Gauge 1, large-scale starter sets
Bachmann Industries
1400 East Erie Avenue
Philadelphia PA 19124
Price: Lumberjack, $350;
Prospector, $375
Web site: www.bachmanntrains.com
Large-scale starter sets; each set has a 1:20.3-scale Davenport diesel-outline locomotive, loop of track, power supply, accessories, DVD, and instruction book; “Prospector” (#90070) includes four side-dump ore cars; “Lumberjack” (#90071) includes two shorty, skeleton log cars with logs and caboose
Pros: Good, plausible starter sets for both children and adults; attractive packaging; knuckle couplers; well made; generally well finished; everything you need to get going is included-nothing else to buy
Cons: Bachmann track not suitable for outdoor use; shiny plastic logs; ambiguous scale designations
Each set is provided with an instruction booklet and DVD. Each of these contains generic information about setting up the track and getting the train running for the first time, which is valuable stuff for newcomers.
A loop (12 curves, 2 straights) of Bachmann’s track comes with each set. This is their standard product: formed sheet-metal rails over a plastic base. This is probably the weak point in these sets. The track is definitely not for use outdoors and will not stand up to much rough treatment inside. However, it is sufficient to get the train going and, if permanently mounted on a board, should do fine for quite a while.
The power supply comes in two parts: the wall-plug transformer and the separate speed/direction controller. The transformer puts out 16V at one amp, which should be more than adequate for the train supplied. Bachmann’s standard track clip is also supplied.
In operation, trains performed as expected. The engines run smoothly and relatively quietly. Slow speed is good, though top speed is a little brisk. The power supply puts out plenty of oomph.
My quibbles with these sets are negligible. No scale is designated on the box (except for “Authentic Large Scale,” whatever that means), perhaps because the contents are of different scales. The plastic logs that come with the Lumberjack set look very much like plastic logs.
Overall, I like these sets a lot. For kids, there’s plenty of play value. Not only can the trains be run indoors or out, but the logs can be loaded and unloaded at will on the Lumberjack set. On the Prospector set, the side-dump cars can be filled with sand or ballast and endlessly dumped, through the interesting dumping mechanism (a favorite with me). For the more serious modeler (or potentially more serious), both of these are plausible industrial train sets that have distinct reasons for being. The engines look right for their consists, locomotives and rolling stock offer opportunity for repainting, detailing, and weathering, and each set provides a good entry point into the hobby-one that can be built upon without having to start from scratch once interest takes hold.
