Sam'sTrains Penn Central was a merger between two Titan railroads on the East Coast, The Pennsylvania, and the New York Central. It only lasted two years before the new company went bankrupt. The financial fallout was so bad, the US Government stepped in and salvaged what was left into Amtrak and Conrail.
If you think this is bad, you need to check out the "Christmas Train Sets" Garden centers sell, vastly overpriced tat that wouldn't even pass the quality in Pound Land.
I also do not think that somebody has to complain about a starter set for kids from 8 year of age. How do you want to win them for our hobby when not with a cheap and running models or complete sets. This set for a price of single coach gives the kids an entertaimant for several days building the houses, and basically it runs like every even high end model. I do not understand why Sam emphasises the bad quality? It is not worse as any similar starting set. Of course you cannot get for this price a high quality moldings and 4 color printing, but basically you get a toy train for the kids and maybe one or more kids will discover the hobby what is basically our goal. Everybody must start at some level.
>Western Train >Only has one car from an American Railroad >Said Railroad didn’t exist till the 1960s, was an east coast railroad, and likely didn’t haul ore. I know I’m nitpicking, but I gotta defend my ‘Murican trains.
I would have loved this when I was a kid. My family never had much money and couldn’t afford any of the Hornby models that were too expensive, but this would have kept me busy for so long and for the price this is something my parents could have afforded. I get it’s not for the serious modellers
I must admit this set does at least teach kids how to set up a layout, run trains and build card building kits. I would say it's already ahead of a hornby set even though it looks terrible.
Yeah I see what your saying - but the other mehano sets cost less and were much better quality - so I couldn't recommend this! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
And wigwams are dome shaped and not meant to be travelled with. What a totem pole is doing in the wild west is beyond me. Totems were exclusive to tribes in the Pacific Northwest. But hey, it's a toy not meant for any kind of accuracy.....after all how much do Chinese manufacturers really know about American history? This looks like a perfect candidate for the Gomez Addams treatment!
They failed terribly at making a “Western” train set. Being an American I know exactly what a “Western” train should look like. A 4-4-0 or a 2-6-0 in bright colors with a Russian iron boiler and 30ft boxcars or passenger cars.
American here too. Where in the heck is the cow catcher? It looks, frankly like a European loco, without any pretense of western notes. And the "caboose"? Not even close! A rounded roof?
@@boblatzer Hi Robert 👋 The logging locos were typically Shay locos, which really don't look like this at all. They had a longitudinal crank shaft with gear driven axles to handle the steep inclines and heavy loads. It was all low end torque, with no need for speed.
As a kid I remember seeing this train set being advertised every single Christmas season in Romania. The price at the time was 200 romanian lions (£40). I remember asking my parents if they could ask Santa to bring me one, instead I've received a DB narrow gauge G scale train set with a radio controller and it was a lot better.
Wow really?! £40 is much more like it actually - I think I would have been much kinder if this had cost £40. But sure - the G scale one sounds better! :D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains they've stopped advertising the Western Train Set in Romania from 2010 because not many people could afford them and no one right in their mind will buy one because they could buy more toys for that price.
It reminds me of old Italian Spaghetti Western movies that are supposed to take place in the Wild West but were filmed in Europe. The trains in those films always gives away the fact its not really American.
Looks spot on for the train in the Spaghetti Western, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," by Sergio Leone (one of the most iconic, and excellent, Westerns ever filmed). To save money, the film was shot in Italy, and a key scene with a Western American train was exactly the above.
Sam, you should try and find the same 0-4-0 locomotive and those cars from the Yugoslavia time (prior to mid 90s). Mehanotehnika produced really nice and teliable locomotives, but the economy crisis and the breakup of the coutry led to cutting corners. That locomotive used to have a lead weight in its boiler - the cheaper new version you have there has some kind of an aluminium alloy for the weight, which is much lighter. The cars also used to have metal plate weights - now they have none. All this contributed to better stability, pulling power and contact with the rails. The new version is simply lighter and "plasticy". I have an older rendition of a train set with identical models, but from the time it was built with more quality. Since you too like Mehano's trains, if you need any info/stories on Mehano's trains, contact me any time.
I guess they use what they have to work with, maybe they bought all the injection molds from Tyco, LifeLike, and other manufacturers of yesteryear and are using those..
Bought one. Me aged 71 and four grandkids aged 4 to 12 ,had a great day doing the buildings painting and glueing and put I all together . Still working fine in my garage .after 18 months .SAM did a shoddy job .....only 50 quid well spent 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Thanks Sam! Between this video and your one on building the card kits I’ve had a right good laugh for the first time in ages during this pandemic! My wife says I need to comment that as an encouragement to you, and a thank you! 😀
Ooh i got this for Christmas about 10 years ago and it's how i got into model trains and all of it still works although i don't use the track anymore obviously. Aslo mine had 2 straight track pieces, the loco doesn't have any molding errors but both of the open carts were in the lighter colored version
When I got my first model train 6 years ago (It was Mehano Moutain Special) it was very good, and it is still working perfectly fine. It doesn't have any problems with moulding or paint work and it wasn't dirty. Every thing was in palce when I opened it. And there were two straights in this and western set. Maybe Mehano started to care less. They were very good in producing model trains. i Mehano produces Prestige series, they are something between Hornby Railway and Hornby Railroad. And loco is based on German narrow guage loco W.N. 12 and W.N. 11.
I'm sad that this train set did so badly. I really like that Mehano make really affordable train sets. I still think, though, that this set could still be a good first set for a kid of about 7yo to see if the hobby is something for him / her.
Yeah me too - but obviously the poor quality could easily ruin things - I definitely wouldn't risk giving this to a 5 year old! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Your train set reviews are my favorite. I like the rolling stock, especially the brown post van, I don't know why but it's my favorite. The PC wagon looks kinda out of place but the others look good together. The weakness of this set is definitely the loco. It looks like a deformed Lima tank engine with a very weird looking funnel. Maybe it's the wheels and the weird proportions like the lamp size you have mentioned. It's a shame because the rest of the set doesn't look too bad for the money. I can definitely agree with your rating. It's a shame because some parts are very decent like the controller. Great review as always, Sam 👍 definitely deserves a thumbs up from me.
