I'm a mom, new to O Gauge - need setup help for my young boys

Hi Welcome aboard. The Lionel Lion Chef is a good starting point  but the 2025 wont work with the hand unit. You will need a conventional transformer for that.

Please post your location and we will direct you to a great hobby shop for personal advice.

Have fun, your a Great Mom!  and you came to the right place.

FWIW- I'd buy a starter set with everything you need to get them started.

The 2025 is a reliable locomotive, and worth keeping. It would need a conventional transformer to work though.

If you have a Hobby Shop in your area stop in and talk to the shop owner. They will point you in the right direction.

Good luck.

Under NO circumstances should you "scrap" your 2025. They are good engines, built to last. If I were in your place I would look enough Fastrack to build a good size loop on the floor and find a good post war transformer on ebay like a 1055 or an LW. They are rated at around 100 watts or so and should run your 2025 no problem. If you don't get a "power track section", you will have to solder the wires from the transformer to the track on the underside but this is not difficult. The Fastrack is readily available and easier to find than the older tubular track is now. If you don't already have one, you can get a good soldering gun at Radio Shack and some resin core solder (do not use acid core solder, that is for plumbing work) for not much money. You might want your son to run his 2025 and see how he likes it before investing in a LionChief set. You might also try to find out if there are any TCA members in your area. They could help you with set up. Good luck in your endeavors.

Welcome and congrats on getting ready to take the jump into O Gauge!

You have a good engine there, but by the time you buy a transformer, track, and some rolling stock to use with it, you would probably be looking at as much money as it would take to get a complete Lionchief starter set.

While the old 2025 has some nostalgia appeal, the new trains are arguably much more engaging for little ones to play with. My 6 year old loves the remotes, and he loves being able to run trains from the Lionchief app on my phone even more. But be careful as only the "Lionchief Plus with Bluetooth" sets have that capability, and of course they are more expensive. But the remotes are themselves a great place to start. 

Best of luck - would love to hear how it works out for you. And ask questions here - folks are always willing to help.

How exciting to have children interested in getting into this incredibly diverse and fun hobby!  If they stick with it there are so many valuable skills that can be learned. 

You didn't mention the age of your boys, but regardless the LionChief system has immense play value.  I really enjoy the simplicity of the remote and wish some of my higher end trains were that easy to operate.

There are some basic starter sets that are less expensive than others.  It also pays to shop around.  The beauty of any starter set is that you can expand it as your children's interests grow. 

On the 2025, I wouldn't scrap it.  As has already been stated, they are robust but really have more nostalgic value that financial value.  However, I think children would enjoy playing with the remote a little more.  Just my opinion.

Thank you so much! What quick responses!! I am in Carlsbad, CA (San Diego) if you know of any good resources in the area. Follow up question - if I do buy a transformer and track to get the 2025 running, how do I adapt the track to run a LionChief (not LC Plus)? 

I'll look for a hobby store!

Hello 1MARIPOSITA,

Without a fair amount of model train knowledge, I think you would be best off in buying a good train set or two for starters.  That way, you'll get everything you need to start running trains immediately, instead of trying to piece-meal together a bunch of various odds & ends to run your 2025 loco.

If you have a local hobby shop, they would be a good place to start looking.  If you have a Menard's store close by, they carry some train stuff during the holiday season.  A Hobby Lobby store usually also has some train sets year round, but it can be hit & miss as whether they might have some O-gauge sets.  Probably better odds during the holiday season, of course.

One thing to keep in mind, If you do get a modern train set, you still may wish to find an inexpensive AC transformer to run your 2025 loco.  A LionChief remote won't work on it.

Hope this helps.  I'm sure others will chime in also.  One thing I know, if all kids had a mom like you, this world would be a better place! 

Tom Tee - We have been there! I will go back with them soon to see what they think. Thank you!!

Well for starters, the older Lionel trains like your 2025 were robust, built to last and in most cases repairable. Finding someone in your area who works on older postwar trains would be a good start. Maybe another forum member would like to do a good deed, if there is one in your area.

For many years I did train shows with a traveling layout, built on a single hollow core door aimed solely at beginners and folks like you. It was kid friendly, yet detailed and done entirely on a budget. This sort of layout is one of the advantages of 027 tubular track - and though not currently being made - can be found used or sometimes as new old stock at a dealer.

FasTrack, which comes now as standard in all Lionel sets has some real advantages, but one of them is NOT fitting on a single hollow door type layout, unless you buy the 31 inch curves - which do not come with the train sets.

