I gotta say as a Vintage HO collector this video is a gem. You instead of giving everyone bias as to how one locomotive is the worst and you should buy it, put forth straight facts about all 3 brands. The modeling community can always use people like you. Thanks for making one of the best HO scale comparisons I have ever seen.
I agree. I have a few and they're loud and not that smooth. Best one I have is one that tyco mantua made. It's older but much better running than the newer tyco stuff.
I grew up with Life-Like, and so I have many fond memories of their products and use many of them on my current layout, but I also like Bachmann and TYCO's stuff as well. (It appears Life-Like stole much of TYCO's thunder during the 1980s.) I remember getting Life-Like's Railroad Empire train set for Christmas when I was 12 years old (back in 2000), and it had that same Santa Fe GP38-2 locomotive; they did a very nice paint and detail job. And of course those three companies had a lot of neat accessories to go with their train sets. Only Bachmann still lives on, and while their current train sets have much higher quality locomotives compared to here, they still have a lot of other neat older products still available in new and improved versions (including the aforementioned locomotives.) Now I use higher-quality DCC-equipped locomotives, like the Bachmann ones along with Athearn Ready-To-Roll, Walthers Trainline and Mainline, and Mantua Classics, but I still have them pull older Bachmann, Life-Like and TYCO rolling stock upgraded with knuckle couplers, and I have a lot of the neat accessories on my layout as well.
Excellent presentation of vintage train set offerings from the 70s-80s era. I noticed the Santa Fe GE locomotive was adorned with pretty much the same kind of trucks the Santa Fe EMD came with. Of course now I will have to obsessively research this similarity. Thank you for your detailed analysis and running of all shown here. My first HO train set came with a EMD F9 in Penn Central livery. It still runs to this day. A Christmas gift from or around 1973-74.
Yup, Bachmann only had the one style of truck sideframes in the 70's, so they used them on all of their diesel models regardless of accuracy until they finally started making more unique and detailed models in the 80's. Some examples of the U33B and U36B did have this style of truck depending on the railroad though, so Bachmann could at least cheat a little and get away with it. The 8-wheel drive chassis was a pretty solid design. I wish they would have kept that level of quality, but they got a little too focused on competing with Tyco for a while there.
An excellent video. I've never had much luck with the pancake motor or open exposed gearing on my railway. I did manage to save and revive one Tyco Sharknose RF-16 decades ago by putting in two new Powertorque six wheel motor units, making a suedo Baldwin BP-20 with all wheel drive. It is the only pancake motor locomotive that still runs on my railroad, as all the other locomotives were turned into dummies or got a new chassis. It also is rarely allowed outside, and is easily the highest maintenance locomotive I own, but it actually runs pretty good and usually pulls the commuter train, which doesn't stress it very much. In a trial, many moons ago, before the traction tires got old, it managed to pull, reasonably well and without excessive wheel spin, sixty four assorted freight cars and one caboose around the layout. It ran fine, both inside and outside, but the motors got smoking hot. Thanks for the memories. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.
It would be nice if the Baldwin sharknose was as popular with the Prototype railroads as it is with the modeling. Let's not forget Tyco train sets like the ones put out by ahm we're an excellent bargain over buying parts separately. I have vintage advertisements from the 1970s with Tyco train sets from $9.99 to $29.29. Ahm had a 0-40 docksiders set with two cars and a caboose circle of track power pack and it was all of $10. These were made to be affordable toys and nobody thought about them lasting 50 years and being collectible. The way HO scale people take care of their model trains I would imagine that everything produced in the last 50 years is still out there one way or the other. Used ho Rolling Stock is very reasonably priced because it was not expensive to begin with. But as you continued in The hobby your standards got higher both for detailing and for running qualities. Until you hit the Pinnacle of the hobby when you got into brass. That's when you knew you had arrived.
Wow! It really shows how long we've come from those old toy-grade mechanisms. Those engines certainly did their job of enticing beginners and being colorful and efficient, but the cheapness in quality really shows. Great video! PS would love to see you go all out on that life like GP38 and upgrade the mechanism, details etc. Probably not worth your time but it' would be an interesting concept.
Quality's certainly come a long way! Even the worst of what you can get now in HO is better than just about everything in this video (like the Mehano starter sets reviewed by Sam's Trains). The GP38 is actually one I'll always keep as-is despite its poor performance, since it was the first thing I ever owned in HO.
@@DarthSantaFe Yea, I saw Sams train's review. Sadly the Steam set wasent nearly as impressive. I understand, Ive still kept my first engine, a Bachmann Chattanooga 0-6-0 as is despite having cracked axles and an extremely overrun motor.
I've always been a TYCO man through and through. I love PowerTorques. I think in terms of value your best bet is to find a locomotive with an MU-2 powertruck.
I actually own an original Mantua metal Sharknose with the MU-1 power truck! I custom painted it for PRR, added a stronger magnet to the motor, weighted the back for traction, and upgraded it with PSC wheels and 8-wheel pickup. It's a very nice runner! I also have an F7 from when Tyco worked with Roco to revive the MU-2 truck, and with a magnet upgrade, it's also a pretty good runner.
I remember back in the 1970s my dad asked me if I wanted the Tyco Sharknose for Christmas and I said no because I thought it was a made-up design. I may have been ten years old. I later regretted that decision! It really wasn't a bad looking shell, even if the mechanism was lacking. Speaking of the mechanism, I had their Alco C630 with one of those "universal"ly bad drives. When it wasn't climbing rails due to the rubber traction bands, it pulled at best five or six cars.
I’ve heard of people saying that large real steam engines didn’t have articulated frames after seeing models with the frame swiveling around curves, so I guess some designs can be hard to believe without research!
I put ps2 tray motors in where the tyco armature went. It makes for great runners. They are a 7 pole motor, and thinner than what most people use. They are flush with the motor frame. they will crawl. After I learned how to oil the power torque motors,they are pretty reliable. When they say a drop, that is an overstatement.
