If you are collecting to resale, then you must consider supply & demand to determine an items worth. However, if you are collecting to keep for yourself, then only get what you personally enjoy & don't worry about market value. It could be the most worthless piece in the world, but if it brings back happy memories to you, then it is priceless.
Absolutely true. Most of what I have I've bought cheap and used. I've coaxed many old locomotives back to life and get a lot of satisfaction from that. To me it's more rewarding than buying new.
@@goosenotmaverick1156 I totally agree. I have many too and they're all cool to me. I can't afford the fancy stuff. I get enjoyment out of taking a old locomotive from dead to running.
I'm pretty sure like 90% of model railroaders had one of these as their first set. Heck my first one was the Santa Fe one with the F40PH. The fact these are so cheap makes them even more charming in my opinion. There's nothing more fun than running one of these at full speed along your layout. 😂
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan You know what was so bizarre? At an antique mall, I saw a seller who had a Bachmann Silver Series train set for $125, and a Life-Like set for $150! SERIOUSLY!!!! WHY IS A CHEAP LIFE-LIKE SET MORE THAN A BACHMANN SILVER SERIES SET???????
I started with some Tyco trains as a kid and its a miracle I stayed in the hobby. They never ran right, broke down all the time and looked horrible. It all changed when I joined a club and got to see what real model train where, and who much better they operated...
I started out with a Marx circular train sets electric and I still have it. I don't have the track but I have the cars some of them. Then came the holidays for my birthday and I got to take out with a little GE 44 ton I rode that thing in a circle around the dining room table so my parents finally built 4x8 platform in my bedroom that went up and down along the wall. I've always had great memories and finally after 60 years found some of the pictures. Well guess what I'm still in the trains N gauge HO LIONEL OO. I'm one of the few people that still have a working Hudson in OO. So those little trains you're talking about they mean a lot to people. It isn't the money it's the memories they bring back. But then you have youth an arrogance. We have old age and treachery.
This showed up in my recommended and I decided to take a watch, which I'm glad I did. I wanted to throw in my two cents on Life-Like Trains, as I've had quite the experience with them. Probably close to 15 years ago now, my parents bought me a 4'x12' HO scale train layout someone had started building and lost interest in, and since I really didn't have many trains, I was allowed to go to the local store and buy some. They were all Life-Like, which was good for the time since I was just getting into the hobby. I paid I believe about $3-$5 for the rolling stock, and locomotives were around $20. You basically got what you paid for with those trains, and they did last for a while, but after a couple years I had to upgrade to something better. One thing I always saw as odd is my local hobby shop would sell Life-Like models for far more than what they were honestly worth. You'd pay almost $14 in some cases for a hopper car, and almost $50 for a small steam locomotive. Granted a lot of the prices there were a little unreasonable, but the Life-Like models they had were a prime example. Even the prices in the bargain bin which had mostly older Life-Like, Bachmann, and Tyco models weren't much of a bargain. Anyways, like I said, I too feel that Life-Like models just are not worth what a lot of people think they are, and they're main purpose is to be an introduction to the hobby, and not something which serious modelers are going to want to pay premium prices for.
Their not, however with Hobby collecting prices can be determined mostly by how scarce a particular piece is and the sentimental value one is willing to pay for it. Life-Like is not bad it was made simpler because the target was Children and the bedroom floor layout. Adults were never intended to get involved other than to buy it for kids not their own hobby. Same with model kits, Adults hijacked the hobby and expected replica quality for the peanuts prices. Im a True Athearn fanatic I say without fear but in truth Bachmann and life-like not only have those rarer rolling stock other brands never made (Think Good-n-Plenty, Nabisco, Tootsie Roll etc), they also made upscale stuff for the hobby folks and those fare much better for layout use and longevity. Never went DCC as I never needed too and still have a great time. Yeah I agree scalpers really ruin things in this Hobby as well.
@@animalyze7120 "prices can be determined mostly by how scarce a particular piece is" No. Prices are determined by how _desirable_ a particular piece is. Just being scarce isn't enough: people have to want it. I have a stock of styrene in the house, so I could make a totally unique box car, say, and try to sell it. It would be ultra-scarce -- just one in the world! -- but it would be completely worthless, because it would be total garbage that nobody would want.
I really enjoyed your video. I have been telling people for years that the train set they like is what having it is all about. I also see people that think an electric train (HO, American flyer or Lionel) is worth a lot of money no matter it's condition or if there is even a market for what they have. Lately I have seen people paying what I feel is too much at antique auctions. And at other times no one is interested in some really good pieces and so they go for less than its real value. In the end my word of advice is, everything has a market value, but it is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
Being in model trains since 1963, I have found the Life-Like HO set I had in 1971 to be very decent. In fact, I still have a L-L set from 1971 still factory sealed (Cannonball with the F7 A&B locos). And like Athearn, L-L freight cars had underframe mounted couplers, but, of course, L-L cannot compare with Athearn of the same era, but neither can TYCO, although the TYCO locos had better traction tires than L-L. Never had any Bachmann HO in the early 70's, no stores in my area back then carried them. Had some AHM and Rivarossi locos and those were decent, especially the Rivarossi's, those had good quality and very sensitive motors. Had a neat Atlas N set in 1968 and really loved it until my little brother pulled all the trucks off the freight cars and ate the plastic bolster pins :-(
My model trains(all I have is a couple engines and cars) are the only things I have from my very tumultuous childhood. My parents divorced when I was 6 and somehow I managed to drag my trains with me throughout my life. My dad built my train set for me. They are literally the only physical things connecting me to a very happy time of my life before everything fell apart. They are worth more to me than gold. They are memories. I plead with all of you.... share your love and passions with your kids. They will love and remember those memories more then you know.
I really appreciate videos like this. It helps keep prices down on perfectly usable items. Thankfully, most of us aren't in this hobby as collectors or businessmen. We do it because we enjoy playing with toy trains, some of us for a life time. For those of us on a budget, those "worthless" toy trains work well and can be easily detailed and tweaked to look and run as well, if not better than, the "collector" items. For example, those Reader's Digest trains, while pretty bad, can be detailed and put to good use as scenery. Some of what you said may have been correct, of some level, but your presentation could have been better. They may be worthless to you as a businessman, but for those of us in the hobby, and understand it's just a hobby, they can be gems in the rough.
Absolutely, nothing wrong with collecting these brands at all - this video isn't meant to downplay any brands, I'm a huge TYCO fan myself - just meant to share my perspective as a model train store owner of what items I personally don't see selling for what people may think they are worth :)
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan I'm a huge Silver Streak fan myself but far too often I have seen them priced for far more than TYCO models are worth one guy wanted 150$ for a Tyco Canandiana and I told him it wasn't worth that much and wasn't paying anything more than 25$ for a tyco. I have been into the hobby for over 25 years I know what's worth it and what's junk, (Coff Bachnamm).
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan You're absolutely right. As a business, market value has to be prime concern, and places like eBay have made more stuff available, and to some extent lowered prices, due to that availability. I think using the term "worthless" set off a knee-jerk response in some folks, myself included. For example, the toy "G-Scale" Christmas train sets you mentioned. I bought one about 20 years ago, yes, it's crap and I think I ran it once. Yet, it comes out every year and goes under the Christmas tree as a decoration. Sometimes, it's not what you say, but how you say it. Thanks and if you're selling Life-like N scale rolling stock and engines for a couple of bucks ... we gotta talk ;).
I once read that Life-Like was primarily in the business of selling train accessories - builidings, etc. - and that the train sets were only a way to introduce people to the accessories. There were the *"President's Choice"* sets annually at Christmas time from a Canadian grocery store chain. The rolling stock is mostly cheap junk, but the locomotives are Mehano, typically Canadian National or Canadian Pacific, and with added details you didn't see on the standard Mehano products. Very nice! I went across the river (from Detroit) to Windsor, ON, one year when that year's set was on clearance. It has a very nice CN Hudson. I couldn't have bought the locomotive by itself for $72 so that alone is the great bargain of buying the set, I have no use for the rest.
Actually, at one time, ready-to-run HO trains of any kind were regarded as having no collectible value. Then Lionel HO started getting a little valuable, this was originally probably driven by O gauge Lionel collectors who had to have anything made by Lionel. Then others jumped on the bandwagon and depending on the piece and its scarcity, some of it became quite valuable. The same thing happened to Gilbert HO, even the junk they made at the end in the '60s became valuable because of its scarcity. Then much to most people's surprise, even Tyco became collectable. I'm not saying Life-Like will become a gold mine or even most of it will have much, if any value (because it was so heavily mass-produced) but there is starting to be some interest in this brand, due I believe to articles in the HO Collector.
