Worth the Money? - Cheap 1990's New-Ray OO Scale 41 Piece Battery Operated Train Set Unboxing/Review

Over a year ago now, I picked up this New-Ray battery operated train set on eBay. I had one of these during my childhood and do have some fond memories of it, and was pleasantly surprised to find one online at a reasonable price. That being said, I decided to snatch it up and do a retro review of the set on the channel.
Looking at the box, everything that comes in the set is very well presented. The box also has instructions on how to assemble the set and also information in regards to operating it. When we get into the box, we find that the set comes with a locomotive, 3 wagons, a station, 4 figures, and an oval of track. Pretty much everything you need for a basic train set is included, although this set does in a way feel like a cheapened down version of an actual model train starter set.
While I was doing the review however, I did find quite a few issues with this set. One of the biggest ones for me is the poor track system. This style of track uses black connectors which engage underneath, and it's very difficult to assemble, especially if you're not working on a flat surface. Also, because of the inefficient way the track joins, it's difficult at times to get it to align properly and not cause derailment issues. The locomotive in this set also has some quality issues, but I'm not sure if the battery consumption may be due to the set being used or the AAA batteries were not adequate to power this locomotive.
Although there are some negatives with this set, there are a few positives as well. The set does come with some great pieces such as the station and figures, and the stock in the set isn't bad either. I was very surprised to find the one wagon actually had the original decals I remember, although they were covered by another set for some reason. With a little careful work, I was able to reveal the original decals. I was also impressed with how the locomotive preformed pulling a train of OO scale wagons, which was clearly more than this model had been designed for.
While I really enjoyed this set as a kid, looking at it now as an adult, I can see it's not as great as I once thought it was. The set is very cheaply made, has many issues, and I know for a fact the one I had during my childhood didn't last that long. Again, I feel the track system is this sets major letdown, and if the train constantly derails, it really starts to take the fun out of it. I would not recommend this set to anyone, and I'd say you're better off going out and buying an actual HO/OO scale train set.
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[@thegreenbeetledrewscott9608]

I remember when my mother bought me a train set like this with the exact same battery powered train from the Illinois Railway Museum.
Being battery powered, we used them without even powering the track. I even remember that Märklin like engine that reminded me of that Märklin model used off screen in S1 of Thomas

[@trainboy7]

I think I remember seeing this kind of train set at a store as a kid a long time ago. Though thankfully never got it.

[@zack_attack6040]

Hello Trainboy, glad to see you’re still around!

[@devinpaul9026]

Never seen one of these sets as a full and complete original. Seen this engine and SOME of the cars in red, yellow, AND green mixed around into different sets. There's also a flat car, a small tanker car, a small auto rack, a small steam locomotive, a larger Union Pacific diesel, and a larger Union Pacific tanker. This is the first time I've ever seen a boxcar in the line.

[@PlowBenderStudios]

I know if you go on eBay right now and search for New-Ray Train or Play Town Train, you'll get various results showing other trains and/or sets that were made. I saw a bigger set like this that had 108 pieces and the same stock, but the seller wanted about $150 plus shipping which was like another $40. That was way more than something like this is honestly worth, and yet someone still bought it recently. Just because it's close to 30 years old, does not mean its worth a lot.

[@devinpaul9026]

@@PlowBenderStudios There was a channel on here that covered cheapo battery sets. Believe he stopped posting a long time ago, but he covered several "mixed around" versions of these sets under different companies. If it's even still up it was called Vxbatabs or some similar nonsense word if you're curious at all. There was ALSO a battery operated G scale steam set that featured a blown up version of that cattle wagon and a blow up of the typical flat car that usually accompanies that crane.

[@zack_attack6040]

Watched this video while I was doing chores. I have to say, very good. I’m glad that my microphone helped you. When I was using it, I found that I had to place it further away from my mouth than expected, otherwise it peaked the Audio very badly.
The train set is cool. I can’t recall ever having something like this. Most of my trains were electric. But I would say it’s a great simple, starter set for a young child to get started with.
The engine is cool, with the 8 driver wheels and coupling rods. It’s still strange to me to see diesels with rods, but I digress, as I know it’s pretty common in the UK.
Good review. I remember seeing This in the spot during my last visit; glad to see you finally upload it

[@PlowBenderStudios]

Yeah, I definitely noticed the same issue with the mic when I was using it. I actually had it clipped to the lower part of my shirt, but still I feel the audio was a bit loud at times. Something else I noticed (which caused me to reshoot some things) is that the mic must have something built in for noise cancellation, as in many shots it would cut out the sound of the train running. I also noticed this when I filmed at the Everett Railroad last weekend. I'd have the mic out the window, but rather than picking up the noise from the train and the surroundings, it wanted to focus on the noise inside the car. I don't remember what you said you paid for it, but I'm not sure I'm that impressed with it thus far. Still, I'm going to experiment with it a little more and see what happens. In some cases I'm sure this has its advantages.

[@zack_attack6040]

@@PlowBenderStudios it was roughly 10 bucks. A simple investment

[@TankEngine97]

I've seen parts of this set before. The difference being the engine and rolling stock were blue. Quite impressed that 00 stock can fit on the track of this set. Thought for a moment I thought they would derail.
As for the quality of the new microphone, it sounds really good.

[@KnapfordMaster98]

I had these! They did more basic ones that came on a blister package with a circle of track (which was black with no roadbed). I had that red diesel with the crane, a green american 4-4-0 with (I think) 2 coachs, and a black German tank engine that never worked. I recall also seeing a larger union pacific diesel set.

[@PlowBenderStudios]

Yes, I've seen all those other versions on eBay as well. I was honestly surprised I managed to come across this set, and in this condition for being almost 30 years old. Funny thing is I was looking through my archives recently and I came across a photo of an old HO scale layout of mine from 2005, which I can just barely make out the stock from this set on it. Being HO compatible I do feel is a strength that this set has.

[@OwenConcorde]

Nice set! I have a dark green wild-west steam engine version of this set as a little kid in the late 90s, but I unfortunately broke it back then. I wish I would've still have that set's identical cattle car (it's dark green instead of red) to make a generic HO European boxcar since I just returned to HO over a decade ago, but I'm more into European and British trains now while I collect mostly American O gauge trains since December 2005. I get nostalgic over this somewhat really detailed cheap train set every time I see it since it was from a time not only I got into trains because of Thomas, but I also got into British/European trains because of Thomas.

[@PlowBenderStudios]

I think I know of the set you're referring to as I've seen it before. I was looking on eBay and there are a few of those sets available and for less than $10.

[@LukeOfSodor22]

It kinda reminds me of Hornbys Clockwork range

[@devinpaul9026]

You could stick a figure on board a couple of those cars and have a hobo! 😂

[@sodor_dan-da-man]

fantastic. even cheap sets like this create new modellers. oh and nearest i can find and is my best guess for the design used for this toy loco is this...... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCDD_DH33100