I had that same Life-Like GP38 and it along with an F7 and two yellowbonnet GP38s were my first HO scale engines starting around the time I was 5 or 6 up until my brother ran it at full throttle and launched it off the end of our train table right in front of Dad. Suffice to say, he got banned from the layout for a few weeks.
My first train set when I was around 11-12 years old (very early 1990's) was a Life-Like. It had the same GP38 although mine was the Chessie one. I remember it being fairly reliable but then again it was brand new back then not 30 years old so even though it was cheap it worked well enough for 12 year old me. It was also way too fast for 12 year old me so it ended sailing off the track plenty of times in a turn. But I have such fond memories of it that I picked one up when I got back into trains about 5-6 or so years ago. Of course I run better quality stuff these days. Even modern Bachmann's with their can motors, 8 wheel drive and pickups, etc. are pretty reliable and still very affordable. My brother bought my nephew, who is almost the same age I was when I got that first train set, a Bachmann Thoroughbred set. He takes it out about once a year and runs it but it has had zero problems so far. So as far as what's available right now as far as starter sets Bachmann is pretty good but you certainly get what you paid for. I'm not sure 12 years old me would have really appreciated the increase in quality from Life-Like to even the Bachmann not to mention something nice like Atlas or Athearn. But it sure got me interested in trains. And that interest never really went away. So thank you Life-Like for that. And thank you for this video. It brought back some memories. May have to dig my Chessie GP38 out and try my hardest to keep it on the track. lol. It's not the one I had when I was 12, unfortunately, as that disappeared during either the move in 93 or the move in 95 so I purchased a pristine example off of eBay a few years back not long after getting back into it because of nostalgia.
Thanks! Funny thing about it, the weight actually came from another Bachmann F9, so there was a time when they actually did that themselves! Before the motor on that one burned out (literally), I noticed it didn’t derail when reversing into a curve, so I transferred it to the one in the video to improve performance.
Life like was my first train set, the trans American set. The diesels rear bogie fell out, but I still like it. Got it when I was 8, but I don’t rember the year
The older Bachmann U-36 engine has the body mounted couplers which make it more prototypical looking then the later Bachmanns and Life-Like diesels. Also with the Bachmann having this feature, you can put that body on type of an old Athearn blue box frame and have a really good looking and running dual drive engine with flywheels. Bachmann's GP-30 models can use the Athearn GP-35 under-frame and motor. The Body mounted couplers and the full front plate being the thing to look for when purchasing 1970s Bachmann diesels. (Yellow and White box).
My uncle once super-detailed the Bachmann GP30 body and modified an Atlas/Roco chassis to fit. 45 years later and it still looks and runs as well as any of the newer models!
I have found that quite a few of the wheels get varnish on them. Try using a small bristle wire brush on them to clean them off. Eliminates most of the electrical pick up issues.
To give Bachman credit I think they have come a long way there starter sets are of a good quality. They have improved since back when I was a kid in the 90s
The best one is the life like. Slow speed isn't amazing, there not made that well, but they rarely have gear issues and the torque is surprisingly nice
Hey Dearth Santa Fe, I just came by here today and watched this comparative video, then I found other videos of yours and they were so good. Im just saying you have the most instructive interesting gentle way in describing what to do in repair. Like a professionally trained instructor. I suspect you are in fact a teacher of some subject. So complete... I will look for more and sure wish you were a neighbor as I am an amateur. I love your passion for this hobby.
I've always enjoyed watching your videos. This is a really cool video and it was excellent it looks like you might be expanding your layout on the other side I see a little bit of work you've been doing and I really like your video
I don't have any of the cheaper Bachmann steam engines on hand, but I have been trying to figure out a video for steam engines in the cheap to affordable range.
Never thought that the was a u 36 b in a blue bonnet paint scheme,it have on a u-36-b than look bad but it a runner with most of it war bonnet paine still on ,pretty cool
I run 4 different old lifelike diesels and have had no issues other than finding replacement clips that hold the couplers on. I use both the black and gray bachmann ez track with no issues. The Tycos and Cox locomotives that pickup power where one truck picks up left rail and the opposite on the other are junk. Plus you can pull like 28 cars+ with a Lifelike....try that with any of the others.
My guess is that they could no longer realistically maintain that as an option. A better way to word it might be “production lifetime warranty,” and they do still at least have that on anything with a motor.
@@DarthSantaFe I never had to Avail myself to the Bachmann lifetime warranty my trains ran great until I put them in storage when I went in the Air Force and the storage company stole them rotten bastard. I had the Bachmann Santa Fe 2-10-4. Very finely detailed. Not a good runner. In the old days everything had to go around in 18 radius curve because that's the track that you got in train sets nothing to be to track that you would put on the cork Road beds and then do the ballasting and everything like that. I never could get anything done with Flex track
My first train set as a kid was a tyco santa fe freight train set. Honestly it was crap. My father and I ended up making a layout when I was around 10 (1990) and we started purchasing life-like which was a little better but still not very good. Never purchase Bachmann but the local hobby store sold Athearn and Atlas brands and we ended up getting a majority of Athearn kits and engines. for the price (which was about the same as Life-Like) the Athearns were great. Since they were kits they lacked some detail but nothing a little paint couldn't fix. I still have all of my trains to this day and they still do run, but they are currently boxed up in the attic.
Even though these are old Bachmann loco's. They continue to have pick up issues and weight problems. This is especially in N scale. I have some Spectrum series for just general purpose. The looks are better on the shells and trucks , but the chassis needs some upgrades and care .This is needed especially if you Dcc them in N scale.