The new LionChief train sets also do have the advantage of being pretty easy to wire up with the LionChief system. Lionel's Plug-N-Play is aimed at people like you or folks who have floor train layouts. And if you shop around, you can find some deals on the LionChief train sets, but most will still be near the $200.00 point. Save for the LionChief "Junction" sets, which I've seen for $100.00, give or take. One of the forum sponsors, Crocodile Train Store has one of these sets, which is a good deal. It only comes with a circle of track, but you could easily buy 4 or 6 sections of straight track and be off to a good start. The engine won't pull a real long train, but you could easily add a couple more cars so long as they have the fast angle wheel sets.

https://crocodiletrainstore.co...esel-LIO82972-detail

You can certainly find 1990's period manufactured used sets from either K-Line or Lionel at $100.00 price point... sometimes you get lucky and they're still new. These sets will be transformer controlled sets with a basic transformer.

Here's a website you can check out to get some information and ideas. Just scroll down through all the various subject matter titles. There's sections on building small layouts, maintaining your trains, etc. You might find some useful pointers here:

http://www.thortrains.net/

There's so much more that could be said, but it might be a little overwhelming at this point. If you do see something you want to buy, ask about it here before you do so as you don't waste money purchasing something that isn't easily compatible.

Thank you Brianel! Super helpful!!!

In terms of expense, keep in mind that the MSRP is typically discounted by most hobby shops and the actual "street" price will be less.

I agree that you are probably best served by purchasing a LionChief starter set with engine, rolling stock, track, remote and dc transformer. The Polar Express and Hot Wheel sets may be of interest to you. Once that is set-up you can then add, as funds permit, more track to expand the size of your layout and also purchase independent Lionchief trains with another remote, which do not have to be part of a starter set.

As you acquire more LC trains, you could also purchase a universal remote which would allow running up to three LC trains on one remote.

As time and budget permits, you could add a small AC transformer, like the new Lionel CW-80, to power your entire layout in place of the DC unit, which would allow you to run both the Lionchief trains (with the remote(s)) and the old 2025 (using the CW-80 throttle) on the same layout, although generally not at the same time.

One note, lot of great ideas being thrown around. The lionchief starter sets come with a 'wall wart' for power, it basically delivers a set voltage to the tracks, with lionchief you control the speed via the remote control. With an older engine like the 2025, you control it by varying the voltage via a transformer (and I apologize if you already knew this, I never assume).  As others have pointed out, you won't be able to run the 2025 with the lionchief  at the same time. You could have the boys running their own engines at the same time, though I don't know if the wall wart has enough power for two engines running.  If you are thinking of the boys being able to control their own engines, then I would recommend getting a transformer with enough power to handle two engines. Plus if they wanted to run the 2025 , it could run that easily (you can get older transformers pretty cheaply, I would recommend one of the modern ones, like the CW80 or the MTH Z1000 or the like, they have much better power protection). 

If you use fast track you don't need to solder wires to the rails, fast track has a track designed for putting power to the tracks. If you find you need to have more than one "power drop", you can always substitute a straight track with a power track and connect the second one to the transformer directly or wire it off the input to the first track.  The reason for multiple drops is on layouts beyond a simple loop, the power drops the further you are from the power connection, so you could see engines slowing down, but with simple layout one drop should suffice. 

Lots of great information in this thread but one thing needs to be clarified.  There are many Lionchief sets (but not all) that have engines equipped with Bluetooth capabilities.  The engine does not have to be a Lionchief Plus version to be controlled from the Lionchief App.  I have two Lionchief sets, the Santa Fe Superchief and the Christmas Express, both of which are capable of (and have been) being run from the Lionchief App.  Look for the "Now equipped with Bluetooth" sticker on the box.

1mariposita posted:

Tom Tee - We have been there! I will go back with them soon to see what they think. Thank you!!

As a member of SD3R, Toy Train Gallery in the San Diego Model RR Museum we would be an excellent place to start. We sponsor a youth group that provides a learning experience for both the children and their parent(s). There are no dues or other costs, other than driving to the museum on meeting days, the only requirement is that Mom, Dad, Grandparent, at least one adult be there with the child. If they have their own trains or have none at all makes no difference. On days that we refer to as "Fun Runs" if they have no trains we provide trains that they can run.

Visit www.sd3r.org and you will see some of what we do and who to contact. We look forward to seeing you and the kiddos. 

Ok - so I talked to the Hobby Shop near me. And I bought the set that Brianel noted - what a deal at $85 - thank you! I will work with the Hobby Shop to get a transformer (they have new and used, both Lionel and MTH) and some additional Fastrack, including some power track to run extra power to. I have read that before on the power drops BigKid, so if I have to buy extra straights anyways, sounds like 1 or 2 should be a power track. Thank you also Greg for noting that bluetooth doesn't mean LC Plus - I did not get that yet. Thank you everyone!! I can see why this hobby is addicting! Santa has some work to do!!

