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Marklin is by far superior to any American brand. Athearn genesis is close but the technology, tooling and motors not as advanced as the German one. It doesn’t last as long as the German one either. That’s why Marklin is typically double the cost of anything else. It’s like Chevy and Mercedes Benz IMO. You can still run Marklin engines from 1960s on the latest digital layout. Marklin is the only model train maker that does serious research and development in house and they now own LGB and Trix. They also have the most advanced central control unit in the industry that can run anything from analog to MFX and DDC. Model train is not a very popular hobby in America as it is in Europe. Most people in the US never ride a train in their lives. In general the industry is very small niche with little growth, research and development in this continent and is reflected in the quality, sophistication and the technology of the domestic brands.

The crazy thing is, Lionel was planning to make a remote-controlled, battery-powered version with plastic track in 1979, but it never got made. Maybe that was the original goal with these cheaper sets.

Sadly this train layout is about to close the owners are not finding anyone to keep the layout running hopefully they will

Well no kidding! Last December one of my fellow club members gave me one of these, and probably just to get it out of the house! The engine was a bit different though, it had metal wheels and the reverser switch was in the cab. The motor mount was broken, an easy fix with some epoxy, and like yours the smokebox cover was loose so I glued that in as well. There were some regular Lionel freight cars in the bag, plus track, and a little conventional transformer. I got the thing running again and sold the package at a local show for $30 and the folks were glad to have it (I made sure they knew exactly what they were getting) as a cheap starter set, and you know what? I sold the set Saturday and they came back Sunday for more track and cars! So the moral of the story is even a cheap sleazy starter set can get folks started on the path. Where they go afterward is up to them. Some how I doubt this cheap set's going to be as far as they go.

I can understand your opinion on this set, as it is pretty cheaply made, but I'm not sure if I totally agree. To me, this set is something that a parent bought for a little kid, to keep them occupied. Cheap, easy to assemble and some action. A youngster could watch this go around for a while, maybe push the button to dump the log car. A kid that is eight or ten years old, would probably never even look at it, but a three or four year old would probably be fascinated by it. I have the precursor to that 2-4-2 you show, the Lionel 246, built when Lionel was still based in New York. It was basically a starter locomotive, back then. I don't run it on my layout, but it looks good in the engine house. An excellent video.

If this was your first ever set you'd probably love it and you would be off on a journey that would see you buying better and more quality stuff. However if you have already owned quality trains to look at this you would think that it's cheap and nasty. If it were my first train set I would be thrilled and would probably be looking for the same set on ebay as an adult to relive my childhood memories with it. For some people this is how they started in the hobby. As for me we were so poor I had a piece of wood tied to a roller skate and I called it the Flying Scotsman.

Man I miss those comet 1B’s

Bcahmann G scale ten wheelers depend on the Verizon you get. The solo versions with the nice anniversary valve gear and the better driving gear that won’t strip are great. The early train set ones with plastic rods and the gear that’s prone to stripping is a hard sell

2:18 Hay, I have one of that!!!😮

My first was a Lifelike train set, I think it was called diesel blaster or something. It had a powered and a dummy SantaFe loco. I called that loco a 0-50-0 ...as it ran at either 0 mph or 50 mph, not much in between lol.

I work at my friends toy collector store in San Antonio and we often get people bringing in model train items and it’s usually the 1960’s-80’s toy store trains people give their kids as gifts and we hate to break the news that it’s worthless BUT, on rare occasions we’ll get some decent stuff real cheap and that makes it worth getting out of bed in the morning, lol. We’ll offer them a fair price but often they just want to dump them.

Other problem is that it barely has any color s

C.o.M.E.G.e/ Conti style pickups

FunDimension.

Terrible Express.

And many collectors think the scout sets from the 50s are junk, they did't see this one

Question:do u have atleast one Thomas the tank engine item because if u do that’s Cool

Question:do u have atleast one Thomas the tank engine item because if u do that’s Cool

Who's seen the news? Can't wait to see the closing deals on one hand on the other there won't be many new memories for the youth of Cincinnati

Funny, when I started in 90’s I started with athern then Kato and Atlas in HO. Best running engines. Still have some HO but now have O gauge, Lionel and MTH and I feel for the money, MTH better

I have two 4 4 2 trains just like the one in this video one is a new York Central 8632 formally known by me as the Pennsylvania Gambler and a Santa fe 8632

yes it looks cheap and it was made during the 1970s, a period of slow economy after the oil embargo, Lionel really had problems during this period, just like the real railroad world. But it was produced in America and it still works great, i think that is impressive. how many of todays model trains will still work after 50 ! years and they sure cost a lot more... Well nice video, as always, thanks !