Ngl, the life like moter engine actually sounds good because that thumping like sound kinda like the real engine so you basically have a dcc train lol, my life like UP high hood does it too and life like engines are actually really good if they have the metal wheels instead of brass
Great video! Your layout looks awesome! I am wanting to build one but I haven't started. I actually had gotten a Life Like Train set years ago (Probably 12 years ago). It actually worked pretty good and looked decent but it is in storage. I still have all of my train things in storage. Two questions! What size is your layout? How did you do your roads? They look awesome! Thanks for any help you can give me.
Thanks! The finished portion of the layout is 4' x 7'. The roads were painted using an asphalt colored paint for the pavement and flat white and yellow for the lines, using a scale template to get the line lengths and spacing correct. After that, I glued down Woodland Scenics foam grass at the edges to finish them.
I don’t know where else to ask this question and it’s kinda off topic but can different brand trains connect to each other. Update: I’m about to get my first layout done it’s just 4x8 but I’ve been collecting quite a few engines. Thanks for the help you gave me!
Yes, as long as they have the same type of coupler, they can connect. If linking engines together, just make sure the run at a similar speed to avoid putting a big strain on any of them.
I feel blessed knowing that i accidentally got athearn blue box locos as my first HO set. Granted all the details had broken off, but I still have that old SOO diesel. Magnificent runner to this day! Thinkning about upgrading it to DCC w/sound soon...
I have the same life like gp38, and I agree that it has some electrical pickup issues. Currently, I dont have a board yet, so to test my trains, im just using a simple oval shape, and on one part of the layout, it gets a little finnicky for a second before it goes back to normal. Its kind of weird.
You never compared the older tyco motor. The one that was all framed had brass axles and thick gears. They were definitely following their Mantua heritage.
I’m approaching 60 , I’ve had dozens of both Tyco and Bachmann. Since the early 80s Bachmann has been superior to Tyco when it comes to engineering. Athearn is a substantial upgrade!
O gauge does not look realistic at all and is too big unless you live in a huge house or have a total separate building for a layout. You can keep your O gauge pal.
@@bultacowally With enough room, O scale can look very realistic, even more than the smaller scales. All the O gauge I own is more in the “toy train” area, but that doesn’t make it any less fun.🙂
I have a model power and as long as you don't play around with the drive train it will go just don't try to take it apart also have a unknown model that runs like a dream
Model Power diesels were made by Mehano (same manufacturer as IHC and a lot of AHM), and their trains are generally reliable and smooth runners. You can take them apart for cleaning and repair, but some of the plastic parts tend to be a little softer than what's used on more expensive models, so you do have to take some care in those areas.
Greetings. Nice video. You mention how many volts it takes to get each engine to move. Does your transformer give you that information? If so, what brand and model? Thanks. I have subscribed.
Thanks! I use a Micro-Pac by SRTech, and it does give voltage and other info on the display. Unfortunately though, it’s been out of production for over 30 years.
Athearn's gearing for the F7 has been the same for over 50 years now, so if you order some new wheelsets from them, they'll even be able to fit the old models (except the old rubber band and tower drives). If your F7 has metal sideframes, tap the axles out from the wheels a little, then press them into the old wide gears.
While this Bachmann f unit doesn't appear the be the train set f9, does anyone know what the story is behind the "notch" in the lower body over the fuel tank on those?
This is actually a train set F9 from the late 80’s and early 90’s. Some of the F units had only partial skirting over the fuel tank (such as UP #93A), which is how Bachmann’s shell was originally made, so although greatly oversized on these, it is at least prototypical for some F9s. When Bachmann started making full length skirting though, they failed to add the middle and rear slots.
@@DarthSantaFe Yeah Darth ... I bought 2 cast steam tycos on ebay and I love them but want them to work tops... btw .. what do you call that type motor in these and are they a better motor than the newer ones I see?.. Thanks Darth
@@gacj2010 It's called an open-frame motor. They're not quite as efficient as modern can motors, but do run well with care and adjustment. And if the old magnet in a Mantua/Tyco motor gets weak or you just want an upgrade, it's easy to swap it out with a 1/2" neodymium cube.
@@DarthSantaFe Thank you for answering, I will keep this note and if I have to do what you say .. well maybe you have a video on something like that.. For some reason I like tyco. I guess because it was my first from parents who are gone now and I still have the first set with a cast tank steam engine switcher.
@@gacj2010 I don't have a video for that, but all you have to do is drill out and remove the large rivet in the back, pull the old magnet out, put the new one in, and the magnet itself is so strong that it'll hold things together as it is! And if it runs backwards, all you have to do is pull the magnet out, flip it over and put it back in.
I also have had all 3, Tyco, Life-like and Bachmann. I would say the Life-like trainset locomotives are the worst HO locos ever built, they just suck. It will never start by itself without having a push, it will run then stop every 2 or 3 feet, the engine wobbles and the traction tires wears off immediately. Then the pancake motor would fry when you try to pull more than 10 cars. The Bachmann are only slightly better, but the pulling power still sucks and the hand rails are atrocious big. Also they are quiet loud too. The Tycos despite the reputation are the best of the 3 brands in my view. The motor is very quiet and its metal casing seems to be not as cheaply built as Bachmann/Lifelike plastic pancakes. The electric pickup is much better with the spring trucks and the metal truck frames. The paint is smooth and sharp compare to the other two brands. The traction tires will still worn off and the motor will get weaker with age when it demagnitize, but I really find Tyco to be in a class of its own against the other 2 brands.
I whould agree about the life-life. I have a Life-life f40ph and it starts and stops. The only way to resolve it is to start off fast and build up speed then slow it down that way if it tries to stop every 2ft it has enought momentum to keep it from stoping. I've dumped it and moved on to a Walthers f40ph.
If you're looking for a starter train set, Bachmann's diesel sets are decent. Walthers also has a few sets out there that are comparable or slightly better than the Bachmann sets. And although they're not in production right now, Athearn train sets are also good for starters, or you might be able to find an IHC set in good condition.