Thanks so much!! Yeah that brown van was an interesting one! Thanks so much for your thoughts and support, appreciate the comment! :D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
This set is oooollld. I got this exact one when I was 7 years old (19 now) so I had something to play with while visiting my grandparents. I had a proper layout at home at the time with really good Piko trains . We actually put this set on a proper table too and I remember having quite a lot of fun with it. Probably more because I now had a second layout that I could bring my better trains to and run them, but I had my fun with it nonetheless. And finally one has to say that this engine does not need maintenance at all, it just runs. I've never cleaned or oiled it in the last 12 years (exept occasionally blowing the dust out between the contacts and the wheels) and whenever I give it to my little brother or my cousins, it just runs.
That's true - but even kids need a degree of quality - you want toys to stay together and look good, that's a basic requirement! xD Thanks for watching - Sam :)
So glad you did this review, I was very tempted by this set but it's clearly no cargo train. I was wondering if you've ever been tempted by Z scale model railways? Theres something so cute and novel about them, but they seem expensive
I love watching these cheap set reviews that you do. Was very surprised to see the wagons looked pretty well detailed for their price. "It's hideous isn't it?" ha perfect word. That shiny plastic is really cringeworthy to be honest. A simply re-spray with an aerosol can might make all the different with their appearance if people wanted tho. The lifting track as the train went around was hilarious tho! All the best and keep well, Clint
If it was sold as a “South American train set” then I think they did an Ok job (not the scenery). But they marketed as U.S.A western, so bad. No cow Catcher, it’s a tank engine. We barley even use tank engines, and during the period they were trying to represent, they didn’t EXIST in the country, not to mention the west, where lots of water would be needed due to how long the journey is, and how hot it is out here. The most popular tank engine in the U.S.A was the saddle tank anyway!
No caboose either... The saddle tank were used on urban branches serving warehouse and industrial areas, tank locomotives are for short range. Unfortunately the West is large with large distances...
If I had this as a kid in the 70s, I would have spent HOURS imagining I was in a western town! Great beginner's set for kids who are old enough for an electric train set.
I have the Lima 040 and it looks a lot better than the loco in this set. Can't believe Hornby haven't found the tooling for it to use as a Hornby Railroad model
@@SamsTrains the Lima 0-4-0 is based on a American Model power locomotive and for a budget model looks better than this loco. I think this cheap loco might be one of the other budget locomotives from Jouef or Playart
Yes; this set reminds me of the Western Themed train sets put out by Tyco, Marx, Lionel, and others in the late 1950s to 1960s to try to cash in on the popularity of Western themed television shows and movies. Some were pretty good, but many of them were like this; the one thing Mehano forgot to do on this one was put a huge spark arresting smokestack and a pointed cowcatcher on the engine; in some instances that was all they did to turn a conventional engine into a "Western" engine. Most of them were poor sellers.
Definitely a set that nobody would be upset if you took it apart and completely customized it just for the fun of it, and likely you could find it cheap used/bargain bin. Looking at the shiny plastic just makes me want to get out my paint, but then I paint miniatures and don't do trains. Yet.
Sam, you could follow this up with another episode showing the models after improvement and explaining what you did i.e. painting, fitting handrails etc? you could also ask viewers to submit any photos of their attempt to improve it especially the caboose?
The locomotive and cars kind of look like the kind of train you'd find at a rickety old mineshaft. One could spruce it up to look rusty and sooty. Poke some parts of plastic with a heat gun or something to make it look more banged and dented to give it that "salvaged and repaired after a cave-in" look.
Este tren hubiera sido para mí, un deleite cuando tenía 6 o 7 años de edad. Despertar la imaginación y el espíritu del juego. Esa marca hace una oferta, algo distante en cuando a realidad, de lo que fue LIMA, a inicios de los años 70s, donde en comparación con MARKLIN o FLEISCHMANN, ofrecían juegos completos y accesorios, a un precio competitivo. Al ser esto un tren a nivel de juguete, pues no se puede pedir mucho, pese a que vi dos góndolas, que se aproximan más a los vagones de mayor precio y otras marcas. Aunque MEHANO, también fabrica modelos a otro nivel más alto. Gracias por su review.
For its target market, young children, then this a pretty good trainset, not sure if it was worth the £60 that you paid fir it Sam, but the £70 odd you later quoted is a tad too expensive. Good honest review as always, Sam. Just a thought, perhaps you could devise a new rating system for trainsets?
I don't know about that - the quality would be a concern giving this to a kid - you want something well made and robust for a kid.... this doesn't qualify! ;D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
What I find interesting is that mega o labeled the hopper car under Penn Central railroad company colors. Penn central was formed in the early 1970’s (I could be wrong) as a merger between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad. These companies were East Coast railroad companies and the fact that Mehano labeled this set as an “American western set” is quite, well humorous. If it was labeled: Union Pacific Southern pacific Western pacific Denver and Rio Grande Then this would make sense. What can I say Sam, I love everything that deals with trains. Also the amount of fellow American viewers on this channel is also quite impressive. Just shows you how much us “Yankers” love trains.
The only good thing about this set, and the loco in particular, is that they come a dime a dozen used, making them perfect for customisation practice. This was my 2nd ever trainset, and out of the box it didn't run well at all. The engine had some problems and the track is poor quality. But ots dirt cheap, and once you get it running, it will run for years.
The PC car is a shoddy Penn Central hopper car. It was no where near the old west era. It was a merger between 3 eastern railroads (New Haven, New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad). The railroad went bankrupt in 1970 and would be replaced by Conrail in the mid 1970s. If you want theirs more info on TH-cam and Wikipedia. cheers and nice review! -Michael Cianciolo Chairmen of the East Coast and Southern Railroad
The PC one is an ore car. Basically a hopper they use to carry iron ore and stuff like that. PC is the reporting mark for Penn Central, the merger of Pennsylvania railroad, New York Central Railroad, and New Haven Railroad.
