Bachmann Rail Chief HO Scale Ready-to-Run Electric Train Set

The set is a complete freight railroad in miniature rather than a bare loop of track. The GP40 is a classic American road diesel with an operating headlight, and it pulls a quad hopper with a removable coal load, a gondola, a steel reefer and an offset cupola caboose, so the consist reads as a real mixed-freight train. The extras matter for anyone who spends time at the lineside: a signal bridge, telephone poles, railroad and street signs and 36 figures give the oval something to look at and something to scale a layout around. It lets a person who watches real trains put the same scene on a table.

This is a home and display product, not field equipment. The oval of E-Z Track clicks together on a table or board, the power pack and speed controller drive the locomotive at a speed you choose, and the signal bridge goes together from parts before it is placed over the track. The extra figures, poles and signs can be arranged around the oval to stage a small scene. The ready-to-run cars use body-mounted couplers, so there is no coupler fitting before the first run. It also works as the first stage of a larger layout, since the track system is snap-fit and can be extended by adding sections.

For an adult who wants a first HO railroad that runs out of the box, or a gift for a household where one person already loves freight trains. It suits a family leaving a railway museum with new enthusiasm, because it can be running within an evening and does not require choosing track, controller and rolling stock separately. Someone who already owns DCC equipment, or wants sound, should look elsewhere.

Bachmann's Thoroughbred set (00691) is the plainer sibling, with an F7 locomotive and a shorter list of cars and no signal bridge, and it suits a buyer who wants only the train and track. Beyond the Bachmann range, a sound-equipped DCC starter set from another maker fits a buyer who wants digital control from the start.