Everyone should have copied Barney with their line of diecast locomotives. It feels like a quality piece of Machinery compared to a lightweight piece of plastic. Diecast locomotive regardless of scale are the way to go. Now plastic make for lightweight cars when you have a 4 by 8 HO train layout how many cars can you really pull on a train. Diecast locomotives and Rolling Stock just feel more like the real thing because of the weight. Also with lightweight plastic cars you can get away with a cheaper motor for the locomotive. Lionel put only one motor and the first issue of the electric gg1 locomotive it didn't pull squat. He had to put two Motors in them which he should have done in the first place. He did the same thing with the 027 version of the F3 same size as the 031 but only one motor. You can't even put another motor in it because the frame is different. The locomotive is the heart of your train on the layout. Your locomotive should be the best that it can be. Of course you could always buy better locomotive separately like athearn or Atlas.
The U stands for "Universal series", which were diesels built by GE for multi-purpose use and to be easily convertible to different track gauges. 36 is for the engine horsepower, which was rated at 3,600. B means that it rides on 2-axle trucks.
Life-Like had better gears but the Bachmann had a smoother engine, Tyco's only saving grace was their logo art on their rolling stock which has become very collectible over the years. Funny how all brands went to an Athearn style setup after 2 decades of tossing out crap at lower prices. Nowadays Bachmann has been ripping people off with $200 toy sets because "Trains" they think trains means expensive, we need 2 more competitors to pop out and force Bachmann to drop their prices or they'll keep scaring people away from the hobby with overpriced toy grade at Hobby grade priced entry sets.
$300 MSRP for an FT-A with basic sound, 30 year old chassis tooling and no flywheels, and using a 45 year old mold for the body. I do miss AHM/IHC, but at least Walthers brought back the Trainline models to fill some of the gap for now.
@@raymondleggs5508 Mehano is still around, but IHC as we knew it is technically gone now. The IHC we have now is more of an online store that picked up the leftover inventory after Bernie Paul died in 2010. They've imported a few more small batches over the years, but charge quite a bit more than the old IHC, so they've kind of lost the great value factor.
Nice video, but I have to say you sorta wasted your time on these older train set engines. They were made to run for a few weeks after Christmas and then die. Young kids aren't going to have the knowledge or skills to fix or tweak these locos so most likely they will abandon their trains and do something else. I would also say you have a very attractive layout. I really like your use of scenery. It's simple, but looks very realistic. A big thumbs up to you for that!
Thanks! There are actually quite a few out there who collect these either for nostalgia or because they can’t afford the nicer trains (you can have a whole railroad of Tyco for the cost of a new BLI steam engine), so I’m hoping this video is helpful to those looking for cheap trains.🙂 I’m glad you like the layout! My new section on the right will be more complex with a grade and a tunnel, but still not over-complicated. I’m hoping it will compliment the finished section when done.
Ugh, I don’t want to be a grammar cop but please stop saying “this here”. A better phrase to use would be “this is” or “here is”, otherwise great video, keep them coming!
Yeah, my speech could be better in some places, and I hear a lot of those mistakes whenever I get into the editing. None of it is scripted, so I end up saying whatever comes to mind.
@srenchin If you don't want to be a grammar cop, then don't. Doing it immediately after saying it negates the expressed intent. Keep up the great content, @darthsantafe
I gotta say as a Vintage HO collector this video is a gem. You instead of giving everyone bias as to how one locomotive is the worst and you should buy it, put forth straight facts about all 3 brands. The modeling community can always use people like you. Thanks for making one of the best HO scale comparisons I have ever seen.
hi dan. CRSR DASH 840b got me watching your videos too. You got interesting stuff.
Very well said Dan👍
That might be the best running Tyco Baldwin Sharknose I have ever seen.
Honestly! I was surprised at how quiet it was. I recall those being just as loud as those life like ones.
@@ecpcharles I've noticed some PT motors are noisier than others, but many can be extremely quiet when running perfectly.
I agree. I have a few and they're loud and not that smooth. Best one I have is one that tyco mantua made. It's older but much better running than the newer tyco stuff.
I grew up with Life-Like, and so I have many fond memories of their products and use many of them on my current layout, but I also like Bachmann and TYCO's stuff as well. (It appears Life-Like stole much of TYCO's thunder during the 1980s.)
I remember getting Life-Like's Railroad Empire train set for Christmas when I was 12 years old (back in 2000), and it had that same Santa Fe GP38-2 locomotive; they did a very nice paint and detail job. And of course those three companies had a lot of neat accessories to go with their train sets. Only Bachmann still lives on, and while their current train sets have much higher quality locomotives compared to here, they still have a lot of other neat older products still available in new and improved versions (including the aforementioned locomotives.) Now I use higher-quality DCC-equipped locomotives, like the Bachmann ones along with Athearn Ready-To-Roll, Walthers Trainline and Mainline, and Mantua Classics, but I still have them pull older Bachmann, Life-Like and TYCO rolling stock upgraded with knuckle couplers, and I have a lot of the neat accessories on my layout as well.
Same i grew up with life like trains as well
A lot of my equipment is from life like.
I had a tyco sharknose...it was one of my best running engines.
Excellent presentation of vintage train set offerings from the 70s-80s era. I noticed the Santa Fe GE locomotive was adorned with pretty much the same kind of trucks the Santa Fe EMD came with. Of course now I will have to obsessively research this similarity. Thank you for your detailed analysis and running of all shown here. My first HO train set came with a EMD F9 in Penn Central livery. It still runs to this day. A Christmas gift from or around 1973-74.
Yup, Bachmann only had the one style of truck sideframes in the 70's, so they used them on all of their diesel models regardless of accuracy until they finally started making more unique and detailed models in the 80's. Some examples of the U33B and U36B did have this style of truck depending on the railroad though, so Bachmann could at least cheat a little and get away with it.