Doug W! That is amazing! He will love the Kids Club there - I found the info to sign up. 

A lot of good advice shared so far and I'm sure you will get some good use out of the set you bought. 

First thing I would like to say is that I hope you and your family have fun with all of this!  Secondly, you cannot make a wrong decision in this hobby because there is always a secondary market to sell to if you interest change or you want to go in a different direction. It sounds like you have informed yourself quite a bit and are asking the right questions.  Buying a new starter sets is likely the “cleanest” way to get where you want to go, but as you mention, it is expensive at $300 ish per set x2 = 600!!!

You can get the 2025 up and running very economically.  Adding Lionchief is where you run into the cost.  If you do it all piecemeal, you can do it slightly cheaper, which is outlined below.  But ultimately, you may just want to find a few starter sets on sale for around $200-250.

Overall, the questions any one new to the hobby should ask themselves are which control style/power source is preferred and which track system will you go with.

1. Which control style/power source preferred?

It sounds like you would prefer to start with the 2025 loco controlled conventionally, then potentially change to Lionchief remote control when future purchases are made.  To be useful in both situations, you will need a transformer (power source) that will allow variable voltage control and has fast acting circuit breakers to protect electronic circuit boards in the Lionchief products.  If I were you, I would look at getting a modern transformer such as the Lionel CW-80 (approx. $50 on ebay) or MTH Z-1000 (approx. $75 on ebay) transformer to start.  It may be worth paying a little more at the hobby shop to ensure you have a working unit and a possible channel to fix or return a defective unit.  These transformers will allow variable control of the 2025, while also offering quick circuit breaker protection for the Lionchief products.  The CW-80 has 80 watts of power and offers and accessory voltage tap for when you add trackside accessories.  The Z-1000 has 100 watts of power (better) but does not have a dedicated accessory voltage tap.

1. Which track style is preferred?

There are high-end track types, but the three basic starter types are Lionel tubular track, Lionel Fastrack, and MTH Realtrax.  Lionel tubular can be obtained very economically (approx. $1 per piece) and has proven very durable over the years.  Lionel Fastrack has a very finished look to it, but it is probably $3-4 per piece.  Fastrack switches (turnouts) also tend to be very pricey, where tubular switches (turnouts) are generally much less expensive.  I don’t have any experience with MTH realtrax.  Any “O” gauge train will run on all types of “O” gauge track, however if you intend to buy Lionchief sets, they all come with Fastrack.  There are transition pieces that allow tubular to connect to fastrack. 

Tubular:

Fastrack:

MTH Realtrax:

Personally, I would approach the whole situation like this:

Phase I: Get 2025 Up and Running

Buy the following:

1. ($50-75) CW-80 or MTH Z-1000
2. ($20-75+) 20-75 pieces of tubular track. I would suggest a minimum of 20 pieces or so for a nice oval (in most cases at least 8 curves)  You will also need track “lock-ons” for tubular track wiring.
3. ($30+) Basic freight cars (boxcars, gondolas, tankers, hoppers, etc.) can be had for $10-20 each to go with the 2025. You can get the price nearer the lower end of the range if  you buy cars in a group.  If you put a Wanted Ad up in the “Wanted to Buy” section of this forum, you would likely get some very nice stuff for little money.  Also, Menards.com sells very reasonable interesting freight cars.

 Phase I total cost: low end about $100, high end about $200

Phase II: Integrate Lionchief

Since you can still use the CW-80 or Z-1000, track, and freight cars from Phase I, you are in a position that you only need to purchase the Lionchief engines. I’ve seen 0-8-0 Lionchief steam engines with Bluetooth as low as $150 on ebay.  Often many of the forum sponsors have sales where lionchief engines are offered at discounted prices.  If you buy two 0-8-0’s you’re in for $300.  Again, some sets will go on sale now and then for $200-250.  So if that’s the direction you want to go, you can make that jump then.

Again, with all of this, you can always resell items you no longer want.  Don hesitate to ask follow-up questions on this topic thread or start new topics with specific questions on the forum.  All these guys and gals are very helpful. 

JD2035RR - Wow - thank you SO much for the detailed response. This really helps support my thought to get the transformer next - - I am a bit worried about getting a lemon via used channel, so will probably go through the hobby shop. I will definitely check out the website resources you mention too. One question - can I mix track types?? Thank you again for your time and effort!!

Please contact me via my email ( click on my name and it will show up ) I might be able to help you out a lot. I have a older train set still wrapped in plastic that has a transformer that can run your 2026. that I will give you for your kids if you just pay actual shipping. I try to do this once a year around Christmas and would like to make this year your kids. As a little proof here is one I did about 2 years ago now I think https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...79#70974704512033679