# What is up with Life-Like nowadays?!



## wiley2012 (Dec 8, 2012)

Life-Like Trains was always one of my favorite model railroad companies (I am pretty sure this is because when I first started model railroading, my first train sets and accessories were from Life-Like.) However, looking at their current offerings, many of their non-Proto products appear to have not changed a bit since the 1970s or 1980s. This may or may not have to do with Walthers now owning the company. In fact, look at some of their current train set offerings:









Don't be fooled by the stock photo, but this train set uses HORN-HOOK COUPLERS, and if you replace the oval of Power-Loc track with your usual Code-100 steel (or even *ick* brass) track, you'll have a Life-Like train set from the 1980s!

It's like Life-Like's train sets are like the spiritual successor of Tyco's train sets. They even offer some sets that come with TWO trains instead of one:








...except it doesn't have switches or a "blocking controller" of some sort.

Then they also have some more full-featured train sets, like this:








It's kind of reminiscent of Tyco's old top-of-the-line train sets, complete with switches and action accessories. Just set all of this up on a 4x8 sheet of plywood with a grass mat, get some additional track sections, building kits and landscaping material and you'd already have a great model railroad for starting out with! I also had a set like this, but it was called the "Railroad Empire" and had a few different freight cars, no coal tipple or signal bridge, and replaced the gravel-unloading car and station with a log dump car and station. I still have some bits and pieces from it on my current layout.

If Life-Like is still going to make these "retro" electric train sets, they should at least replace the horn-hooks with knuckle couplers! In fact, Life-Like does offer "SceneMaster Knuckle Couplers":








They're designed for easy replacement of horn-hooks on Life-Like's rolling stock and locomotives (for the latter, I use AccuRail and Kadee instead) and they even work with Tyco stuff with proper adjusting!

I mean, just because their stuff may be inferior nowadays compared to Walther's Proto or TrainLine series, it doesn't mean you can't have a pretty good model railroad using them! Life-Like has always plugged this, and still does under Walthers ownership:








But compared to that stock photo, my layout does feature quite a few Life-Like stuff, both new and old, and looks WAY better than that IMO:









Just a thought...


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

I completely agree. They should start using body mounted coupler boxes as well on their rolling stock and provide a lot more detail and still provide the same price. They also need to get rid of that gud-awful grinding noise motors that they think "work well". Athearn uses quieter motors, so I dont see why LL can't.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

I agree, the Athern motors are generally a lot quieter!! but the old stuff is at times still good


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## Sawdust (Oct 26, 2010)

These train sets were always just an entry level set for the beginner. The horn hooks are very durable for children. Detail parts like ladders, step bars etc. would never last on the cars. No point of putting an expensive motor in an engine when it may get thrown at any given time or knocked over  The best way of getting a more detailed or better equipment for the hobbyist is to put together your own set with what you want.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

well I still have my GP38-2 which was part of a Athearn starter set, granted most of the cars it came with I think are either gone or missing parts, but the engine has a well built motor in it...


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Marketing 101...I guess!*

Walthers still has the Train Sets which they push at Christmas Time and if you go to the website under LL you can see what products they still carry. So yeah, in essence they are marketing first time entry level modelers/kids and banking on doing what everyone else would do...get an upgrade through their better products. Don't know if it works for them but they seem to really hit it hard during the holidays!:thumbsup: I know we still have Als place, Country Church, Sheds, operating crossing all the Girders for the constuction site and Stock pens...some decent looking stuff.


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## Sawdust (Oct 26, 2010)

Some of those cheapys have potential for detail. I get a lot of rolling stock at swap meets. I usually exchange the plastic wheels for metal, horn hooks for knuckles, add weights etc. The box cars I like to grind the molded in ladders & stirrups off & add these details. Here is a Tyco open hopper that mostly came out of these starter sets. I have close to twenty of these to make a nice set of coal cars. They usually cost about $2.-$4. each.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Options at every price point. If you want the higher detail, you have to pay more money for it.

Why completely price yourself out of the beginner market by including things which beginners (or kids) aren't really going to notice. 

Being more of a hobbiest myself, I can't see EVER buying one of the box sets (other than the Thomas ones I got for my kids.)