The 8-wheel drive chassis was a pretty solid design. I wish they would have kept that level of quality, but they got a little too focused on competing with Tyco for a while there.
My first locomotive was that Santa Fe GP38-2, when I was about 5. For an entry level unit, the detailing is pretty nice, I just wish it ran smoother.
An excellent video. I've never had much luck with the pancake motor or open exposed gearing on my railway. I did manage to save and revive one Tyco Sharknose RF-16 decades ago by putting in two new Powertorque six wheel motor units, making a suedo Baldwin BP-20 with all wheel drive. It is the only pancake motor locomotive that still runs on my railroad, as all the other locomotives were turned into dummies or got a new chassis. It also is rarely allowed outside, and is easily the highest maintenance locomotive I own, but it actually runs pretty good and usually pulls the commuter train, which doesn't stress it very much. In a trial, many moons ago, before the traction tires got old, it managed to pull, reasonably well and without excessive wheel spin, sixty four assorted freight cars and one caboose around the layout. It ran fine, both inside and outside, but the motors got smoking hot. Thanks for the memories. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.
It would be nice if the Baldwin sharknose was as popular with the Prototype railroads as it is with the modeling. Let's not forget Tyco train sets like the ones put out by ahm we're an excellent bargain over buying parts separately. I have vintage advertisements from the 1970s with Tyco train sets from $9.99 to $29.29. Ahm had a 0-40 docksiders set with two cars and a caboose circle of track power pack and it was all of $10. These were made to be affordable toys and nobody thought about them lasting 50 years and being collectible. The way HO scale people take care of their model trains I would imagine that everything produced in the last 50 years is still out there one way or the other. Used ho Rolling Stock is very reasonably priced because it was not expensive to begin with. But as you continued in The hobby your standards got higher both for detailing and for running qualities. Until you hit the Pinnacle of the hobby when you got into brass. That's when you knew you had arrived.
Wow! It really shows how long we've come from those old toy-grade mechanisms. Those engines certainly did their job of enticing beginners and being colorful and efficient, but the cheapness in quality really shows. Great video!
PS would love to see you go all out on that life like GP38 and upgrade the mechanism, details etc. Probably not worth your time but it' would be an interesting concept.
Quality's certainly come a long way! Even the worst of what you can get now in HO is better than just about everything in this video (like the Mehano starter sets reviewed by Sam's Trains). The GP38 is actually one I'll always keep as-is despite its poor performance, since it was the first thing I ever owned in HO.
@@DarthSantaFe Yea, I saw Sams train's review. Sadly the Steam set wasent nearly as impressive.
I understand, Ive still kept my first engine, a Bachmann Chattanooga 0-6-0 as is despite having cracked axles and an extremely overrun motor.
When it came to the life like trains I would take a page from slot cars and add a pair of wipers from the slot car as direct to track pickups
I've always been a TYCO man through and through. I love PowerTorques. I think in terms of value your best bet is to find a locomotive with an MU-2 powertruck.
I actually own an original Mantua metal Sharknose with the MU-1 power truck! I custom painted it for PRR, added a stronger magnet to the motor, weighted the back for traction, and upgraded it with PSC wheels and 8-wheel pickup. It's a very nice runner! I also have an F7 from when Tyco worked with Roco to revive the MU-2 truck, and with a magnet upgrade, it's also a pretty good runner.
Do you have pretty positive opinion of the MU-2 then?
I remember back in the 1970s my dad asked me if I wanted the Tyco Sharknose for Christmas and I said no because I thought it was a made-up design. I may have been ten years old. I later regretted that decision! It really wasn't a bad looking shell, even if the mechanism was lacking. Speaking of the mechanism, I had their Alco C630 with one of those "universal"ly bad drives. When it wasn't climbing rails due to the rubber traction bands, it pulled at best five or six cars.
I’ve heard of people saying that large real steam engines didn’t have articulated frames after seeing models with the frame swiveling around curves, so I guess some designs can be hard to believe without research!
I put ps2 tray motors in where the tyco armature went. It makes for great runners. They are a 7 pole motor, and thinner than what most people use. They are flush with the motor frame. they will crawl. After I learned how to oil the power torque motors,they are pretty reliable. When they say a drop, that is an overstatement.
I had that same Life-Like GP38 and it along with an F7 and two yellowbonnet GP38s were my first HO scale engines starting around the time I was 5 or 6 up until my brother ran it at full throttle and launched it off the end of our train table right in front of Dad. Suffice to say, he got banned from the layout for a few weeks.
My first train set when I was around 11-12 years old (very early 1990's) was a Life-Like. It had the same GP38 although mine was the Chessie one. I remember it being fairly reliable but then again it was brand new back then not 30 years old so even though it was cheap it worked well enough for 12 year old me. It was also way too fast for 12 year old me so it ended sailing off the track plenty of times in a turn. But I have such fond memories of it that I picked one up when I got back into trains about 5-6 or so years ago. Of course I run better quality stuff these days. Even modern Bachmann's with their can motors, 8 wheel drive and pickups, etc. are pretty reliable and still very affordable. My brother bought my nephew, who is almost the same age I was when I got that first train set, a Bachmann Thoroughbred set. He takes it out about once a year and runs it but it has had zero problems so far. So as far as what's available right now as far as starter sets Bachmann is pretty good but you certainly get what you paid for. I'm not sure 12 years old me would have really appreciated the increase in quality from Life-Like to even the Bachmann not to mention something nice like Atlas or Athearn. But it sure got me interested in trains. And that interest never really went away. So thank you Life-Like for that. And thank you for this video. It brought back some memories. May have to dig my Chessie GP38 out and try my hardest to keep it on the track. lol. It's not the one I had when I was 12, unfortunately, as that disappeared during either the move in 93 or the move in 95 so I purchased a pristine example off of eBay a few years back not long after getting back into it because of nostalgia.