I grew up with Tyco, Bachmann, and Lifelike - mixed in with Atlas Track and Piers, and Girder and Panel Skyscrapers, and a Tyco Fire Alert set. The Tyco set was Steel Hauler. The Atlas layout was an up-and-over in 4x6 which I somehow crammed into 5x3 and also did an extremely poor attempt at catenary and even third rail. It wasn't a model railroad. It was a metropolitan area. Yeah, the toy grade rolling stock and track was - well - toy grade. But, you know what? The LifeLike trees, lights, buildings, etc. and the Bachmann Plasticville (who could forget Plasticville?) were damn good and fairly realistic. Tyco has a bit of a cult following, so I'm surprised it doesn't fetch a bit more. Even those 40 decades ago, the big 3 toy brands were considered junk by serious HO modelers. Atlas was a bare minimum, and Athearn (now Walthers) was the end all/be all. That Steel Hauler set hearkened back to our glory years as a manufacturing superpower.... when we were real builders. Collectible value may be in the toilet, but sentimental value is off the charts. Nice video, and part 2 is also good.
I grew up on Tyco / Mantua . Life like too. " My first car was a chevette not a corvette " Tyco was in my formative years and instilled the hobby in my heart. I have many train display cases and all of my starter sets are proudly displayed in them along with the high end stuff. I have train guys ask from time to time about these sets. Stuff like the A-team set and Military sets were all about fun and being enjoyed without the status quo.... Turbo trains always get a great conversation as the one version of the turbo trains series were actually slot cars. These were never junk when you factor in the happiness you recieved for your money.
@@thomasyunick3726 - precisely. Also, considering that "toy" grade trains were built to be manhandled by children, they worked well enough. You're not going to give a pre-pubescent kid Walthers/Athearn and other serious hobby grade stuff. There was Marklin HO when I was a kid - sold in FAO Schwarz. They had a humongous layout when they were on 58th St. It was the Mercedes/BMW of "toy" trains to be sure.
I bought a girder and panel set for a dollar at a yard sale (had a set as a kid). It was a bridge set so no panels but built a building frame that is "under construction" with my Lionel trains and buildings. Scale is a little small but close enough.
Super. I still have plenty of the old school stuff on my railroad, including many names that you didn't mention, however, even if you threw all of the new expensive stuff of mine and the junk in one basket, it is still all sentimental value for me. I bought these trains to operate, inside or outside, not to resell. I don't save boxes, (I have traded some for RR stuff.) I occasionally have wrecks, or modify the equipment, which alters the original, and they see sun and snow and dirt, not to mention tons of operation and maintenance, which gives them a nice patina that operators love and collectors hate. In terms of junk, about 20% of my current fleet wouldn't even sell for fifty cents each, and no rivet counting modeler would even want them on their railroad, but many have been modified, by me or my friends, (Friends and I looking out the passenger car windows, realistic lighting, me in the cab, extra weight and details and lighting for my railroad, couplers, special paint, etc.) and are my personal favorites, and work well on my pike. I have one locomotive, a Tyco 4-6-2 heavy Pacific with a long haul tender that has run faithfully for almost fifty years, and I wouldn't sell it for any price. (Picture of me in the cab windows, extra weight and details, special paint, lighting, thin plastic cover over the exposed gears.) Nobody thinks that this is an exact scale replica of anything, although it is close to some steam locomotives. I bought it originally for $19.99 plus Uncle Sams share, which means that I've spent less than fifty cents a year for this locomotive, including maintenance, extra detail parts, and Kadee couplers. That means that while this locomotive would work well for a modeler, and someone might like or want it, it is not an unused, unopened, rivet counting, fully detailed, pristine scale model boxed collectible that will go up in price ever. It is instead the locomotive that in its matching paint hauls my 21 car Royal Blue passenger express train up the 3% grade as smooth as silk without fail, and I love it. Hello again from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.
Remembering my first train set with was a Life Like train set witch I’m still have it today and still working. Buy it in 1987 and got plenty of Bachman,tyco and even Model power railcars and locomotives. I upgrade many of them and it was worth the pain to do it. Upgraded many railcars on kadee couplers and metal wheels and even detailed them. Now actually working on an old Bachman CN F unit with will be fitted on an Athearn blue box bottom frame,getting some details added on. Made it with an Old model power units and it turned very nice and also with an old Life Like F40PH fitted on a Walther frame and it turned great. Some of these old models are pretty good to practice for repainting and rework on Their cheap price make it easier and better practice on them before touching a more expensive model. The way to take a 2$ worth railcar and make it run and look like a 40$ railcars once done.
Good video! I learned something (I had no idea Reader's Digest produced a line of trains) which is always a positive outcome. It's nice to see a younger person who is not only in the hobby, but running a model trains business! I hope folks in the TN area support your store. As you started your presentation, the first brand that popped to mind in cheap trains was "Life-Like" LOL. I had so many of those as a kid...
I'm a vintage Marklin Man. My railroad is late 60's - late 70's is what i gravitate to collecting. Plastic is not cool but die-cast is. Thanks for the interesting topic.🤠
Life-Like HO scale slot cars were the weapon of choice in the 90's at my local slot car track, we raced them every Wednesday night. Wild that they're viewed as toy grade in the train space.
We have the same problem in the UK with oo gauge products from various manufacturers. It is worth getting hold of specialist catalogues which list a variety of manufacturers, their models and current perceived value. Another thought is age related for example I collect mint condition Triang railway products which were manufactured in the 1950/60’s and until the 70’s under the Triang Hornby logo. These days as the collectors of Triang products age and pass away their value diminishes as they have little to no interest for younger railway modellers. As another person commented it is probably best not to view model railways as investments but just enjoy them for the pleasure they give you.
Yeah, Lifelike is definitely a stamped version of a starter pack and I bought a n scale set. The locomotive was an old Alco FA with a broad green hood.
Bradford Exchange products are a good way to get decent models for cheap though if you're willing to repaint them, and they do have some fun themes Most of their On30 stuff (like the one pictured in this video) are just regular Bachmann Spectrum with a silly vinyl wrap and with some love can become the genuinely gorgeous models they were intended to be
As someone who loves model trains, I have one I had planned to display underneath the Christmas tree, one day hopefully - if I ever visit the area where your store is I’m definitely visiting. I’ve considered buying a few pieces for ideas maybe one day I’d definitely buy the cheaper stuff since my ideas would be like customization
As far as “life-like” goes; I always thought they’re uh “active add-ons” ( I think I’m saying that right) we’re cool. The logging mill, coal tower, etc, I always thought that stuff was so cool. But, I’m still a kid at heart in my mid-30’s. I do enjoy doing serious modeling, but there’s something that’s still fun about the old life like stuff.
You see overvaluing on ebay as well. Just the other day I was looking at G Scale tenders and saw an Eztec/Scientific Toys tender for an LGB powered tender price. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's people who don't know trains and get excited when they do poor research before selling, or people who know the true value but are trying to fish for buyers who have done poor research.
Either way, it's sad - I wish people knew how to use the "Sold Items" feature on eBay to see the price that items actually sell for versus what is being asked.
I have a Bachmann I bought a few years back for my Christmas village. This year I'm adding mountains and a tunnel. I'd like to add a bridge but have no idea what percent of an incline I should have. Oh and I guess trains are in my blood as my great grandfather was a train engineer in the late 1800's to the early 1900-s. In fact my grandmother was born on a train as it was crossing Texas. We never knew what town her birth was registered!
we have a few of those RD replicas for just fun collectables. My dad is near his 80s now and with all the model train shows, home layouts, and him at one time helped run shop over in wartrace tn, he'd kill me I ever thought toy and model train were the same. :)
We used to get this question a lot when we took our traveling layout on the road. Phrased exactly like this. "I have an old train at home that belonged to my late husband. How much is it worth?" We learned to tactfully tell them that unless it was a very rare or collectible-to-model-railroaders piece, probably nothing or next to nothing. I always hated to tell a widow that her husband's post-war Lionel or (worse) 1970s Tycos were too overproduced to be worth any real money. I had a Life-Like GP38 in 1977. It was a nice-looking engine and even had a scale-width hood (Uncle Irv, did you hear that?) but the power truck under the cab would barely move the engine let alone pull a train.
extremely rare but refreshing. someone so young owning a hobby shop let alone a miniature train one. I will definitely visit one day hopefully early next year I'm in north carolina.
it is typically the trainset stuff that can get kids started, and sooner or later they might get into the real scale model world. I started 60 years ago with tinplate.