The number on the caboose probably belongs on the locomotive. I have the better version of this grade of set as my first Lionel, the 1976 Rock Island Line set. The loco in that set had an AC motor albeit with manual reverse. The rest of the set was a PC gondola, UP flatcar (some variants substituted an 027 boxcar) and a Rock Island bobber caboose. The only other time a starter set used this locomotive was the Black Cave Flyer (1982?) and that version had a DC motor, with the rest of the set comprising a gondola, '027' boxcar and SP-type caboose. All of then employed user-applied stickers and all were _very_ lightweight. I have a video with a train of cars from almost every modern O-gauge company, that carried the Black Cave set loco/tender on a pair of flatcars and the set cars tagging along on their own wheels within the train (with entirely too many heavier cars behind them). When the 8601 Rock Island or 8212 Black Cave locomotives are found used, the most common defect is a broken siderod yoke -- the piece attached to the front of the motor that carries the free ends of the siderods. (after that would be a missing boiler front and the other trim pieces on the shell). I was able to source replacements for the yoke (part number 600-8601-070) after an extensive search and make 'runners' of my Black Cave and a second Rock Island loco, but chances are that anyone else looking to resurrect examples of the RI or BCF locos will have to conjure up a 3D clone of this part, in function if not exact appearance. There is also one other DC powered low-end set that's slightly above the WotRR, but not what you'd call quality either -- the Kickapoo Valley set, with a Docksider-ish 0-4-0 switcher, with a shorty 2-axle gondola, dump car and bobber caboose.

Jesus h Christ I’ve tried looking for footage of this damn set that isn’t in an old commercial *_EVERYWHERE_* Props for you to suffering in this

It’s a super cheap looking set. I would hope this sold for less than a typical Lionel starter set.

You are so right, Me Pappy got me one yesterday and I said I`d prefer a slurpy at Dairy Queen. At that he replied, "SON", but I forget the rest.

You can't really complain about sharp edges and choking hazards. Because this was the time that lawn darts were the favorite outside toy. Lionel thought that if they made a train inexpensive it would lure new buyers in. Back then the economy was terrible and people didn't have money for expensive toys. When I was a kid I would have loved to have one of those sets because it would have been better than nothing. I grew up during that time and I never got a train set as a kid because they were too expensive even though I asked Santa for one every year. I didn't get my first set until I got my first job and bought it myself. So it was wonderful for those who didn't have a choice.

I got that set for Christmas when I was about 7 years old! I still remember my dad complaining about the 'trucks' and how cheap it was compared to the Lionel trains he had as a kid. Lol. Despite the fact that even my 7-year-old self knew that it sucked, I still liked it and enjoyed playing with it...until the motor burned up when I tried pulling a Lionel Republic Steel gondola with a rock in it with the poor little "Engine #9"! I never fessed up about the rock in the gondola, so my parents wrote Lionel (or sent in the warranty card or something), and I got another cheap plastic engine to replace it! Great memories!

I remember encountering this train in the basement of some party. I remember holding the Illinois Central crane car, and thinking "Lionel made this?" I also remember seeing the blue dump car and Santa Fe caboose. It felt like those cheap battery train sets more than anything.

I have the "upgraded" 8300 engine made using the same tooling from the engine. It's pretty weak, but it has more metal parts. According to the seller they glued the boiler plate in because it kept coming off.

After rewatching the video I heard there is gonna be a worthless trains part 4 And I really hope there's going to be it's actually a really cool series

The Bachmann ATSF switcher uses a tooling under license from AHM

I remember seeing the ads for this set on tv. Someone on my street had one. Though crude, they were for a price point that electric trains are no longer appearing in and were fit for their intended purpose. They made similar sets into the 80s so for me this is what I think of as a Lionel starter set.

I watched this video to see if there was anything fun I might be able to buy on the cheap some day, so that's another good reason to make these videos... to move your unmovables off the shelf and out the door. :) The Big Haulers 4-6-0's are favorites of mine. I grew up watching my Dad's three and Grandpa's two of them taking turns running around their respective owner's Christmas trees. They take up a lot of space, but I wouldn't mind saving a few other sets from "scrap" and making a collection out of them someday. If people keep making a habit of sending you the bridge pier sets, you should make a bin labeled "Free (You Have Been Warned)" and put it by the front counter. I liked the metallic finish of that Bachman Union Pacific Deep, and wouldn't mind owning one even if it was just a shelf sitter, or if I pulled out the mechanism and made it a dummy engine for Tyco's Silver Streak (Another metallic finished Union Pacific diesel albeit one in a freelanced paint scheme) to pull around. I would happily give $10 for one, maybe a little more.

That is pretty bad, but I’ll raise you the cheap mini battery trains they make. (Not the ready-to-play ones, the tiny things that they have at Disneyland and stuff)

To me, it just looks like an upscaled Trix Twin drive, I’d recommend having a look at those, rather valuable and good to collect, a massive contrast to this

Looks like one of those cheap Chinese sets that pop up around Christmas.

So if you knew it was b ad to start with why go here? Junk video

I don’t even think that’s the worst

I buy every Bachmann big hauler I can find. Sure their drive gears are junk but that’s remedied. Their track is junk but the trains themselves are fine. Great entry level trains. My entire garden is filled with them.

I’d like to see them reproduce this, but make it better

Wow, I have never seen this set before. Yikes.

It's set up on the table, a child is seated in each corner and the train is run at full speed. When it flys off the track, the kid hit is "out". On to round two.

Box is worth more than contents.

More $s for China.

Dollars and cents-sales, profits, costs.

The DC sets were kind of a mistake in my opinion for Lionel. They were trying to compete with Marx and it was a dark time for both companies. I’ve always thought the control was pretty neat but it is super unreliable. I’ll also agree the 442 is not really worth anything but they’re a PERFECT starter for someone getting into the hobby. They’re smooth runners and don’t look bad either.

I’ve never seen the biggest model train manufacturer with the lowest quality train set. I bet they did way better back in those days too. That is just awful. Great vid.

The economy sure was bad during the Carter years.

The log loader would later be sold as a kit by Lionel.