Ahearn
great video! I have a few of the Bachmann F9s, and I like your idea of adding weights into the rear
Thanks! Funny thing about it, the weight actually came from another Bachmann F9, so there was a time when they actually did that themselves! Before the motor on that one burned out (literally), I noticed it didn’t derail when reversing into a curve, so I transferred it to the one in the video to improve performance.
Life like was my first train set, the trans American set. The diesels rear bogie fell out, but I still like it. Got it when I was 8, but I don’t rember the year
The older Bachmann U-36 engine has the body mounted couplers which make it more prototypical looking then the later Bachmanns and Life-Like diesels. Also with the Bachmann having this feature, you can put that body on type of an old Athearn blue box frame and have a really good looking and running dual drive engine with flywheels. Bachmann's GP-30 models can use the Athearn GP-35 under-frame and motor. The Body mounted couplers and the full front plate being the thing to look for when purchasing 1970s Bachmann diesels. (Yellow and White box).
My uncle once super-detailed the Bachmann GP30 body and modified an Atlas/Roco chassis to fit. 45 years later and it still looks and runs as well as any of the newer models!
I have found that quite a few of the wheels get varnish on them. Try using a small bristle wire brush on them to clean them off. Eliminates most of the electrical pick up issues.
Out of all my old locos I got in the last 30 years my lifelike engines are the only ones still going and have given me little if any trouble
To give Bachman credit I think they have come a long way there starter sets are of a good quality. They have improved since back when I was a kid in the 90s
They definitely have! I showed one of the newer ones in my recent “mid-range” comparison video.
The best one is the life like. Slow speed isn't amazing, there not made that well, but they rarely have gear issues and the torque is surprisingly nice
Hey Dearth Santa Fe, I just came by here today and watched this comparative video, then I found other videos of yours and they were so good. Im just saying you have the most instructive interesting gentle way in describing what to do in repair. Like a professionally trained instructor. I suspect you are in fact a teacher of some subject. So complete... I will look for more and sure wish you were a neighbor as I am an amateur. I love your passion for this hobby.
Thanks, I'm glad you like the videos! I'm not a teacher, but I was always taught to speak clearly and understandably.
I've always enjoyed watching your videos. This is a really cool video and it was excellent it looks like you might be expanding your layout on the other side I see a little bit of work you've been doing and I really like your video
Thanks! I am slowly working on expanding the layout, and it will be about double its current size once finished. :)
I like your comparison. Kept my attention. Now, can you do a video on Bachmann versus Life Like steam engines.
I don't have any of the cheaper Bachmann steam engines on hand, but I have been trying to figure out a video for steam engines in the cheap to affordable range.
Never thought that the was a u 36 b in a blue bonnet paint scheme,it have on a u-36-b than look bad but it a runner with most of it war bonnet paine still on ,pretty cool
I run 4 different old lifelike diesels and have had no issues other than finding replacement clips that hold the couplers on. I use both the black and gray bachmann ez track with no issues. The Tycos and Cox locomotives that pickup power where one truck picks up left rail and the opposite on the other are junk. Plus you can pull like 28 cars+ with a Lifelike....try that with any of the others.
I have over 10 Life-Likes and have only ever had 2 die on me,I have had several Bachmann units burn up or break in some way
I remember when Bachmann HO train had a lifetime warranty. Williams used to have a lifetime warranty. Not anymore.
My guess is that they could no longer realistically maintain that as an option. A better way to word it might be “production lifetime warranty,” and they do still at least have that on anything with a motor.
@@DarthSantaFe I never had to Avail myself to the Bachmann lifetime warranty my trains ran great until I put them in storage when I went in the Air Force and the storage company stole them rotten bastard. I had the Bachmann Santa Fe 2-10-4. Very finely detailed. Not a good runner. In the old days everything had to go around in 18 radius curve because that's the track that you got in train sets nothing to be to track that you would put on the cork Road beds and then do the ballasting and everything like that. I never could get anything done with Flex track
My first train set as a kid was a tyco santa fe freight train set. Honestly it was crap. My father and I ended up making a layout when I was around 10 (1990) and we started purchasing life-like which was a little better but still not very good. Never purchase Bachmann but the local hobby store sold Athearn and Atlas brands and we ended up getting a majority of Athearn kits and engines. for the price (which was about the same as Life-Like) the Athearns were great. Since they were kits they lacked some detail but nothing a little paint couldn't fix. I still have all of my trains to this day and they still do run, but they are currently boxed up in the attic.
I had that GP 38, but in blue and yellow.
It shrieked
Even though these are old Bachmann loco's. They continue to have pick up issues and weight problems. This is especially in N scale. I have some Spectrum series for just general purpose. The looks are better on the shells and trucks , but the chassis needs some upgrades and care .This is needed especially if you Dcc them in N scale.
Ngl, the life like moter engine actually sounds good because that thumping like sound kinda like the real engine so you basically have a dcc train lol, my life like UP high hood does it too and life like engines are actually really good if they have the metal wheels instead of brass
Great video! Your layout looks awesome! I am wanting to build one but I haven't started. I actually had gotten a Life Like Train set years ago (Probably 12 years ago). It actually worked pretty good and looked decent but it is in storage. I still have all of my train things in storage. Two questions! What size is your layout? How did you do your roads? They look awesome! Thanks for any help you can give me.
Thanks! The finished portion of the layout is 4' x 7'. The roads were painted using an asphalt colored paint for the pavement and flat white and yellow for the lines, using a scale template to get the line lengths and spacing correct. After that, I glued down Woodland Scenics foam grass at the edges to finish them.
I used black sandpaper was easy and pretty cheap it’s also good for flat top roofs
great video and details!