I'm puzzled by your comments about Life-Like. I bought one of their Proto 2000 GP18 locos on a visit to the USA thirty years ago and both the detail and the quality of the motor and drive mechanism were way ahead of anything we could buy here in the UK. I still have it and it still runs perfectly, though I have now fitted it with a DCC decoder.
Christmas 2006 or 7 I was 4 or 5 years old. I got a lifelike train set with a yellow Santa Fe engine and I know these tend to be considered junk, I LOVED that train set. It brings back so many memories
Honestly I still love lifelike engines. My first ever HO engine was a lifelike Santa Fe, which I still have to this day! She may be old, and a bit clapped out, but she’s still a useable engine. I have many other lifelike engines that have proven to be far more reliable engines than some of the expensive Bachman engines I’ve owned over the years. Plus lifelike made a pretty huge variety of engines in their lineup and it makes it easier to expand your fleet of engines if you don’t wanna spend horrid amounts of money. So long as you do your research on the engines first before you buy them. Plus, the lifelike train controller is SUPER reliable. I’ve had it run model trains far better than any of the Bachman dial controllers I’ve gotten over the years.
I gave a friend's autistic brother a set like this. HE LOVES IT! I think I got him into trains as he's been asking about other stuff like better cars, locos, ect.
Does anyone know the name of that set at 4:03 ? My grandma bought me and my brother that when we were little and we would always play with it at her house. It’s really nostalgic.
Thanks for this info. My young son loves model trains. We are looking at the starter Bachmann sets like the McKinley explorer. We just can't decide between HO and N. In this case we aren't looking for an investment but a starting point in the hobby. Regardless, the investment aspect of the hobby is something to consider in the future.
I found a old box of model trains and I found another small box and I found those worthless n scale rolling stock and 2 of the locos and I was so happy exited..:until I found out they don’t even roll
For some reason people with those G scale sets think they’re worth a fortune. Even the battery operated bachmann big haulers sell for FAR more than they’re worth. That said, they’re still cheap enough that I’ve converted all my G scale outdoor track and layouts to that bachmann and new bright plastic track and all my g scale locomotives are now battery powered. I find it easier and some I’ve converted to radio control. I’m not a serious collector or modeler but I do have two garden layouts and the price of that plastic track has made that possible. The new bright locos are junk and bachmann isn’t much better but the track is fine if you don’t mind the black rail.
What you are saying is unfortunately true. I will pick up some of these models occasionally to use in a project. If I cut one up and the project doesn't go as planned then I'm not out much money. Thanks for your posting.
I just inadvertently bought a bunch of those readers digest trains and cars and now I find out they won’t even work on my track… I haven’t even gotten them in the mail yet.
I've found the biggist issue with toy grade model trains is the plastic wheels leave a residue on the track that will start to effect connectivity after only about half an hour of running. Also even as a kid I realized Life-Like was garbage, the then 20+ year old Tyco trainset I found at a garage sale ran better then the Life-Like one did when new!
While I agree with your view on the collectible value of Life Like there is a difference between “collectible “ and “sentimental collectible “ value at least in my eyes. For example just today I purchased a Life Like Campbell’s soup HO train set on eBay for $58 shipped. Why? Because my parents bought me the same set for Christmas in 1982 and they are both gone now and I foolishly sold or traded it off years ago and wanted to have it back again on the shelf with some other items that have meaning to me. I am 53 now and grew up with a mix of Life Like, Tyco, AHM and Bachmann trains and still love them all but totally get how some are toy trains. I learned to work with what I could afford and what was given to me.
Those cheap train sets were good value for the money. From $9.99-$29.00 you got a power pack,track,loco, couple of freight cars and a caboose. These sets got us started in to a great hobby. They were excellent value for the money. Frankly if you think you have to have $500 HO or $2,500 O Gauge locos are necessary to have fun in this hobby you are sadly mistaken. Train nuts are born not made.
I have two Bradford Exchange cars. A pair of MLB big domes. One St. Louis cardinals, the other Houston Astros. They're so odd, and I got them for $30 and $10. I like to run them as a pair since they're so weird and don't fit in with anything else
Do you know about these motorized train sets that go with a flick of the switch and look like they can go on N scale? They also come with background plates put together like puzzles.
Personally, I'm always looking for these types of trains. I use them to practice weathering on. They're great for fine tuning your air-brush skills. Of course, I don't pay for them. I just grab them when someone is tossing them out.
These so called "toy trains" that you speak of are exactly what got probably 99% of us into the hobby. I model N scale. Let's be honest, in the long run they are all toy trains! Just because we as grown men play with them that does not change the fact that they are just toys. As far as your Life Like comment is concerned, I have some Life Like locomotives and they actually function as good or better than some of my Atlas, Kato and Scale Trains locomotives do. As far as the Readers Digest stuff goes, yes the locos are not powered but they will run on N scale track. I have done it.
We have lost perspective in the hobby. The point of cheap trains is that if they get broken, the parents did not spend good money. The purpose of these sets is to see if there is an interest in the hobby. The children learn how to handle the trains before buying the more expensive ones. A shame people have to be model snobs and rivet counters. The truth is the hobby is dying out because the unreasonable demands of people are driving the costs up on a once accessible hobby. The cost for tooling is expensive. Licensing of railroad names as a result of Lionel losing the lawsuit it had drove costs up. There was a lesson I learned. I bought better quality trains and got a fraction of what I paid when I sold them. Costs are now crazy because some dork wants it a scale 2" closer and the production is held up because of how the whistle sounds. There is a bad attitude that because it is quality and old, it is trash. 40 dollars for a single car? NO! You could buy 8 Blue Box cars and Kadee #5 couplers. A good Athearn locomotive was $20.00. Now they are 100. Models are delicate and do not stand up to handling like the older Athearn Blue Box cars and locomotives. Then companies went under, and parts get expensive as they are no longer making kits of some locomotives. Do I regret giving up trains? NO. I lost interest because the better trains were expensive. Time and space for a layout were no longer what they were. Maintenance of the layout was another issue. Hobby Shops were closing.
I will agree that the Life-Like brand is... Less than stellar? I bought the UP set a few days ago from a train store, mostly because I'm so new to the hobby & was looking to get my hands on some track & a power pack. The quality of the actual train it came with was honestly lackluster. The lead loco didn't even work, & the rolling stock it came with is so off balance and just wants to derail. The track & controller are great but that's really the only thing worth buying those sets for.
I always buy lifelike engines because 1. I don’t run my stuff much, I do t have much time between my UA-cam channel, Andy my medical issues as well as not having a layout and I don’t always want to set up my track, 2. It’s cheap and runs pretty good. Great for practicing or scrapping for parts. 3. It lasts a while (atleast first gen)
Worthless is such a subjective term. These "Penny" trains do have "NON" monetary worth. They can be cheaply remanufactured into background props to populate yards and sidings AND they can also be useful if you have your Grandkids over to "Run the layout".
Interesting discussion. You are assuming that everything boils down to an investment for making money. Point taken, a very small portion do. However, what do you consider the value of an entry level train set that brings joy to a small child then evolves into a lifelong hobby that brings enjoyment, develops modeling skills, and builds friendships and common interest among strangers?
Even old Lionel is starting to lose it's shine. I've had three collections of old and high-end modern 3-rail just dumped in my car because the kids of the passed-on collector can't get rid of them. This is NOT how I wanted to grow my collection. The number of 3-rail items (new and old) on EBay is now over 200,000 on a daily basis. Good luck.
Most of the Hobby Lobby Stores still sell CRAP Bachmann sets that aren't worth anything. I think LifeLike Tyco and Bachmann have done more damage to the hobby selling their cheap crap than any other manufacturer. Too bad the Athearn starter sets weren't available back then. It would be much different today.
Bradford Exchange trains are On30. To be honest I find model trains getting way too expensive and the sets you can buy have very little value for the price.
yeah Life-Like took over a bunch of the old Varney line some of those trains on TV aren't HO its more of a On30 that runs on HO track Reader's Digest I super agree with as with the Xmas G scale trains well there was New Brite & they made a TON of G scale trains
i feel like Bachmann HO scale items current date are horrible quality, had a bachmann steam locomotive with smoke, bought in 2020 used for 5 hours at most over two Christmas's and the engine is already failing, Bachmann wants 40 bucks to fix and 2 month turnaround.. switched back to old school Lionel... also drove me nuts that the motor inside the engine was superglued all around so even if i wanted to fix i cant get in there
Your comments on the Bradford Exchange stuff that it has not much collector value is true, but it is NOT H-0. It is 0n30 manufactured by Bachmann. Many of these pieces used in the gaudy Bradford paint schemes are cars based closely on 2 foot and 3 foot narrow gauge prototypes and when painted up in railway colours it is quite presentable. They form the nucleus of the 0n30 line and there are many more pieces in the catalogue not marketed by Bradford. The locomotive pictured here is nearly a Colorado and Southern copy down to the air tank mounted high up on the boiler. These are great trains for Christmas villages as many village pieces are close to 1/48th, and they do run well.