The Penn Central hopper is the only model of a U.S. prototype; the engine and the two gondola wagons are British/European, while the remaining one is - maybe - a brake van? Also this type of hopper was usually run in unit trains hauling iron ore in the Great Lakes area. The dead giveaway (other than the Penn Central livery) is the roller bearing trucks. This should be relatively easy to convert to Kadee couplers; then Sam can run it with his other HO Scale stuff. Probably the only decent bit of kit in this entire set. Put a magnet on the track. If it’s really steel, the magnet should stick. If it doesn’t, then it’s probably Nickel-Silver.
My brother got a very similar set in 2000's Xmass when he was 7.5 years old (same loco + that ugly mail car, with 2 green coaches - passenger set - , no carboard stuff, but a small plastic platform with roof, came with it). He had a lot of fun with it; with the addition some LEGO and other toy buildings and stuff, + 2 points and some straight tracks from me (i was 16)! The loco many years later was still working despite we do tried to kill it. We just called it "Somerset" do to when u switch direction on a controller at full speed (without slowing it down) it does a front-flip! I think i still have that ugly mail-car in my junkyard, but we sold the rest 1 by 1 more than 12 years ago! We kind of miss that loco; it was funny! BTW those non NEM socketed wagons can take the older style US horn hook (or X2F) coupling, loco too I think (and the open wagons are clearly EU style)!
My first train set was a high quality one made by Märklin and given to me for my 9th birthday or so. At first, I was really happy with it, but then I realized how expensive Märklin products were (which I had to buy due to their proprietary system). This led to years of disappointment and frustration and, eventually, giving up the hobby for decades. If I had received a set similar to this one, I might not have been as excited at first, but I would have enjoyed the hobby much more in the long term, realizing that there are much cheaper ways to enjoy it. If I were a parent, I'd buy this set or something similar for my kid, see if the model railway bug really bites and, maybe later, give some gifts that will outlast childhood.
"Looks like we have another massive elephant pat so I will look forward to that" you just love your elephant dung don"t you Sam HAHA. I thought maybe el cheapo could be in the background. He was probably busy. When i first saw the loco it was different in not a good way. Thanks Liam :)
In the U.S, a basic Bachmann HO Scale starter set with a transformer, circle of track, a locomotive, and some rolling stock costs around $80-$90. Those sets are better quality, and they have more detail than Mehano train sets, but they don’t include as nearly as much things, such as buildings or mats.
Hiya - Don't worry about the church spire (not that you are any way!!!) being 'cock-eyed' b/c the Church in Chesterfield - With the tower at the top the spiral - the inside frame when they built it back-in-the-day - the frame was built with wooden beams - & over the many decades the wooden beams slowly warped & now the Spiral now leans to 1 side a bit
PC, probably our Penn Central Railway. Was incorporated with several other railroads in the CONRAIL era. PC was a merger between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central. The two major east coast railroads! Bob oyle
PC stands for Penn central (you can see the actual logo of the railroad on the right side of the hoper( a combination of the New York central railroad and the Pennsylvania railroad which in the 1970’s it went bankrupt due to ridership declining and freight services switching to trucks and planes taking over.
that "PC" is a logo from the Penn Central. a railroad from the U.S.A. that ran from 1969 till about 1977. it was formed by the merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), New York Central Railroad (NYC) and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH). The New York, New Haven and Hartford.
9:29 that is a penn central wagon due to the logo though it operated in eastern USA (and own GG1s) I was a merger with the Pennsylvania railroad, the new York central railroad and and new heaven railroad it later became Conrail and currently the tracks are owned by CSX transportation and Norfolk southern
Mehano's engines and rolling stock were always known to be of less-than-average quality. I have bought a couple of their Mikados as a starting point to transform them into RENFE engines. I had to rewire them up, replace the motors, etc. Believe it or not in one of the boxes you can read "THE WORLD'S FINEST RUNNING H0 SCALE MODELS". These are balls... However they managed to build one of the finest H0 scale model I have seen : RENFE's 333.300 "PRIMA". It's a model with a weight of almost 1 Kg, very powerful and very well detailed. It's a beast with an incredible sound. But it was Mehano's Swan's sung. A bit later after creating this engine the firm ceased to make railway models. Nowadays they build plastic items like buckets, tables, chairs, etc.
I think a young child of 8 or so, would love it and have a lot of fun with it. I had cheap toys as a child and still had fun using my imagination to entertain myself. Let’s be fair. It says right on the box for 8 and up. Why invest a ton of money if the child isn’t going to get into serious model railroading. Just saying.
Yeah I'm sure that's true - but the quality would be a concern - you want something well made and robust for a kid.... this doesn't qualify! ;D The price is right though, that's true! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
The black ore car is decorated in the livery of the Penn Central, a short lived railroad created from the merger of the New York Central and the Pennsylvania R.R. In the late ‘60s. It was in turn merged into Conrail a few years later. I’d say it’s incredibly Not Western except the loco and other wagons all appear German.
@@SamsTrains the logo on the other side of the car which poorly done on this model is the letters P a d C combined. Any time you see that logo it's Penn Central. There are higher quality images of the logo online.
Hmmm. A Penn Central iron ore hopper car is a weird choice, but a prototype exisits (probably from the 70's). I wonder if the two-axle wagons also have a prototype. I dont' think I'll be investing in this train set, but your comments on the controller have peaked my interest. Cheers from Wisconsin.
The hopper is actually an ore car, They operated in the iron ore country around the Great Lakes. They made for very interesting trains: often solid consists of over a hundred of these and a caboose. Motive power was often very large articulated steam engines.
I think the PC on the coal wagon stands for Penn Central. The Penn Central was a railroad that was formed when the Pennsylvania, the New York Central, and the New Haven and Hartford railroads merged. Eventually, the Penn Central became part of Conrail.