You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the cheap plasticky pancake motor tran set locos, not join them!
You underestimate my POWERTORQUE!
@@DarthSantaFe DONT TRY IT!!!
@@solar_9878 >Lunges with Tyco, takes an Athearn to the arm and legs, screams in engineered 40-hour motor burn-out
I don’t know where else to ask this question and it’s kinda off topic but can different brand trains connect to each other.
Update: I’m about to get my first layout done it’s just 4x8 but I’ve been collecting quite a few engines. Thanks for the help you gave me!
Yes, as long as they have the same type of coupler, they can connect. If linking engines together, just make sure the run at a similar speed to avoid putting a big strain on any of them.
@@DarthSantaFe thank you very much
I feel blessed knowing that i accidentally got athearn blue box locos as my first HO set. Granted all the details had broken off, but I still have that old SOO diesel. Magnificent runner to this day! Thinkning about upgrading it to DCC w/sound soon...
Your right I to have a lot of pick up issues on life like trains from time to time
I wish they still made life like trains thunderball hauler was the best set from life like
that black plastic is called delrin
Great video! If I may ask, "What size is your layout and what size curves did you use for the outside loop?" Thanks. Have a great evening.
Thanks! The finished section is 4’ x 7’, and the curves are 22” and 18” radius.
@@DarthSantaFe You did a amazing job. Thank you.
I have the same life like gp38, and I agree that it has some electrical pickup issues. Currently, I dont have a board yet, so to test my trains, im just using a simple oval shape, and on one part of the layout, it gets a little finnicky for a second before it goes back to normal. Its kind of weird.
@@CommanderCalico It could be that the piece of track there is slightly warped, or might have a loose coupling. Some of those issues are hard to spot.
Great video. Just subbed your channel.
You never compared the older tyco motor. The one that was all framed had brass axles and thick gears. They were definitely following their Mantua heritage.
Yes, but I consider those a step above the cheap “train set” category. I also didn’t have one on hand at the time. :)
I’m approaching 60 , I’ve had dozens of both Tyco and Bachmann. Since the early 80s Bachmann has been superior to Tyco when it comes to engineering. Athearn is a substantial upgrade!
Thanks, but I'll stick with MTH O gauge, Lionel O gauge and American Flyer S gauge.
My Lionel Standard Gauge #42 is going on 100 years old and still runs great!
O gauge does not look realistic at all and is too big unless you live in a huge house or have a total separate building for a layout. You can keep your O gauge pal.
@@bultacowally With enough room, O scale can look very realistic, even more than the smaller scales. All the O gauge I own is more in the “toy train” area, but that doesn’t make it any less fun.🙂
I have a model power and as long as you don't play around with the drive train it will go just don't try to take it apart also have a unknown model that runs like a dream
Model Power diesels were made by Mehano (same manufacturer as IHC and a lot of AHM), and their trains are generally reliable and smooth runners. You can take them apart for cleaning and repair, but some of the plastic parts tend to be a little softer than what's used on more expensive models, so you do have to take some care in those areas.
@@DarthSantaFe If I could post a video of that unknown diesel on my channel can you comment what it is if you know
@@diesel10rules23 Yeah, if you want to post a video, I can have a look and see what it is.
@@DarthSantaFe I posted it
@@diesel10rules23 And I just left an answer on it!
I have 2 of the santa fe 3500 one powered and one dummy
Greetings. Nice video. You mention how many volts it takes to get each engine to move. Does your transformer give you that information? If so, what brand and model? Thanks. I have subscribed.
Thanks! I use a Micro-Pac by SRTech, and it does give voltage and other info on the display. Unfortunately though, it’s been out of production for over 30 years.
What about an old Athearn F7 with wheel set change? Got one for $15 NEW from a hardware store decades ago?
Athearn's gearing for the F7 has been the same for over 50 years now, so if you order some new wheelsets from them, they'll even be able to fit the old models (except the old rubber band and tower drives). If your F7 has metal sideframes, tap the axles out from the wheels a little, then press them into the old wide gears.
Excellent information here......great content 👍
The modern Bachmann's use a similar motor and pickup system as Athearn
Yes, the new ones are much better than the old all plastic train set models. I'll be doing more videos eventually that include the modern models.
Trying to find those white nylon gears for the engine on the Bachmann
You might have to get a donor motor for those.
Most of my locos are life like
How did you get another gear for the spilt gear? I have a F40PH that someone throw out the gear and it has a good motor.
I pulled it from another motor I had on hand that wasn't working. For these motors, that's probably the only way to get a replacement unfortunately.
While this Bachmann f unit doesn't appear the be the train set f9, does anyone know what the story is behind the "notch" in the lower body over the fuel tank on those?
This is actually a train set F9 from the late 80’s and early 90’s. Some of the F units had only partial skirting over the fuel tank (such as UP #93A), which is how Bachmann’s shell was originally made, so although greatly oversized on these, it is at least prototypical for some F9s. When Bachmann started making full length skirting though, they failed to add the middle and rear slots.
Tyco I got a lot of hehe😉
Can You Please Do A Video Like This!!??.......Only With Steam Locomotives?? Thank You
I do plan on making more videos like this, so I’ll try and get a steam engine video in there somewhere!
@@DarthSantaFe Yeah Darth ... I bought 2 cast steam tycos on ebay and I love them but want them to work tops... btw .. what do you call that type motor in these and are they a better motor than the newer ones I see?.. Thanks Darth
@@gacj2010 It's called an open-frame motor. They're not quite as efficient as modern can motors, but do run well with care and adjustment. And if the old magnet in a Mantua/Tyco motor gets weak or you just want an upgrade, it's easy to swap it out with a 1/2" neodymium cube.
@@DarthSantaFe Thank you for answering, I will keep this note and if I have to do what you say .. well maybe you have a video on something like that.. For some reason I like tyco. I guess because it was my first from parents who are gone now and I still have the first set with a cast tank steam engine switcher.
