweights,Streamliners, Modern, ect, figure
22 inch.
Old time passengers cars, like the ones made by Roundhouse that are
34ft or 50ft will be ok on 18 inch.

Quote from: Jim Banner on October 27, 2009, 02:31:35 PM
Let's see now.  Britain's lease on Hong Kong expired in 1997 which was 12 years ago.  Based on jbsmith considering things pre 1997 as old, I would guess that he himself is less than 25.  Many of us old geezers would consider anything only 12 years old as relatively new.  Just idle speculation.

Jim

Hi Jim!
I am 43, same age as the Super Bowl.