Ah!Ha!Ha! Where to begin! You have a stumpy/dusty little loco(with a goofy face no less!), weird little cars for rolling stock, Mc Donald's kid's meal cardstock accessories and, in contrast, a decent train controller. I'll admit that there's a soft spot in my heart for the enormous elephant pat, fabulous! 😊
Fun Fact: the Black Hopper car is a knock off of the Bachmann design of that same type. Just a little bit more info on just how cheap this train set is.
I love how the "Western" train set has 1 piece of American rolling stock, and it is in Penn Central paint.
Which makes the railcar from the 1960s.
@@bowser5678 Yep, and from the northeast
Oh wow, from the 60s?! That's a bit naff then isn't it?! xD
Penn Central came into existence in the 1960s, and never ran far west.
Sam'sTrains Penn Central was a merger between two Titan railroads on the East Coast, The Pennsylvania, and the New York Central. It only lasted two years before the new company went bankrupt. The financial fallout was so bad, the US Government stepped in and salvaged what was left into Amtrak and Conrail.
"The worst quality train set ever"
Christmas trains at garden centres: *Am I a joke to you?*
haha that's true - I should have said worst electric train set! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
If you think this is bad, you need to check out the "Christmas Train Sets" Garden centers sell, vastly overpriced tat that wouldn't even pass the quality in Pound Land.
or these cheap battery powered toys with plastic track and horrable wagons
I also do not think that somebody has to complain about a starter set for kids from 8 year of age. How do you want to win them for our hobby when not with a cheap and running models or complete sets. This set for a price of single coach gives the kids an entertaimant for several days building the houses, and basically it runs like every even high end model. I do not understand why Sam emphasises the bad quality? It is not worse as any similar starting set. Of course you cannot get for this price a high quality moldings and 4 color printing, but basically you get a toy train for the kids and maybe one or more kids will discover the hobby what is basically our goal. Everybody must start at some level.
Oh god really?! Maybe I will try one of those! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Haha defo
@@SamsTrains hey sam i got just the line for your channel
(Sam's Trains: Buying crappy trains so we don't have too) ;)
>Western Train
>Only has one car from an American Railroad
>Said Railroad didn’t exist till the 1960s, was an east coast railroad, and likely didn’t haul ore.
I know I’m nitpicking, but I gotta defend my ‘Murican trains.
haha, I wish I'd known this, lol! xD
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Penn Central operated some ore trains, but the other two points of WTF are sure accurate! :P
Steamloco, PC is an ore measurement as well.
@@the4tierbridge That is correct, but there's also a Penn Central logo on it. It was definitely intended to be a Penn Central livery.
when I was 7 years old my Matchbox Gray Hound bus shared town with red London double deckers .
I would have loved this when I was a kid. My family never had much money and couldn’t afford any of the Hornby models that were too expensive, but this would have kept me busy for so long and for the price this is something my parents could have afforded. I get it’s not for the serious modellers
I must admit this set does at least teach kids how to set up a layout, run trains and build card building kits. I would say it's already ahead of a hornby set even though it looks terrible.
Yeah I see what your saying - but the other mehano sets cost less and were much better quality - so I couldn't recommend this!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Sam'sTrains completely understand what you mean mate
The things you were calling 'Teepees' are actually totem poles. The teepees were those cone shaped things.
Ahh yeah of course - oops!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
And wigwams are dome shaped and not meant to be travelled with.
What a totem pole is doing in the wild west is beyond me. Totems were exclusive to tribes in the Pacific Northwest. But hey, it's a toy not meant for any kind of accuracy.....after all how much do Chinese manufacturers really know about American history?
This looks like a perfect candidate for the Gomez Addams treatment!
They failed terribly at making a “Western” train set. Being an American I know exactly what a “Western” train should look like. A 4-4-0 or a 2-6-0 in bright colors with a Russian iron boiler and 30ft boxcars or passenger cars.
American here too. Where in the heck is the cow catcher? It looks, frankly like a European loco, without any pretense of western notes.
And the "caboose"? Not even close! A rounded roof?
They made Spaghetti western style set instead
I had heard that small shunting type locos were used in some remote regions around coal mines and lumber camps. That’s what this looks like to me.
Not in black and red with electric lighting. The locomotive looks more German than anything else.
@@boblatzer Hi Robert 👋 The logging locos were typically Shay locos, which really don't look like this at all. They had a longitudinal crank shaft with gear driven axles to handle the steep inclines and heavy loads. It was all low end torque, with no need for speed.
Tango And 1361: *We Have The Worst Ratings*
Mehano Western Train: *I Don't Even Know Who Yall Are*
haha!! xD
Thats funny
As a kid I remember seeing this train set being advertised every single Christmas season in Romania. The price at the time was 200 romanian lions (£40). I remember asking my parents if they could ask Santa to bring me one, instead I've received a DB narrow gauge G scale train set with a radio controller and it was a lot better.
Wow really?! £40 is much more like it actually - I think I would have been much kinder if this had cost £40. But sure - the G scale one sounds better! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains they've stopped advertising the Western Train Set in Romania from 2010 because not many people could afford them and no one right in their mind will buy one because they could buy more toys for that price.
PC stands for Penn Central, it was a 1970s american railroad, so very inaccurate for a steam era set.
Duly noted, thanks for this!! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
And Pennsylvania is most certainly not a western state lol
That engine is a 1920s switcher used in mines and logging railroads
@@SamsTrains also it was formed from the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad merging, neither going west of Missouri.
*Penn Central: I exist!*
Bankruptcy: I'm about to end this railroad's whole career.
Thank you for the chuckle!
haha! xD
It reminds me of old Italian Spaghetti Western movies that are supposed to take place in the Wild West but were filmed in Europe. The trains in those films always gives away the fact its not really American.
haha yeah, that's what they were going for I think! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Ant they are filmed in Yugoslavia, and this set was made in Slovenia, which was also part of Yugoslavia :D
@@vekkerandras I'm pretty sure most of the old Spaghetti Westerns were actually filmed in Spain (The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly was at the very least).