Why does everything have to have collectable value? Some products are sold for enjoyment value. When collectors get involved prices go up and a fun hobby can be ruined.
You have a great point there. I was a young boy in the 1970's, and at that time MarX was out of business and Lionel was sold and then known as Lionel MPC or made by General Mills Fun Group. My first O gauge train was a MarX low end starter set with a circle of track. Later I was given a used set with a few other misc pieces, mostly Lionel post-war (2055 steamer). Pretty much any of the adult train guys hated the modern Lionel and it was all about holding on to and not even running the Lionel post-war trains. In fact I did not know until maybe 1980 or 1981 that parts could be bought or I could have my 2055 steam engine fixed. I got my first Lionel MPC steam engine w/tender in 1973, and thought pretty highly of it. Cast iron top and smoke and electronic sound of steam and a whistle. The next era of Lionel was pretty much all about catering to the collector, and way over priced for my income bracket. Now that I am much older and back in the hobby I look for things I like and things I hope to hold some value. Problem is if you hold it for it's value do you run it. You have to keep the original box, and keep it nice or they lose value. It makes the hobby a bit of business instead of a personal hobby and with the value of a working thing that can be sold or passed on to others to use in their life. The poster here of this video does have a store, so he does look at the point of resale and I can't blame him for his judgement. If I recall correctly did not Lifelike do remakes of the MarX HO trains using their former molds?
That Life-Like figure 8 set in the beginning of your video was, I feel, one of the better sets. I rather liked the crossing it came with, and the other stuff was really nice as well! Especially considering most of the starter sets, particularly Bachmann's, have been very "bare bones", just the train, track and transformer...
Wow, I sure wish you'd make a video going more in-depth on comparable values. Our club is a 501c3 and we're constantly receiving consignments or donations to sell, and sometimes letting the model railroad widow know that her husband's Tyco collection has more sentimental than actual value is hard. Good analysis here.
Thank you so much! I'm planning on making a part 2 of this in the near future going into more detailed specs. I absolutely know how you feel - not fun telling someone that what they think is worth $1,000 is worth $100.
I'll second that. Our club used to go out to events and set up our modular layout. At least once per show, and often more, a little old lady would come up to us and say, "I have and old trainset, what is it worth?" That's it, just an "old trainset." Then, after further questioning, it turned out the stuff was "the size you guys are running" (HO), and we had to break the news that the answer would be "not much." We learned some tactful lines over the years, but the truth is HO just doesn't hold value (and it was usually dirt cheap to begin with) unless it is brass steam, and even that is questionable in 2023.
There’s no more value. There from the same factory in a different box. Today’s world it’s hit or miss. I’ve been in this hobby over 50 years , consider your self lucky when you get something good.
Some of the rarer cars tyco and bachmann made can be very expensive only due to rarity, that I understand totally. Athearns command higher prices because they can be less common on the market due to the fact they run forever and very few folks sell them unless they need the money or sadly pass on. I still run all DC Athearns along with a lot of old childhood rolling stock from the 70s and 80's toy brands (Updated trucks and weighted of course).
@@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont That's not fully correct. HO does hold it's value however that is reserved for the top end or higher quality versions not the Christmas train bundles sold mostly for kids. Bachman and even LifeLike had some higher end stuff that holds up well though not as good as say old reliable Athearn and even they stay in the range of same price as when bought, $70 in 68 maybe $70-$100 today. My Grandfathers American Flyers which were S scale if I recall right didn't value up as well unfortunately , His Lionel's fare a bit better but I keep them all stored as they all need some TLC to become good runners again.
The original Tyco line made by Mantua Metal Products (the 60s red boxes) was pretty good, if you didn't mind the mediocre printing and cast in detail. Tyco quality went downhill when Consolidated Foods (then the owner of Sara Lee, Shasta soda, and Popsicle) bought them in the early 70s (the brown box)-cheaper motors were used, bizarre paint jobs, and disasters like the long tank car that would always derail on train-set curves. CF turned them into a mass-merchandised, clearance item, toy.
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan Just for fun, I converted 2 Life-Like GP38-2 Locomotives to DCC. One was the 3500 Red and Silver Warbonnet, the other was the 3500 Yellow and Blue Yellowbonnet. I changed the number on the red and silver one to 2082, changed the number boards to have the new "Eyebrow" that BNSF is starting to use, and swapped out the couplers for KDs and Body Mounted them. Also added Ditch Lights, MU hoses, and a plow up front. DCC, I put a Tsunami2 PNP in the yellowbonnet, and a simple DH126 in the warbonnet. Having the direct drive pancake or tower motors in them is actually more realistic than the center motor with worm gear drive than higher end stuff has. When going up hills or down hills, the motor reacts to that and slows down or speeds up with gravity, so you as the engineer have to account for that when running the units on a club layout. If you don't give it enough throttle to crest the hill, you might stall out, or if you don't back the throttle off going down hill, it will take off like a raped ape. Honestly, they have become some of my more favorite engines to run at my club because of this. That, and it's the model train equivalent to putting a Corvette motor in a Ford Pinto! lol
I have been in the model railroad hobby since I was 7 years old. I would agree that the train sets are cheap. They were not meant for serious modelers. Plain hard cold fact. He isn't the only hobby shop that has trouble selling those. My local hobby shop has lots of those and the train shows, you find that stuff all day long.
Ok, old guy here. In the time before dinosaurs, some of these were all that could be had. We had to modify, kitbash and alter to make something cool. It was also creative and a lot of fun.
Part 2 is out now!
ua-cam.com/video/TuvPNYdpgdg/v-deo.html
ok
Nicki minaj
Ok thanks my friends,your simulator or drama of train and Railway is very good
@@tsaqilaofficialchannel Y’all it’s Nicki minaj
I have 2 life like starter set's one foot myself and one for my granddaughters
If you are collecting to resale, then you must consider supply & demand to determine an items worth. However, if you are collecting to keep for yourself, then only get what you personally enjoy & don't worry about market value. It could be the most worthless piece in the world, but if it brings back happy memories to you, then it is priceless.
100%!
Absolutely true. Most of what I have I've bought cheap and used. I've coaxed many old locomotives back to life and get a lot of satisfaction from that. To me it's more rewarding than buying new.
I have some items like that, totally worthless to most but neat to me. Some of my favorite items fall in this category.
@@goosenotmaverick1156 I totally agree. I have many too and they're all cool to me. I can't afford the fancy stuff. I get enjoyment out of taking a old locomotive from dead to running.
Simple 👍🏿
I'm pretty sure like 90% of model railroaders had one of these as their first set. Heck my first one was the Santa Fe one with the F40PH. The fact these are so cheap makes them even more charming in my opinion. There's nothing more fun than running one of these at full speed along your layout. 😂
They have some nostalgia for me and many folks as well I'm sure :)
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan You know what was so bizarre? At an antique mall, I saw a seller who had a Bachmann Silver Series train set for $125, and a Life-Like set for $150! SERIOUSLY!!!! WHY IS A CHEAP LIFE-LIKE SET MORE THAN A BACHMANN SILVER SERIES SET???????
Recently I got the salute to America train set and I'm thankful I have it looks pretty dandy 👍
I can smell the motors burning out💀
@@cec_oregon lmao it hasn't became a nuclear bomb on me yet!, I'm getting another model train for my birthday this time it's a bachman Soo yeah
I started with some Tyco trains as a kid and its a miracle I stayed in the hobby. They never ran right, broke down all the time and looked horrible. It all changed when I joined a club and got to see what real model train where, and who much better they operated...
Upgrading from toy grade to hobby grade is always an eye opening experience. I know it was for me as well, personally my step was surface RC cars.
I have bachmann
I started out with a Marx circular train sets electric and I still have it. I don't have the track but I have the cars some of them. Then came the holidays for my birthday and I got to take out with a little GE 44 ton I rode that thing in a circle around the dining room table so my parents finally built 4x8 platform in my bedroom that went up and down along the wall. I've always had great memories and finally after 60 years found some of the pictures. Well guess what I'm still in the trains N gauge HO LIONEL OO. I'm one of the few people that still have a working Hudson in OO. So those little trains you're talking about they mean a lot to people. It isn't the money it's the memories they bring back. But then you have youth an arrogance. We have old age and treachery.