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

95% of the rolling stock I have are from strter kits or the basic Tyco stuff...I still use the things and like them, franted not much detail but for shows where kids may break them or touch the trains and cause derailments I use the lower priced stuff anyways as its cheap and easy to fix and if i cant fix it it becomes a parts unit...


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## LIRR Guy (Dec 4, 2011)

As had been said, not bad for entry level stuff, I have some of their rolling stock for my kids. When they break it, no big deal because it is cheap enough not to worry about it. In deezy's thread about his vintage styrofoam layout, I had a thought about life-like in general. I wondered why walthers hasn't done a re-release of these layouts. I had one as a kid (wish I still had it). They would make a great, easy to set up anywhere, beginner layout, and you could get the expander packs also.
They came with everything you needed to get started, even a couple of buildings. Seems like it would be a good idea for someone new to the hobby.


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

Sawdust said:


> These train sets were always just an entry level set for the beginner. The horn hooks are very durable for children. Detail parts like ladders, step bars etc. would never last on the cars. No point of putting an expensive motor in an engine when it may get thrown at any given time or knocked over  The best way of getting a more detailed or better equipment for the hobbyist is to put together your own set with what you want.


If you drop your stuff on the floor, then you're not being careful...which means you don't deserve to own it.


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## MarkVIIIMarc (Oct 19, 2012)

Different strokes ya know. My 30 year old tyco stuff could beat up my new $30 railcars in a fight. I also get angry when I have to add weight to new railcars. I love the detail on my new orange tankcar but can barely touch it after a derailment w/o breaking some wire or ladder. And then I have a kid who likes trains!


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## wiley2012 (Dec 8, 2012)

LIRR Guy said:


> I wondered why walthers hasn't done a re-release of these layouts. I had one as a kid (wish I still had it). They would make a great, easy to set up anywhere, beginner layout, and you could get the expander packs also.
> They came with everything you needed to get started, even a couple of buildings. Seems like it would be a good idea for someone new to the hobby.


After discontinuing the styrofoam layouts, I know Life-Like offered train sets that came with landscaping material and building kits as another way to get started in the hobby.






















































The last one here is the City Express, and is basically like a super-deluxe version of their current "Super City Elevated Rails," but the freight train is Union Pacific instead of Santa Fe, has a bi-level auto carrier car, a lighted yard tower and additional building kits, in addition to all that landscaping material.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

jjb727 said:


> If you drop your stuff on the floor, then you're not being careful...which means you don't deserve to own it.


I've got some tyco and life-like stuff that my kids play with it. They drop them sometimes and accidents happen. It doesn't mean they don't deserve to own them. It means they have a father who understands kids aren't perfect and that accidents will happen, so to limit the damage he lets them play with cheaper/expendable equipment. Lighten up a bit hwell:


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## LIRR Guy (Dec 4, 2011)

That city express is actually pretty nice. Guess I have a soft spot for the styrofoam set I had as a kid.


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## wiley2012 (Dec 8, 2012)

Yep. I know at one time they also had a similar "deluxe" train set, but using Proto 1000 locomotives and rolling stock, billed the Triple Train Empire!


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## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

I see the Life-Like stuff today as Tyco was back then. A good introduction kit that could be upgraded as time went on.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

Heck if it wasn't for my mother in law getting our son that massive LL train set for Christmas 18 years ago...I wouldn't be writing this now!!!:laugh: To set the line you need bait...and LL was the bait for me...so Thanks!!:thumbsup: and my kids truly appreciate the fun in the basement with all those trains, and Gomez Addams Jr. still comes home from Minneapolis(he's 24) and runs the 2-8-0 Bachmann he got from 1st grade!!:thumbsup: Oh before I forget...thanks Wiley that America Build Railway is the exact one that our son got for christmas many long years ago....and we still have some of the buildings...all the engines and rolling stock we sold off for better eqipment!


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

My first "starter" set was an Athearn set (I think) and I still have that engine and refuse to get rid of it because of that very reason, I just love it!!


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## wiley2012 (Dec 8, 2012)

dannyrandomstate said:


> I see the Life-Like stuff today as Tyco was back then. A good introduction kit that could be upgraded as time went on.


"Upgraded" is right! This is what started out as a Life-Like train set...








I'm even considering lightly weathering some of the locomotives and rolling stock and maybe getting some DCC locomotives in the future (I'm kinda aiming towards the Bachmann E-Z Command starter set...)