@@TheEldritchHyenacorrect but also some films in Yugoslavia.
“Let’s go at 50% speed then”
Takes off like a jet launching into the sky😂😂
haha it certainly did, lol! ;D
🤣😂🤣
Thomas was behind schedule....
Looks spot on for the train in the Spaghetti Western, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," by Sergio Leone (one of the most iconic, and excellent, Westerns ever filmed). To save money, the film was shot in Italy, and a key scene with a Western American train was exactly the above.
Sam, you should try and find the same 0-4-0 locomotive and those cars from the Yugoslavia time (prior to mid 90s). Mehanotehnika produced really nice and teliable locomotives, but the economy crisis and the breakup of the coutry led to cutting corners.
That locomotive used to have a lead weight in its boiler - the cheaper new version you have there has some kind of an aluminium alloy for the weight, which is much lighter. The cars also used to have metal plate weights - now they have none. All this contributed to better stability, pulling power and contact with the rails. The new version is simply lighter and "plasticy". I have an older rendition of a train set with identical models, but from the time it was built with more quality. Since you too like Mehano's trains, if you need any info/stories on Mehano's trains, contact me any time.
I cant believe I'm saying this, but THIS train looks more steampunk then the Hornby steampunk range 0_o someone get some cogs and gears on it, stat!
haha right?! That's true of most steam models actually xD
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
This set is certainly for kids. Good starter set for them I think.
Yeah no doubt - although I wouldn't give this to a kid of mine, not with that build quality! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Mehano clearly don't know what American steamers look like that loco looks nothing like anything here in the states
It looks more like something from Germany
HeavyTanker1945 Don’t you remember that scene from Back to the Future III where they used this exact engine? Seems legit to me.
That’s what I thought...
haha yeah - everyone else has said the same thing! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I guess they use what they have to work with, maybe they bought all the injection molds from Tyco, LifeLike, and other manufacturers of yesteryear and are using those..
Bought one. Me aged 71 and four grandkids aged 4 to 12 ,had a great day doing the buildings painting and glueing and put I all together . Still working fine in my garage .after 18 months .SAM did a shoddy job .....only 50 quid well spent 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Heljan 1361: *"Finally, a rival worthy of competition!"*
haha exactly!! ;D
"The cheap and nasty dial has been turned up on this" Pure gold Sam.
haha thank you John! xD
Merry Christmas - Sam :)
Thanks Sam! Between this video and your one on building the card kits I’ve had a right good laugh for the first time in ages during this pandemic! My wife says I need to comment that as an encouragement to you, and a thank you! 😀
Thanks Fred that's very good to hear - let's hope this is all over soon!! Thanks for your kind words,
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Ooh i got this for Christmas about 10 years ago and it's how i got into model trains and all of it still works although i don't use the track anymore obviously.
Aslo mine had 2 straight track pieces, the loco doesn't have any molding errors but both of the open carts were in the lighter colored version
When I got my first model train 6 years ago (It was Mehano Moutain Special) it was very good, and it is still working perfectly fine. It doesn't have any problems with moulding or paint work and it wasn't dirty. Every thing was in palce when I opened it. And there were two straights in this and western set. Maybe Mehano started to care less. They were very good in producing model trains. i Mehano produces Prestige series, they are something between Hornby Railway and Hornby Railroad.
And loco is based on German narrow guage loco W.N. 12 and W.N. 11.
Interesting! Lots of these Mehano sets are really good, just this one sucked :(
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Sam: I don't think any kids would look at this and go, 'oh, that's low resolution!'
Me: well Sam, that's 'cause you've never met me.
haha probably not! They'd probably just look at the train instead, and see the filth! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Great starter kit, cheap enough to discover whether a child will be interested long-term.
The elephant Pat could be used as a mold for expanding foam.
I'm sad that this train set did so badly. I really like that Mehano make really affordable train sets. I still think, though, that this set could still be a good first set for a kid of about 7yo to see if the hobby is something for him / her.
Yeah sorry about that - I wouldn't want a beginner to have this as their first experience in the hobby - would you?!?
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Reminds me of Old Marx Deluxe Starters Sets with the card stock buildings. Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane in America of 1969.
haha!! No problem mate! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
To be honest if I was 5 years old I would be buzzing about this train set despite being low scoring one. Great review Sam 🙂🙂
I think its great. The Mehano sets do seem to teach children how to construct card building kits.
Yeah me too - but obviously the poor quality could easily ruin things - I definitely wouldn't risk giving this to a 5 year old!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Your train set reviews are my favorite. I like the rolling stock, especially the brown post van, I don't know why but it's my favorite. The PC wagon looks kinda out of place but the others look good together. The weakness of this set is definitely the loco. It looks like a deformed Lima tank engine with a very weird looking funnel. Maybe it's the wheels and the weird proportions like the lamp size you have mentioned. It's a shame because the rest of the set doesn't look too bad for the money. I can definitely agree with your rating. It's a shame because some parts are very decent like the controller. Great review as always, Sam 👍 definitely deserves a thumbs up from me.
Thanks so much!! Yeah that brown van was an interesting one! Thanks so much for your thoughts and support, appreciate the comment! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
This set is oooollld. I got this exact one when I was 7 years old (19 now) so I had something to play with while visiting my grandparents. I had a proper layout at home at the time with really good Piko trains . We actually put this set on a proper table too and I remember having quite a lot of fun with it.
Probably more because I now had a second layout that I could bring my better trains to and run them, but I had my fun with it nonetheless.
And finally one has to say that this engine does not need maintenance at all, it just runs. I've never cleaned or oiled it in the last 12 years (exept occasionally blowing the dust out between the contacts and the wheels) and whenever I give it to my little brother or my cousins, it just runs.
Wow! It has been around a long time then - buildings and all? Thanks for sharing! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
"steam locos are dirty in real life"
fireless steam locomotives that we have here in the United States: "AM I A JOKE TO YOU?"
The loco looks interesting. Haven’t finished watching yet but maybe it would make a good shunter?