This showed up in my recommended and I decided to take a watch, which I'm glad I did. I wanted to throw in my two cents on Life-Like Trains, as I've had quite the experience with them. Probably close to 15 years ago now, my parents bought me a 4'x12' HO scale train layout someone had started building and lost interest in, and since I really didn't have many trains, I was allowed to go to the local store and buy some. They were all Life-Like, which was good for the time since I was just getting into the hobby. I paid I believe about $3-$5 for the rolling stock, and locomotives were around $20. You basically got what you paid for with those trains, and they did last for a while, but after a couple years I had to upgrade to something better. One thing I always saw as odd is my local hobby shop would sell Life-Like models for far more than what they were honestly worth. You'd pay almost $14 in some cases for a hopper car, and almost $50 for a small steam locomotive. Granted a lot of the prices there were a little unreasonable, but the Life-Like models they had were a prime example. Even the prices in the bargain bin which had mostly older Life-Like, Bachmann, and Tyco models weren't much of a bargain. Anyways, like I said, I too feel that Life-Like models just are not worth what a lot of people think they are, and they're main purpose is to be an introduction to the hobby, and not something which serious modelers are going to want to pay premium prices for.
Agree completely! Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the video!
Their not, however with Hobby collecting prices can be determined mostly by how scarce a particular piece is and the sentimental value one is willing to pay for it. Life-Like is not bad it was made simpler because the target was Children and the bedroom floor layout. Adults were never intended to get involved other than to buy it for kids not their own hobby. Same with model kits, Adults hijacked the hobby and expected replica quality for the peanuts prices. Im a True Athearn fanatic I say without fear but in truth Bachmann and life-like not only have those rarer rolling stock other brands never made (Think Good-n-Plenty, Nabisco, Tootsie Roll etc), they also made upscale stuff for the hobby folks and those fare much better for layout use and longevity. Never went DCC as I never needed too and still have a great time. Yeah I agree scalpers really ruin things in this Hobby as well.
@@animalyze7120 "prices can be determined mostly by how scarce a particular piece is"
No. Prices are determined by how _desirable_ a particular piece is. Just being scarce isn't enough: people have to want it. I have a stock of styrene in the house, so I could make a totally unique box car, say, and try to sell it. It would be ultra-scarce -- just one in the world! -- but it would be completely worthless, because it would be total garbage that nobody would want.
I really enjoyed your video. I have been telling people for years that the train set they like is what having it is all about. I also see people that think an electric train (HO, American flyer or Lionel) is worth a lot of money no matter it's condition or if there is even a market for what they have. Lately I have seen people paying what I feel is too much at antique auctions. And at other times no one is interested in some really good pieces and so they go for less than its real value. In the end my word of advice is, everything has a market value, but it is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
Being in model trains since 1963, I have found the Life-Like HO set I had in 1971 to be very decent. In fact, I still have a L-L set from 1971 still factory sealed (Cannonball with the F7 A&B locos). And like Athearn, L-L freight cars had underframe mounted couplers, but, of course, L-L cannot compare with Athearn of the same era, but neither can TYCO, although the TYCO locos had better traction tires than L-L. Never had any Bachmann HO in the early 70's, no stores in my area back then carried them. Had some AHM and Rivarossi locos and those were decent, especially the Rivarossi's, those had good quality and very sensitive motors. Had a neat Atlas N set in 1968 and really loved it until my little brother pulled all the trucks off the freight cars and ate the plastic bolster pins :-(
My model trains(all I have is a couple engines and cars) are the only things I have from my very tumultuous childhood. My parents divorced when I was 6 and somehow I managed to drag my trains with me throughout my life. My dad built my train set for me. They are literally the only physical things connecting me to a very happy time of my life before everything fell apart. They are worth more to me than gold. They are memories. I plead with all of you.... share your love and passions with your kids. They will love and remember those memories more then you know.
I really appreciate videos like this. It helps keep prices down on perfectly usable items. Thankfully, most of us aren't in this hobby as collectors or businessmen. We do it because we enjoy playing with toy trains, some of us for a life time.
For those of us on a budget, those "worthless" toy trains work well and can be easily detailed and tweaked to look and run as well, if not better than, the "collector" items. For example, those Reader's Digest trains, while pretty bad, can be detailed and put to good use as scenery.
Some of what you said may have been correct, of some level, but your presentation could have been better. They may be worthless to you as a businessman, but for those of us in the hobby, and understand it's just a hobby, they can be gems in the rough.
Absolutely, nothing wrong with collecting these brands at all - this video isn't meant to downplay any brands, I'm a huge TYCO fan myself - just meant to share my perspective as a model train store owner of what items I personally don't see selling for what people may think they are worth :)
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan I'm a huge Silver Streak fan myself but far too often I have seen them priced for far more than TYCO models are worth one guy wanted 150$ for a Tyco Canandiana and I told him it wasn't worth that much and wasn't paying anything more than 25$ for a tyco. I have been into the hobby for over 25 years I know what's worth it and what's junk, (Coff Bachnamm).
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan
You're absolutely right. As a business, market value has to be prime concern, and places like eBay have made more stuff available, and to some extent lowered prices, due to that availability. I think using the term "worthless" set off a knee-jerk response in some folks, myself included.
For example, the toy "G-Scale" Christmas train sets you mentioned. I bought one about 20 years ago, yes, it's crap and I think I ran it once. Yet, it comes out every year and goes under the Christmas tree as a decoration. Sometimes, it's not what you say, but how you say it. Thanks and if you're selling Life-like N scale rolling stock and engines for a couple of bucks ... we gotta talk ;).
I once read that Life-Like was primarily in the business of selling train accessories - builidings, etc. - and that the train sets were only a way to introduce people to the accessories. There were the *"President's Choice"* sets annually at Christmas time from a Canadian grocery store chain. The rolling stock is mostly cheap junk, but the locomotives are Mehano, typically Canadian National or Canadian Pacific, and with added details you didn't see on the standard Mehano products. Very nice! I went across the river (from Detroit) to Windsor, ON, one year when that year's set was on clearance. It has a very nice CN Hudson. I couldn't have bought the locomotive by itself for $72 so that alone is the great bargain of buying the set, I have no use for the rest.
Actually, at one time, ready-to-run HO trains of any kind were regarded as having no collectible value. Then Lionel HO started getting a little valuable, this was originally probably driven by O gauge Lionel collectors who had to have anything made by Lionel. Then others jumped on the bandwagon and depending on the piece and its scarcity, some of it became quite valuable. The same thing happened to Gilbert HO, even the junk they made at the end in the '60s became valuable because of its scarcity. Then much to most people's surprise, even Tyco became collectable. I'm not saying Life-Like will become a gold mine or even most of it will have much, if any value (because it was so heavily mass-produced) but there is starting to be some interest in this brand, due I believe to articles in the HO Collector.
I grew up with Tyco, Bachmann, and Lifelike - mixed in with Atlas Track and Piers, and Girder and Panel Skyscrapers, and a Tyco Fire Alert set. The Tyco set was Steel Hauler. The Atlas layout was an up-and-over in 4x6 which I somehow crammed into 5x3 and also did an extremely poor attempt at catenary and even third rail. It wasn't a model railroad. It was a metropolitan area. Yeah, the toy grade rolling stock and track was - well - toy grade. But, you know what? The LifeLike trees, lights, buildings, etc. and the Bachmann Plasticville (who could forget Plasticville?) were damn good and fairly realistic. Tyco has a bit of a cult following, so I'm surprised it doesn't fetch a bit more. Even those 40 decades ago, the big 3 toy brands were considered junk by serious HO modelers. Atlas was a bare minimum, and Athearn (now Walthers) was the end all/be all. That Steel Hauler set hearkened back to our glory years as a manufacturing superpower.... when we were real builders. Collectible value may be in the toilet, but sentimental value is off the charts. Nice video, and part 2 is also good.
I grew up on Tyco / Mantua . Life like too. " My first car was a chevette not a corvette " Tyco was in my formative years and instilled the hobby in my heart. I have many train display cases and all of my starter sets are proudly displayed in them along with the high end stuff. I have train guys ask from time to time about these sets. Stuff like the A-team set and Military sets were all about fun and being enjoyed without the status quo.... Turbo trains always get a great conversation as the one version of the turbo trains series were actually slot cars. These were never junk when you factor in the happiness you recieved for your money.
@@thomasyunick3726 - precisely. Also, considering that "toy" grade trains were built to be manhandled by children, they worked well enough. You're not going to give a pre-pubescent kid Walthers/Athearn and other serious hobby grade stuff. There was Marklin HO when I was a kid - sold in FAO Schwarz. They had a humongous layout when they were on 58th St. It was the Mercedes/BMW of "toy" trains to be sure.