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## jjb727 (Apr 13, 2012)

sstlaure said:


> I've got some tyco and life-like stuff that my kids play with it. They drop them sometimes and accidents happen. It doesn't mean they don't deserve to own them. It means they have a father who understands kids aren't perfect and that accidents will happen, so to limit the damage he lets them play with cheaper/expendable equipment. Lighten up a bit hwell:


accidents, i can understand. But i've seen comments elsewhere about how "this is crap" but in reality, the person saying it doesnt treat his model trains with care.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

even the "crap" units are still good, with out them we wouldn't have some of the wixbangitry we have today....I still have a Lifelike GP20 (i think that is who made it) that does not work, but I do plan to make it a freak unit and try and kit bash it into something...so yea I still even have fun with these "crap units" so I personally do not think they are crap...so now I need to figure a way to wire a second drive unit into the thing and get the first working again....


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## Sawdust (Oct 26, 2010)

jjb727 said:


> If you drop your stuff on the floor, then you're not being careful...which means you don't deserve to own it.


Maybe you should read my post again " These train sets were always just an entry level set for the beginner. The horn hooks are very durable for children ".
I said *children* not adults acting like children.


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## wiley2012 (Dec 8, 2012)

Thread bump!
Still under Walthers ownership, Life-Like has changed even more, not just with train sets. For one thing, THIS website is now quite out of date...
http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/lifelike2010/lifelike_sets
It's worth noting they discontinued the "Homestead Express" set, and brought back their basic "Branch Line" Power-Loc set that first came out in 1998, along with the "Santa Fe Flyer" (basically the "Rolling Rails" with a red-and-silver Warbonnet Santa Fe F7, but it's still a great starter set.)
With the exception of their bi-level auto carrier car (which still has the dreaded X2F couplers as default), none of their lower-end locomotives and rolling stock are sold separately anymore; they are now only part of train sets. This isn't that big a loss to me, though.
They've also discontinued some nice products, like some of their nice building kits (such as the Mt. Vernon Manufacturing Company, the Coaling Tower and Supply House), their autos and trucks (some, like their basic auto and pickup, are included with some of their train sets, but that's about it), their scenic light-ups, their SceneMaster trees and lychen and ground cover (a good cheaper substitute to Woodland Scenics' stuff), and practically ALL the stuff seen on this page. However, they did bring back those figures, now sold under the Walthers SceneMaster brand name instead of Life-Like. I'm also a bit annoyed at how they discontinued those signs and utility poles, as they looked pretty nice!
The only other landscaping material I know they offer are their original styrofoam tunnels made since the 1940s, their "mountain" paper and grass mats. 
I know a few of their train sets do come with trees, and the signs and utility poles (they are now only included as part of train sets, and the signs must be manually decorated with a Sharpie or whatever.)
Their log-dump, gravel-unloader and coal tipple operating accessories are now only included on certain train sets and are no longer available separately, and they also discontinued the conventional track version of the "operating switchman" (only offering it in Power-Loc) and their unique "Logging Mill" accessory that they've made since the 1970s.
Life-Like also discontinued their N-scale train sets, locomotives, rolling stock and track, which is too bad; they were pretty nice! (They still have N-scale building kits though.) They also discontinued the HO-gauge nickel-silver Power-Loc track too, which stinks because nickel-silver is more superior to steel.
BUT, speaking of track, here's an odd thing. Early this year, Life-Like actually introduced a nickel-silver version of their Code-100 conventional track line! I guess they wanted to offer a low-cost alternative to Atlas's nickel-silver track, being aware it performs better than steel. (I'm thinking of getting their nickel-silver lighted bumpers for my layout!)
They also now have the SceneMaster Botanicals flower/plant products for layouts, and as I mentioned, Walthers brought back the line of figures under their own name instead of Life-Like's.
It also seems many of their Proto 1000 and 2000 products vary in availability; some seem to only be out for a limited time before being replaced with a different version.

Yeah, things really are changing for the company since the Walthers buyout...


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## ssgt (Jan 8, 2013)

I gave my daughter an old bachmann f7 and a bunch of old tyco cars.she is reasonably careful with them,though she leaves them laying around.She is a member of my train club and loves doing scenery.


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