Yes it could also be a good explosin lol :)
haha yeah - one or the other! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
It pushed my up cupola caboose of my rable
It could be a good scrap piece. Paint it up and take it to pieces and place it somewhere.
Why does it look like it could disintegrate at any time
Because it could
Exactly - I'm sure it could! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I like that the map on the box shows the Midwest and the east coast, about everywhere but the west
I think I know where they got the idea for the church they took a look at the church at Chesterfield!😂
haha exactly!! lol! ;D
I have children and I know they would love this. Kids see the world different to Adults. One of the beautiful things about children
That's true - but even kids need a degree of quality - you want toys to stay together and look good, that's a basic requirement! xD
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
So glad you did this review, I was very tempted by this set but it's clearly no cargo train. I was wondering if you've ever been tempted by Z scale model railways? Theres something so cute and novel about them, but they seem expensive
Thanks Andrew! I have been interested in that in the past - maybe I'll try some one day! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
10:01 Elephant poop makes a return 😂
Indeed it does!! :D
I love watching these cheap set reviews that you do. Was very surprised to see the wagons looked pretty well detailed for their price. "It's hideous isn't it?" ha perfect word. That shiny plastic is really cringeworthy to be honest. A simply re-spray with an aerosol can might make all the different with their appearance if people wanted tho. The lifting track as the train went around was hilarious tho! All the best and keep well, Clint
Thank you, they are good entertainment at least! Yeah the shiny plastic sucks - never a good time for that, lol! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
If it was sold as a “South American train set” then I think they did an Ok job (not the scenery). But they marketed as U.S.A western, so bad. No cow Catcher, it’s a tank engine. We barley even use tank engines, and during the period they were trying to represent, they didn’t EXIST in the country, not to mention the west, where lots of water would be needed due to how long the journey is, and how hot it is out here. The most popular tank engine in the U.S.A was the saddle tank anyway!
Yeah everyone is saying that - doesn't look very American! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
No caboose either... The saddle tank were used on urban branches serving warehouse and industrial areas, tank locomotives are for short range. Unfortunately the West is large with large distances...
I love vids whit cheap trains. Suggestions : Try to find one on wish XD
OH god - I don't know if I'm brave enough! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Haha those Wish train sets will POSION you. If you eat more than 50 of them.
"Quality control was nil ": sounds a pretty good summary of the actual Penn Central, from what I've heard of it
haha yeah, I'm hearing a lot of that!! xD
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
If I had this as a kid in the 70s, I would have spent HOURS imagining I was in a western town! Great beginner's set for kids who are old enough for an electric train set.
looks like 70's Jouef/Lima/playart reproductions from very worn out molds and low quality plastic.
I have the Lima 040 and it looks a lot better than the loco in this set. Can't believe Hornby haven't found the tooling for it to use as a Hornby Railroad model
haha could well be - so is the lima 0-4-0 based on this??
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains the Lima 0-4-0 is based on a American Model power locomotive and for a budget model looks better than this loco. I think this cheap loco might be one of the other budget locomotives from Jouef or Playart
Yes; this set reminds me of the Western Themed train sets put out by Tyco, Marx, Lionel, and others in the late 1950s to 1960s to try to cash in on the popularity of Western themed television shows and movies. Some were pretty good, but many of them were like this; the one thing Mehano forgot to do on this one was put a huge spark arresting smokestack and a pointed cowcatcher on the engine; in some instances that was all they did to turn a conventional engine into a "Western" engine. Most of them were poor sellers.
Definitely a set that nobody would be upset if you took it apart and completely customized it just for the fun of it, and likely you could find it cheap used/bargain bin. Looking at the shiny plastic just makes me want to get out my paint, but then I paint miniatures and don't do trains.
Yet.
Designed in Slovenia, Mehano was/is a children's toy company and sold to a company in China,
Thanks for the info Peter! :D
Sam, you could follow this up with another episode showing the models after improvement and explaining what you did i.e. painting, fitting handrails etc? you could also ask viewers to submit any photos of their attempt to improve it especially the caboose?
You definitely could - I don't think I could reasonably get another video out of this though, haha!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I'm an American, and a "western" train would have a 4-4-0, and a bobber caboose, a couple of 30 foot boxcars
(@9:22) That’s a bit of the track. You can tell by the molded-on “spike” detail. Somewhere in that set, is a curved piece with the end bit broken off.
I think somebody at Mehano was watching too many Clint Eastwood movies! LMAO!!!
The locomotive and cars kind of look like the kind of train you'd find at a rickety old mineshaft. One could spruce it up to look rusty and sooty. Poke some parts of plastic with a heat gun or something to make it look more banged and dented to give it that "salvaged and repaired after a cave-in" look.
It's extremely ironic that one of the cars is a penn central car, very fitting given the quality of the set
haha so I've heard, lol! ;D
Este tren hubiera sido para mí, un deleite cuando tenía 6 o 7 años de edad. Despertar la imaginación y el espíritu del juego. Esa marca hace una oferta, algo distante en cuando a realidad, de lo que fue LIMA, a inicios de los años 70s, donde en comparación con MARKLIN o FLEISCHMANN, ofrecían juegos completos y accesorios, a un precio competitivo. Al ser esto un tren a nivel de juguete, pues no se puede pedir mucho, pese a que vi dos góndolas, que se aproximan más a los vagones de mayor precio y otras marcas. Aunque MEHANO, también fabrica modelos a otro nivel más alto. Gracias por su review.
I was literally looking at these on Amazon 2 hours ago with the view of getting one. Never has one of your videos been more timely!
haha perfect, lol! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
"Western Train" Like a description from an East German school book.
haha I know!! xD
For its target market, young children, then this a pretty good trainset, not sure if it was worth the £60 that you paid fir it Sam, but the £70 odd you later quoted is a tad too expensive. Good honest review as always, Sam. Just a thought, perhaps you could devise a new rating system for trainsets?
Yeah I can easily imaging tons of family fun with this. Especially with some straight track and a siding added.