I bought a girder and panel set for a dollar at a yard sale (had a set as a kid). It was a bridge set so no panels but built a building frame that is "under construction" with my Lionel trains and buildings. Scale is a little small but close enough.
Well the up side with life-like, because they are cheap. It easy to get a ton of models. Especially the torque models, they are powerhouses.
Super. I still have plenty of the old school stuff on my railroad, including many names that you didn't mention, however, even if you threw all of the new expensive stuff of mine and the junk in one basket, it is still all sentimental value for me. I bought these trains to operate, inside or outside, not to resell. I don't save boxes, (I have traded some for RR stuff.) I occasionally have wrecks, or modify the equipment, which alters the original, and they see sun and snow and dirt, not to mention tons of operation and maintenance, which gives them a nice patina that operators love and collectors hate. In terms of junk, about 20% of my current fleet wouldn't even sell for fifty cents each, and no rivet counting modeler would even want them on their railroad, but many have been modified, by me or my friends, (Friends and I looking out the passenger car windows, realistic lighting, me in the cab, extra weight and details and lighting for my railroad, couplers, special paint, etc.) and are my personal favorites, and work well on my pike. I have one locomotive, a Tyco 4-6-2 heavy Pacific with a long haul tender that has run faithfully for almost fifty years, and I wouldn't sell it for any price. (Picture of me in the cab windows, extra weight and details, special paint, lighting, thin plastic cover over the exposed gears.) Nobody thinks that this is an exact scale replica of anything, although it is close to some steam locomotives. I bought it originally for $19.99 plus Uncle Sams share, which means that I've spent less than fifty cents a year for this locomotive, including maintenance, extra detail parts, and Kadee couplers. That means that while this locomotive would work well for a modeler, and someone might like or want it, it is not an unused, unopened, rivet counting, fully detailed, pristine scale model boxed collectible that will go up in price ever. It is instead the locomotive that in its matching paint hauls my 21 car Royal Blue passenger express train up the 3% grade as smooth as silk without fail, and I love it. Hello again from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.
Remembering my first train set with was a Life Like train set witch I’m still have it today and still working. Buy it in 1987 and got plenty of Bachman,tyco and even Model power railcars and locomotives. I upgrade many of them and it was worth the pain to do it. Upgraded many railcars on kadee couplers and metal wheels and even detailed them. Now actually working on an old Bachman CN F unit with will be fitted on an Athearn blue box bottom frame,getting some details added on. Made it with an Old model power units and it turned very nice and also with an old Life Like F40PH fitted on a Walther frame and it turned great.
Some of these old models are pretty good to practice for repainting and rework on Their cheap price make it easier and better practice on them before touching a more expensive model. The way to take a 2$ worth railcar and make it run and look like a 40$ railcars once done.
Good video! I learned something (I had no idea Reader's Digest produced a line of trains) which is always a positive outcome. It's nice to see a younger person who is not only in the hobby, but running a model trains business! I hope folks in the TN area support your store. As you started your presentation, the first brand that popped to mind in cheap trains was "Life-Like" LOL. I had so many of those as a kid...
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
Reader's Digest didn't produce trains, they had a few sets made for them by someone else. Ditto for many other firms, like John Deere, Sears, etc.
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan agreed. Fellow young person in the hobby I want more people interested in this
I'm a vintage Marklin Man. My railroad is late 60's - late 70's is what i gravitate to collecting. Plastic is not cool but die-cast is. Thanks for the interesting topic.🤠
Thank you so much for the comment! Sounds like an awesome layout
Life-Like HO scale slot cars were the weapon of choice in the 90's at my local slot car track, we raced them every Wednesday night.
Wild that they're viewed as toy grade in the train space.
That's very interesting, I forgot Life Like made slot cars!
We have the same problem in the UK with oo gauge products from various manufacturers. It is worth getting hold of specialist catalogues which list a variety of manufacturers, their models and current perceived value. Another thought is age related for example I collect mint condition Triang railway products which were manufactured in the 1950/60’s and until the 70’s under the Triang Hornby logo. These days as the collectors of Triang products age and pass away their value diminishes as they have little to no interest for younger railway modellers. As another person commented it is probably best not to view model railways as investments but just enjoy them for the pleasure they give you.
Agreed!
Have a happy weekend!! ✌✌
Yeah, Lifelike is definitely a stamped version of a starter pack and I bought a n scale set. The locomotive was an old Alco FA with a broad green hood.
Bradford Exchange products are a good way to get decent models for cheap though if you're willing to repaint them, and they do have some fun themes
Most of their On30 stuff (like the one pictured in this video) are just regular Bachmann Spectrum with a silly vinyl wrap and with some love can become the genuinely gorgeous models they were intended to be
As someone who loves model trains, I have one I had planned to display underneath the Christmas tree, one day hopefully - if I ever visit the area where your store is I’m definitely visiting. I’ve considered buying a few pieces for ideas maybe one day I’d definitely buy the cheaper stuff since my ideas would be like customization
As far as “life-like” goes; I always thought they’re uh “active add-ons” ( I think I’m saying that right) we’re cool. The logging mill, coal tower, etc, I always thought that stuff was so cool. But, I’m still a kid at heart in my mid-30’s. I do enjoy doing serious modeling, but there’s something that’s still fun about the old life like stuff.
You see overvaluing on ebay as well. Just the other day I was looking at G Scale tenders and saw an Eztec/Scientific Toys tender for an LGB powered tender price.
Sometimes I'm not sure if it's people who don't know trains and get excited when they do poor research before selling, or people who know the true value but are trying to fish for buyers who have done poor research.
Either way, it's sad - I wish people knew how to use the "Sold Items" feature on eBay to see the price that items actually sell for versus what is being asked.
I have a Bachmann I bought a few years back for my Christmas village. This year I'm adding mountains and a tunnel. I'd like to add a bridge but have no idea what percent of an incline I should have. Oh and I guess trains are in my blood as my great grandfather was a train engineer in the late 1800's to the early 1900-s. In fact my grandmother was born on a train as it was crossing Texas. We never knew what town her birth was registered!
we have a few of those RD replicas for just fun collectables. My dad is near his 80s now and with all the model train shows, home layouts, and him at one time helped run shop over in wartrace tn, he'd kill me I ever thought toy and model train were the same. :)
We used to get this question a lot when we took our traveling layout on the road. Phrased exactly like this. "I have an old train at home that belonged to my late husband. How much is it worth?"
We learned to tactfully tell them that unless it was a very rare or collectible-to-model-railroaders piece, probably nothing or next to nothing. I always hated to tell a widow that her husband's post-war Lionel or (worse) 1970s Tycos were too overproduced to be worth any real money.
I had a Life-Like GP38 in 1977. It was a nice-looking engine and even had a scale-width hood (Uncle Irv, did you hear that?) but the power truck under the cab would barely move the engine let alone pull a train.
extremely rare but refreshing. someone so young owning a hobby shop let alone a miniature train one. I will definitely visit one day hopefully early next year I'm in north carolina.
Those "worthless" Life-Like Trains were my childhood, mate.
Had a couple of sets when I was a kid.
it is typically the trainset stuff that can get kids started, and sooner or later they might get into the real scale model world. I started 60 years ago with tinplate.
I'm puzzled by your comments about Life-Like. I bought one of their Proto 2000 GP18 locos on a visit to the USA thirty years ago and both the detail and the quality of the motor and drive mechanism were way ahead of anything we could buy here in the UK. I still have it and it still runs perfectly, though I have now fitted it with a DCC decoder.
Christmas 2006 or 7 I was 4 or 5 years old. I got a lifelike train set with a yellow Santa Fe engine and I know these tend to be considered junk, I LOVED that train set. It brings back so many memories
I have a couple life like locos,and they run great. Had them for 20+ years. If you take care of them they will last.
Honestly I still love lifelike engines. My first ever HO engine was a lifelike Santa Fe, which I still have to this day! She may be old, and a bit clapped out, but she’s still a useable engine. I have many other lifelike engines that have proven to be far more reliable engines than some of the expensive Bachman engines I’ve owned over the years. Plus lifelike made a pretty huge variety of engines in their lineup and it makes it easier to expand your fleet of engines if you don’t wanna spend horrid amounts of money. So long as you do your research on the engines first before you buy them.
Plus, the lifelike train controller is SUPER reliable. I’ve had it run model trains far better than any of the Bachman dial controllers I’ve gotten over the years.
Great video! This was some insight that I am pretty sure a lot of us knew in our hearts, but no one would say out loud.
Thank you so much!
I gave a friend's autistic brother a set like this. HE LOVES IT! I think I got him into trains as he's been asking about other stuff like better cars, locos, ect.
Also do you have any hornby stock there at your shop ?