@@gacj2010 I don't have a video for that, but all you have to do is drill out and remove the large rivet in the back, pull the old magnet out, put the new one in, and the magnet itself is so strong that it'll hold things together as it is! And if it runs backwards, all you have to do is pull the magnet out, flip it over and put it back in.
Thank God for O gauge my eyes are 74 years old.
I also have had all 3, Tyco, Life-like and Bachmann. I would say the Life-like trainset locomotives are the worst HO locos ever built, they just suck. It will never start by itself without having a push, it will run then stop every 2 or 3 feet, the engine wobbles and the traction tires wears off immediately. Then the pancake motor would fry when you try to pull more than 10 cars. The Bachmann are only slightly better, but the pulling power still sucks and the hand rails are atrocious big. Also they are quiet loud too. The Tycos despite the reputation are the best of the 3 brands in my view. The motor is very quiet and its metal casing seems to be not as cheaply built as Bachmann/Lifelike plastic pancakes. The electric pickup is much better with the spring trucks and the metal truck frames. The paint is smooth and sharp compare to the other two brands. The traction tires will still worn off and the motor will get weaker with age when it demagnitize, but I really find Tyco to be in a class of its own against the other 2 brands.
I whould agree about the life-life. I have a Life-life f40ph and it starts and stops. The only way to resolve it is to start off fast and build up speed then slow it down that way if it tries to stop every 2ft it has enought momentum to keep it from stoping. I've dumped it and moved on to a Walthers f40ph.
What is a good starter train?
If you're looking for a starter train set, Bachmann's diesel sets are decent. Walthers also has a few sets out there that are comparable or slightly better than the Bachmann sets. And although they're not in production right now, Athearn train sets are also good for starters, or you might be able to find an IHC set in good condition.
Everyone should have copied Barney with their line of diecast locomotives. It feels like a quality piece of Machinery compared to a lightweight piece of plastic. Diecast locomotive regardless of scale are the way to go. Now plastic make for lightweight cars when you have a 4 by 8 HO train layout how many cars can you really pull on a train. Diecast locomotives and Rolling Stock just feel more like the real thing because of the weight. Also with lightweight plastic cars you can get away with a cheaper motor for the locomotive. Lionel put only one motor and the first issue of the electric gg1 locomotive it didn't pull squat. He had to put two Motors in them which he should have done in the first place. He did the same thing with the 027 version of the F3 same size as the 031 but only one motor. You can't even put another motor in it because the frame is different. The locomotive is the heart of your train on the layout. Your locomotive should be the best that it can be. Of course you could always buy better locomotive separately like athearn or Atlas.
Are they cheap?
I typically see these for $5 to $20 at train shows or on eBay.
By the Looks of it you May be Expanding.
Slowly but surely!
nothing,i mean nothing beats an athearn blue box flywheel drive
👍👍👍
What does the number and letters mean U36-b mean
The U stands for "Universal series", which were diesels built by GE for multi-purpose use and to be easily convertible to different track gauges.
36 is for the engine horsepower, which was rated at 3,600.
B means that it rides on 2-axle trucks.
@@DarthSantaFe thanks now at least I’ll know what ppl are talking about instead of scratching my head Bs saying huh?
Life-Like had better gears but the Bachmann had a smoother engine, Tyco's only saving grace was their logo art on their rolling stock which has become very collectible over the years. Funny how all brands went to an Athearn style setup after 2 decades of tossing out crap at lower prices. Nowadays Bachmann has been ripping people off with $200 toy sets because "Trains" they think trains means expensive, we need 2 more competitors to pop out and force Bachmann to drop their prices or they'll keep scaring people away from the hobby with overpriced toy grade at Hobby grade priced entry sets.
$300 MSRP for an FT-A with basic sound, 30 year old chassis tooling and no flywheels, and using a 45 year old mold for the body. I do miss AHM/IHC, but at least Walthers brought back the Trainline models to fill some of the gap for now.
You could try a PIKO starter set....
@@raymondleggs5508 Their ICE starter set looks interesting, so it might be something for me to look into eventually!
@@DarthSantaFe Also Mehano/IHC is still around
@@raymondleggs5508 Mehano is still around, but IHC as we knew it is technically gone now. The IHC we have now is more of an online store that picked up the leftover inventory after Bernie Paul died in 2010. They've imported a few more small batches over the years, but charge quite a bit more than the old IHC, so they've kind of lost the great value factor.
Nice video, but I have to say you sorta wasted your time on these older train set engines. They were made to run for a few weeks after Christmas and then die. Young kids aren't going to have the knowledge or skills to fix or tweak these locos so most likely they will abandon their trains and do something else. I would also say you have a very attractive layout. I really like your use of scenery. It's simple, but looks very realistic. A big thumbs up to you for that!
Thanks! There are actually quite a few out there who collect these either for nostalgia or because they can’t afford the nicer trains (you can have a whole railroad of Tyco for the cost of a new BLI steam engine), so I’m hoping this video is helpful to those looking for cheap trains.🙂
I’m glad you like the layout! My new section on the right will be more complex with a grade and a tunnel, but still not over-complicated. I’m hoping it will compliment the finished section when done.
Run it in first of course.
Ugh, I don’t want to be a grammar cop but please stop saying “this here”. A better phrase to use would be “this is” or “here is”, otherwise great video, keep them coming!
Yeah, my speech could be better in some places, and I hear a lot of those mistakes whenever I get into the editing. None of it is scripted, so I end up saying whatever comes to mind.
nobody gives a shit
@srenchin If you don't want to be a grammar cop, then don't. Doing it immediately after saying it negates the expressed intent.
Keep up the great content, @darthsantafe
I'm going to guess that you are a Taurus.
No? I’m not really sure what that would mean.
😴💤