It's got great play value for a child as there are lots of items to build to add to the layout.
I don't know about that - the quality would be a concern giving this to a kid - you want something well made and robust for a kid.... this doesn't qualify! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
What I find interesting is that mega o labeled the hopper car under Penn Central railroad company colors. Penn central was formed in the early 1970’s (I could be wrong) as a merger between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad. These companies were East Coast railroad companies and the fact that Mehano labeled this set as an “American western set” is quite, well humorous. If it was labeled:
Union Pacific
Southern pacific
Western pacific
Denver and Rio Grande
Then this would make sense. What can I say Sam, I love everything that deals with trains. Also the amount of fellow American viewers on this channel is also quite impressive. Just shows you how much us “Yankers” love trains.
Yeah that is odd - wonder if it was literally just stock left over from something else?!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Reminds me a bit of the old Playart train set with what were obviously German prototype wagons and tank engine, just painted in bright colors.
Ooh interesting! I'll have to google those! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
The only good thing about this set, and the loco in particular, is that they come a dime a dozen used, making them perfect for customisation practice.
This was my 2nd ever trainset, and out of the box it didn't run well at all. The engine had some problems and the track is poor quality. But ots dirt cheap, and once you get it running, it will run for years.
The PC car is a shoddy Penn Central hopper car. It was no where near the old west era. It was a merger between 3 eastern railroads (New Haven, New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad). The railroad went bankrupt in 1970 and would be replaced by Conrail in the mid 1970s. If you want theirs more info on TH-cam and Wikipedia.
cheers and nice review!
-Michael Cianciolo
Chairmen of the East Coast and Southern Railroad
Hi from the owner of the Buffalo Pass, Scalplock and Defiance Railroad. :-)
BPS&D cool
Thanks for the info Michael - so I hear - what were they thinking?!?
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
The PC one is an ore car. Basically a hopper they use to carry iron ore and stuff like that. PC is the reporting mark for Penn Central, the merger of Pennsylvania railroad, New York Central Railroad, and New Haven Railroad.
Thanks a lot for the info, appreciate it! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Everything that a kid could want for Xmas. Enough to keep Junior busy until lunchtime 😁
haha very true!! ;D
PC stands for Penn Central, a railroad formed between the merging of some railroads, most notably the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads
Thanks for the info William, appreciate it! :D
Your loco may need a repaint, some new lamps, and a good clean. Brunswick green on the boiler with a white smokebox and funnel would look lovely.
Yeah I think so, lol! ;D
The Penn Central hopper is the only model of a U.S. prototype; the engine and the two gondola wagons are British/European, while the remaining one is - maybe - a brake van? Also this type of hopper was usually run in unit trains hauling iron ore in the Great Lakes area. The dead giveaway (other than the Penn Central livery) is the roller bearing trucks. This should be relatively easy to convert to Kadee couplers; then Sam can run it with his other HO Scale stuff. Probably the only decent bit of kit in this entire set. Put a magnet on the track. If it’s really steel, the magnet should stick. If it doesn’t, then it’s probably Nickel-Silver.
My brother got a very similar set in 2000's Xmass when he was 7.5 years old (same loco + that ugly mail car, with 2 green coaches - passenger set - , no carboard stuff, but a small plastic platform with roof, came with it). He had a lot of fun with it; with the addition some LEGO and other toy buildings and stuff, + 2 points and some straight tracks from me (i was 16)! The loco many years later was still working despite we do tried to kill it. We just called it "Somerset" do to when u switch direction on a controller at full speed (without slowing it down) it does a front-flip! I think i still have that ugly mail-car in my junkyard, but we sold the rest 1 by 1 more than 12 years ago! We kind of miss that loco; it was funny!
BTW those non NEM socketed wagons can take the older style US horn hook (or X2F) coupling, loco too I think (and the open wagons are clearly EU style)!
Very cool Tom, sounds like these have appeared a lot over the years, thanks for sharing! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
My first train set was a high quality one made by Märklin and given to me for my 9th birthday or so. At first, I was really happy with it, but then I realized how expensive Märklin products were (which I had to buy due to their proprietary system). This led to years of disappointment and frustration and, eventually, giving up the hobby for decades.
If I had received a set similar to this one, I might not have been as excited at first, but I would have enjoyed the hobby much more in the long term, realizing that there are much cheaper ways to enjoy it.
If I were a parent, I'd buy this set or something similar for my kid, see if the model railway bug really bites and, maybe later, give some gifts that will outlast childhood.
Ahh blimey - this definitely won't stack up well to Marklin - they are expensive, but you get what you pay for!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I agree that Märklin is good quality but it is still far, far too expensive for me to buy new.
PS thanks for taking the time to reply!
17:11 I think the number belongs to a real coal wagon as bachmann produced a small penn central coal wagon with a close number 501273
"Looks like we have another massive elephant pat so I will look forward to that" you just love your elephant dung don"t you Sam HAHA. I thought maybe el cheapo could be in the background. He was probably busy. When i first saw the loco it was different in not a good way. Thanks Liam :)
haha thanks Liam - yeah it didn't disappoint did it?? lol! xD
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
A paper model building: exist
Kid who play it: Put the building on the track, i gonna hit it
haha yep, that's exactly what I'd do! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
In the U.S, a basic Bachmann HO Scale starter set with a transformer, circle of track, a locomotive, and some rolling stock costs around $80-$90. Those sets are better quality, and they have more detail than Mehano train sets, but they don’t include as nearly as much things, such as buildings or mats.
Yeah that's right - when mehano get the quality right, they're a fantastic option! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
The PC wagon is most likely a wagon of the Pennsylvania Railway because it has the Penn Central logo on it
Putting quotes around detail was the most subtle, yet devastating insult ever. Nice vid!
haha thank you, glad you noticed that, lol! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Hiya - Don't worry about the church spire (not that you are any way!!!) being 'cock-eyed' b/c the Church in Chesterfield - With the tower at the top the spiral - the inside frame when they built it back-in-the-day - the frame was built with wooden beams - & over the many decades the wooden beams slowly warped & now the Spiral now leans to 1 side a bit
haha yeah that's very true actually, lol! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
It's one of a kind it's like a clap on light but a slap on floor instead 🤣
haha!! xD
PC, probably our Penn Central Railway. Was incorporated with several other railroads in the CONRAIL era. PC was a merger between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central. The two major east coast railroads!