Not right now unfortunately, mostly American stuff
I miss old Blue Box Athearn stuff.
Does anyone know the name of that set at 4:03 ? My grandma bought me and my brother that when we were little and we would always play with it at her house. It’s really nostalgic.
Spot on my friend, made by toy company's for toy value. They are the teach young kids tools!
Thank you so much!
Thanks for this info. My young son loves model trains. We are looking at the starter Bachmann sets like the McKinley explorer. We just can't decide between HO and N. In this case we aren't looking for an investment but a starting point in the hobby. Regardless, the investment aspect of the hobby is something to consider in the future.
The old adage “there’s a butt for every seat” comes to mind!😊
I found a old box of model trains and I found another small box and I found those worthless n scale rolling stock and 2 of the locos and I was so happy exited..:until I found out they don’t even roll
For some reason people with those G scale sets think they’re worth a fortune. Even the battery operated bachmann big haulers sell for FAR more than they’re worth.
That said, they’re still cheap enough that I’ve converted all my G scale outdoor track and layouts to that bachmann and new bright plastic track and all my g scale locomotives are now battery powered. I find it easier and some I’ve converted to radio control. I’m not a serious collector or modeler but I do have two garden layouts and the price of that plastic track has made that possible.
The new bright locos are junk and bachmann isn’t much better but the track is fine if you don’t mind the black rail.
lifelike HO train sets got me started in model railroading and i can relive those moments again and find them again
What you are saying is unfortunately true. I will pick up some of these models occasionally to use in a project. If I cut one up and the project doesn't go as planned then I'm not out much money. Thanks for your posting.
I had N scale and I loved it.
I just inadvertently bought a bunch of those readers digest trains and cars and now I find out they won’t even work on my track… I haven’t even gotten them in the mail yet.
I've found the biggist issue with toy grade model trains is the plastic wheels leave a residue on the track that will start to effect connectivity after only about half an hour of running.
Also even as a kid I realized Life-Like was garbage, the then 20+ year old Tyco trainset I found at a garage sale ran better then the Life-Like one did when new!
My club has SO MANY of those Reader's Digest "models." They're like an invasive species.
Good to know.....have you come across Frateschi HO scale and Mehano HO scale?
Rarely, Mehano makes some cool products!
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan Yes, they do
The worst part of the HO train scene was when Tyco switched from brass rail tracks to "Tru Steel".
While I agree with your view on the collectible value of Life Like there is a difference between “collectible “ and “sentimental collectible “ value at least in my eyes. For example just today I purchased a Life Like Campbell’s soup HO train set on eBay for $58 shipped. Why? Because my parents bought me the same set for Christmas in 1982 and they are both gone now and I foolishly sold or traded it off years ago and wanted to have it back again on the shelf with some other items that have meaning to me. I am 53 now and grew up with a mix of Life Like, Tyco, AHM and Bachmann trains and still love them all but totally get how some are toy trains. I learned to work with what I could afford and what was given to me.
Those cheap train sets were good value for the money. From $9.99-$29.00 you got a power pack,track,loco, couple of freight cars and a caboose. These sets got us started in to a great hobby. They were excellent value for the money. Frankly if you think you have to have $500 HO or $2,500 O Gauge locos are necessary to have fun in this hobby you are sadly mistaken. Train nuts are born not made.
Reader's Digest trains? Hmmmm.... I think Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler missed out. I'd collect those!!!!!
I have two Bradford Exchange cars.
A pair of MLB big domes.
One St. Louis cardinals, the other Houston Astros. They're so odd, and I got them for $30 and $10. I like to run them as a pair since they're so weird and don't fit in with anything else
Bradford Exchange did a "Queen Elizabeth II Royal Remembrance Express Collection" and it's one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen
SamsTrains did a hilarious video on this haha
Do yo have a website so i can order trains from you
Do you know about these motorized train sets that go with a flick of the switch and look like they can go on N scale? They also come with background plates put together like puzzles.
Yes I do! I remember them being sold in the early 2000s at toy stores near me
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan What were they called?
Personally, I'm always looking for these types of trains. I use them to practice weathering on. They're great for fine tuning your air-brush skills. Of course, I don't pay for them. I just grab them when someone is tossing them out.
Anyway I can get all those n scale items?
I have the santa fe diesel but its the red version
These so called "toy trains" that you speak of are exactly what got probably 99% of us into the hobby. I model N scale. Let's be honest, in the long run they are all toy trains! Just because we as grown men play with them that does not change the fact that they are just toys. As far as your Life Like comment is concerned, I have some Life Like locomotives and they actually function as good or better than some of my Atlas, Kato and Scale Trains locomotives do. As far as the Readers Digest stuff goes, yes the locos are not powered but they will run on N scale track. I have done it.
What really bugs me is someone selling 1970s Atlas or Con-Cor trains they bought at an estate sale and asking current Atlas pricing for them...
I have some old model trains that I inherited from my dad that needs a locomotive and I have 27 battery powered train sets. And a wooden one
We have lost perspective in the hobby. The point of cheap trains is that if they get broken, the parents did not spend good money. The purpose of these sets is to see if there is an interest in the hobby. The children learn how to handle the trains before buying the more expensive ones. A shame people have to be model snobs and rivet counters.
The truth is the hobby is dying out because the unreasonable demands of people are driving the costs up on a once accessible hobby. The cost for tooling is expensive. Licensing of railroad names as a result of Lionel losing the lawsuit it had drove costs up.
There was a lesson I learned. I bought better quality trains and got a fraction of what I paid when I sold them. Costs are now crazy because some dork wants it a scale 2" closer and the production is held up because of how the whistle sounds. There is a bad attitude that because it is quality and old, it is trash. 40 dollars for a single car? NO! You could buy 8 Blue Box cars and Kadee #5 couplers. A good Athearn locomotive was $20.00. Now they are 100. Models are delicate and do not stand up to handling like the older Athearn Blue Box cars and locomotives. Then companies went under, and parts get expensive as they are no longer making kits of some locomotives.
Do I regret giving up trains? NO. I lost interest because the better trains were expensive. Time and space for a layout were no longer what they were. Maintenance of the layout was another issue. Hobby Shops were closing.
If it's not Roco, liliput ,piko/Prefo, Jouef, Klienbahn, Klein-modellbahn, LGB, Lionel, Marx, Mantua/Model power metaltrain Marklin, K-line, MTH, Broadway limited, Fleischmann, Trix, Lima, Minitrix, Athearn, Walthers, Bachmann spectrum, Life like Proto-2000, L.S. Models, A.C.M.E., AHM, or Rivarossi it probably ain't woth much.
This is a pretty great list haha
I will agree that the Life-Like brand is... Less than stellar? I bought the UP set a few days ago from a train store, mostly because I'm so new to the hobby & was looking to get my hands on some track & a power pack. The quality of the actual train it came with was honestly lackluster. The lead loco didn't even work, & the rolling stock it came with is so off balance and just wants to derail. The track & controller are great but that's really the only thing worth buying those sets for.
Anything being sold as a "Collectors Edition" or "Collectable" ... isn't.
I always buy lifelike engines because
1. I don’t run my stuff much, I do t have much time between my UA-cam channel, Andy my medical issues as well as not having a layout and I don’t always want to set up my track,
2. It’s cheap and runs pretty good. Great for practicing or scrapping for parts.
3. It lasts a while (atleast first gen)
#2 is a great point!
Older Tyco trains have become collectable.
Yes indeed!
Worthless is such a subjective term. These "Penny" trains do have "NON" monetary worth. They can be cheaply remanufactured into background props to populate yards and sidings AND they can also be useful if you have your Grandkids over to "Run the layout".
I've got lots of great memories with these cheap items :)
i just got the Bradford exchange buffalo bills set
Cool!
My wife bought one of those special Christmas Trains. It is Cheap to me. I would rather use our Lionel Battery Operated Polar Express.
Id take life like over bachman crap anytime
Interesting discussion. You are assuming that everything boils down to an
investment for making money. Point taken, a very small portion do. However,
what do you consider the value of an entry level train set that brings joy to a
small child then evolves into a lifelong hobby that brings enjoyment, develops
modeling skills, and builds friendships and common interest among strangers?
Obviously there are great uses for all trains, like you've said - this video is coming strictly from the perspective of monetary/collectible value
All that plastic awesomeness
Even old Lionel is starting to lose it's shine. I've had three collections of old and high-end modern 3-rail just dumped in my car because the kids of the passed-on collector can't get rid of them. This is NOT how I wanted to grow my collection. The number of 3-rail items (new and old) on EBay is now over 200,000 on a daily basis. Good luck.
Thank you so much! Agree completely.