Bob oyle
Thanks for sharing Bob - yeah that's right, others have confirmed this too!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I always love your content man, it always feels appropriate to just sit down and watch your videos with some popcorn!
Thanks so much mate, that's lovely to hear!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Of course, thanks for replying.
PC stands for Penn central (you can see the actual logo of the railroad on the right side of the hoper( a combination of the New York central railroad and the Pennsylvania railroad which in the 1970’s it went bankrupt due to ridership declining and freight services switching to trucks and planes taking over.
A "western train" set with British wagons, a modern hopper and a yard goat for a locomotive! 🤣🤣
that "PC" is a logo from the Penn Central. a railroad from the U.S.A. that ran from 1969 till about 1977. it was formed by the merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), New York Central Railroad (NYC) and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH). The New York, New Haven and Hartford.
Duly noted H, thanks a lot for the info - not at all appropriate for an old west set then! xD
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Mr. Hand does help 😆🤣
Your loco may need a repaint, some new lamps, and a good clean. Brunswick green on the boiler with a white smokebox and funnel.
Nice ideas actually - that'd be tempting to try! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I used to have that loco but green and in a small tub .
Ooh really? I'd love a green one! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
9:29 that is a penn central wagon due to the logo though it operated in eastern USA (and own GG1s) I was a merger with the Pennsylvania railroad, the new York central railroad and and new heaven railroad it later became Conrail and currently the tracks are owned by CSX transportation and Norfolk southern
Mehano's engines and rolling stock were always known to be of less-than-average quality. I have bought a couple of their Mikados as a starting point to transform them into RENFE engines. I had to rewire them up, replace the motors, etc. Believe it or not in one of the boxes you can read "THE WORLD'S FINEST RUNNING H0 SCALE MODELS". These are balls... However they managed to build one of the finest H0 scale model I have seen : RENFE's 333.300 "PRIMA". It's a model with a weight of almost 1 Kg, very powerful and very well detailed. It's a beast with an incredible sound. But it was Mehano's Swan's sung. A bit later after creating this engine the firm ceased to make railway models. Nowadays they build plastic items like buckets, tables, chairs, etc.
Yeah I guess that's fair to say, but I've never come across one as bad as this before, haha! Thanks for sharing! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains In fact it is a weird set even if it is planned for children. Where on Earth do you find these things? :)
8:35 ironic how the top one is the same colour as Duke from ttte and the bottom is Bertram from ttte and they were the same model to
Ooh really?! I didn't know that! :O
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I think a young child of 8 or so, would love it and have a lot of fun with it. I had cheap toys as a child and still had fun using my imagination to entertain myself. Let’s be fair. It says right on the box for 8 and up. Why invest a ton of money if the child isn’t going to get into serious model railroading. Just saying.
Yeah I'm sure that's true - but the quality would be a concern - you want something well made and robust for a kid.... this doesn't qualify! ;D
The price is right though, that's true!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
The black ore car is decorated in the livery of the Penn Central, a short lived railroad created from the merger of the New York Central and the Pennsylvania R.R. In the late ‘60s. It was in turn merged into Conrail a few years later. I’d say it’s incredibly Not Western except the loco and other wagons all appear German.
haha yeah, that's what everyone has been saying - wonder if it was just unused stock they were trying to shift?!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
You can keep steel track and weather it up to create disused sidings or fake loads for trains etc. if thats something your in to
That's true actually - there is some value to the tracks then! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
the hopper car is Penn Central, not even western.... but the only thing out of all the cars and locomotive that would be worth keeping
Yep - bit of a cop-out wasn't it? Yeah, maybe the loco could be improved!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Yes. "PC" stands for Penn Central, which is when the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad merged, which is NOT era-correct. Lol
Thanks Chris, duly noted!! :D
@@SamsTrains the logo on the other side of the car which poorly done on this model is the letters P a d C combined. Any time you see that logo it's Penn Central. There are higher quality images of the logo online.
When I come back to watching this channel after a few months and see that there is a model worse than the 1361
*What the hell happened here?*
haha I know - nobody saw it coming! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Hmmm. A Penn Central iron ore hopper car is a weird choice, but a prototype exisits (probably from the 70's). I wonder if the two-axle wagons also have a prototype. I dont' think I'll be investing in this train set, but your comments on the controller have peaked my interest. Cheers from Wisconsin.
A very weird choice indeed - the controller is the only strong point, for sure!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
The hopper is actually an ore car, They operated in the iron ore country around the Great Lakes. They made for very interesting trains: often solid consists of over a hundred of these and a caboose. Motive power was often very large articulated steam engines.
Thanks very much for the info on the hopper! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I think the PC on the coal wagon stands for Penn Central. The Penn Central was a railroad that was formed when the Pennsylvania, the New York Central, and the New Haven and Hartford railroads merged. Eventually, the Penn Central became part of Conrail.
It does indeed, thanks for the info! :D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Ah!Ha!Ha! Where to begin! You have a stumpy/dusty little loco(with a goofy face no less!), weird little cars for rolling stock, Mc Donald's kid's meal cardstock accessories and, in contrast, a decent train controller. I'll admit that there's a soft spot in my heart for the enormous elephant pat, fabulous! 😊
haha I know - it's pretty glorious isn't it?! ;D
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
"This is going to be an amazing, amazing train set!"
_- Famous last words._
I have 2 of this model I let the grand kids run them on my layout this way my good trains won’t get damaged
haha that's a very good idea!! :D
Fun Fact: the Black Hopper car is a knock off of the Bachmann design of that same type.
Just a little bit more info on just how cheap this train set is.
Ooh interesting - do they really?!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)