Most of the Hobby Lobby Stores still sell CRAP Bachmann sets that aren't worth anything. I think LifeLike Tyco and Bachmann have done more damage to the hobby selling their cheap crap than any other manufacturer. Too bad the Athearn starter sets weren't available back then. It would be much different today.
It's very unfortunate. The last thing this hobby needs is newcomers turned away by bad products!
Hey man when you love trains and don’t got money for the good stuff you’ll take whatever you can get 😂
I'm in eastern Tennessee. Where is Fairview? Cheers from eastern TN
Hi Rusty! Fairview is about 35 minutes west of Nshville
they're great for airbrushing, customizing , & using as background items ... there not completely worthless
I def have to check out your store!
Thank you so much!
Bradford Exchange trains are On30. To be honest I find model trains getting way too expensive and the sets you can buy have very little value for the price.
yeah Life-Like took over a bunch of the old Varney line
some of those trains on TV aren't HO its more of a On30 that runs on HO track
Reader's Digest I super agree with as with the Xmas G scale trains
well there was New Brite & they made a TON of G scale trains
Is Lifelike Proto 1000 and 2000 junk?? Think not!!!! Those items are fantastic.
Because those use the Walthers tooling, I consider them a different brand :)
I wiil buy all the Bradford/Hawthorn village Bachmann On30 that you come up with at a fair price!..
This hobby is filled with cheapskates!! So, there will always be buyers for these!
We use to call them boat anchors.
i feel like Bachmann HO scale items current date are horrible quality, had a bachmann steam locomotive with smoke, bought in 2020 used for 5 hours at most over two Christmas's and the engine is already failing, Bachmann wants 40 bucks to fix and 2 month turnaround.. switched back to old school Lionel... also drove me nuts that the motor inside the engine was superglued all around so even if i wanted to fix i cant get in there
Your comments on the Bradford Exchange stuff that it has not much collector value is true, but it is NOT H-0. It is 0n30 manufactured by Bachmann. Many of these pieces used in the gaudy Bradford paint schemes are cars based closely on 2 foot and 3 foot narrow gauge prototypes and when painted up in railway colours it is quite presentable. They form the nucleus of the 0n30 line and there are many more pieces in the catalogue not marketed by Bradford.
The locomotive pictured here is nearly a Colorado and Southern copy down to the air tank mounted high up on the boiler. These are great trains for Christmas villages as many village pieces are close to 1/48th, and they do run well.
One man's "junk" is another mans treasure.
life like is unanimously junk
@@GNF54 refer to my comment KID
Why does everything have to have collectable value? Some products are sold for enjoyment value. When collectors get involved prices go up and a fun hobby can be ruined.
Why I want the Bachman throughbread, good to start with, and will give me stuff to build a set
You have a great point there. I was a young boy in the 1970's, and at that time MarX was out of business and Lionel was sold and then known as Lionel MPC or made by General Mills Fun Group. My first O gauge train was a MarX low end starter set with a circle of track. Later I was given a used set with a few other misc pieces, mostly Lionel post-war (2055 steamer).
Pretty much any of the adult train guys hated the modern Lionel and it was all about holding on to and not even running the Lionel post-war trains. In fact I did not know until maybe 1980 or 1981 that parts could be bought or I could have my 2055 steam engine fixed. I got my first Lionel MPC steam engine w/tender in 1973, and thought pretty highly of it. Cast iron top and smoke and electronic sound of steam and a whistle. The next era of Lionel was pretty much all about catering to the collector, and way over priced for my income bracket. Now that I am much older and back in the hobby I look for things I like and things I hope to hold some value. Problem is if you hold it for it's value do you run it. You have to keep the original box, and keep it nice or they lose value. It makes the hobby a bit of business instead of a personal hobby and with the value of a working thing that can be sold or passed on to others to use in their life.
The poster here of this video does have a store, so he does look at the point of resale and I can't blame him for his judgement. If I recall correctly did not Lifelike do remakes of the MarX HO trains using their former molds?
Did you not watch the video? Do be quiet.
Did you watch the first :25 seconds of the video..?
@@cameron.t My, my
That Life-Like figure 8 set in the beginning of your video was, I feel, one of the better sets. I rather liked the crossing it came with, and the other stuff was really nice as well! Especially considering most of the starter sets, particularly Bachmann's, have been very "bare bones", just the train, track and transformer...
Lifelike steam locomotives (especially the pacific) are actually pretty valuable in my experience
I forgot they made those Pacifics! Those, along with the Tyco Pacifics are pretty cool :)
Wow, I sure wish you'd make a video going more in-depth on comparable values. Our club is a 501c3 and we're constantly receiving consignments or donations to sell, and sometimes letting the model railroad widow know that her husband's Tyco collection has more sentimental than actual value is hard. Good analysis here.
Thank you so much! I'm planning on making a part 2 of this in the near future going into more detailed specs. I absolutely know how you feel - not fun telling someone that what they think is worth $1,000 is worth $100.
I'll second that. Our club used to go out to events and set up our modular layout. At least once per show, and often more, a little old lady would come up to us and say, "I have and old trainset, what is it worth?" That's it, just an "old trainset." Then, after further questioning, it turned out the stuff was "the size you guys are running" (HO), and we had to break the news that the answer would be "not much." We learned some tactful lines over the years, but the truth is HO just doesn't hold value (and it was usually dirt cheap to begin with) unless it is brass steam, and even that is questionable in 2023.
There’s no more value. There from the same factory in a different box. Today’s world it’s hit or miss. I’ve been in this hobby over 50 years , consider your self lucky when you get something good.
Some of the rarer cars tyco and bachmann made can be very expensive only due to rarity, that I understand totally. Athearns command higher prices because they can be less common on the market due to the fact they run forever and very few folks sell them unless they need the money or sadly pass on. I still run all DC Athearns along with a lot of old childhood rolling stock from the 70s and 80's toy brands (Updated trucks and weighted of course).
@@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont That's not fully correct. HO does hold it's value however that is reserved for the top end or higher quality versions not the Christmas train bundles sold mostly for kids. Bachman and even LifeLike had some higher end stuff that holds up well though not as good as say old reliable Athearn and even they stay in the range of same price as when bought, $70 in 68 maybe $70-$100 today. My Grandfathers American Flyers which were S scale if I recall right didn't value up as well unfortunately , His Lionel's fare a bit better but I keep them all stored as they all need some TLC to become good runners again.
early bachmann, life like, and tyco is not really toy grade it's just made cheaply so people can get into the hobby at a young age
The original Tyco line made by Mantua Metal Products (the 60s red boxes) was pretty good, if you didn't mind the mediocre printing and cast in detail. Tyco quality went downhill when Consolidated Foods (then the owner of Sara Lee, Shasta soda, and Popsicle) bought them in the early 70s (the brown box)-cheaper motors were used, bizarre paint jobs, and disasters like the long tank car that would always derail on train-set curves. CF turned them into a mass-merchandised, clearance item, toy.
If they are " worthless " they'll be easy to obtain n' upgrade if capable:)
Absolutely! I've seem some people do amazing customs with TYCO and Life Like stuff.
But "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." There are aspects of these toys that just can't be upgraded.
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan Just for fun, I converted 2 Life-Like GP38-2 Locomotives to DCC. One was the 3500 Red and Silver Warbonnet, the other was the 3500 Yellow and Blue Yellowbonnet. I changed the number on the red and silver one to 2082, changed the number boards to have the new "Eyebrow" that BNSF is starting to use, and swapped out the couplers for KDs and Body Mounted them. Also added Ditch Lights, MU hoses, and a plow up front.
DCC, I put a Tsunami2 PNP in the yellowbonnet, and a simple DH126 in the warbonnet. Having the direct drive pancake or tower motors in them is actually more realistic than the center motor with worm gear drive than higher end stuff has. When going up hills or down hills, the motor reacts to that and slows down or speeds up with gravity, so you as the engineer have to account for that when running the units on a club layout. If you don't give it enough throttle to crest the hill, you might stall out, or if you don't back the throttle off going down hill, it will take off like a raped ape. Honestly, they have become some of my more favorite engines to run at my club because of this. That, and it's the model train equivalent to putting a Corvette motor in a Ford Pinto! lol
I have been in the model railroad hobby since I was 7 years old. I would agree that the train sets are cheap. They were not meant for serious modelers.
Plain hard cold fact. He isn't the only hobby shop that has trouble selling those. My local hobby shop has lots of those and the train shows, you find that stuff all day long.
Everyone thinks the $500 price tag from 10 years ago is still valid today
Ok, old guy here. In the time before dinosaurs, some of these were all that could be had. We had to modify, kitbash and alter to make something cool. It was also creative and a lot of fun.