# HO DCC Starter Set



## Rock022 (Jan 2, 2017)

Hello guys.

What would be a good HO DCC Steam Locomotive Starter set? 

A starter set that the control is not limited. 

I am not talking about an expensive top of the line set. Neither an inexpensive limited set.

Thanks!


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

How much is your budget?
To my knowledge, Bachmann is the only company making a DCC steam starter set, but their DCC system is quite limited.
A good starter DCC system is the NCE Power Cab. Very easy to set up and use. You can get it for around $170.
A good DCC steam engine can be had from Bachmann's *Spectrum* line. These are a step up from the stuff in their train sets, but well worth the extra cost. Track and turnouts can be had from a number of companies. I use Atlas for both and have had zero issues with either.
I guess it all comes down to what you really want, and how much you want to spend.
This is train show season, so if there's one near you, you can get a lot of stuff for less money.


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## busguy (Jan 5, 2017)

There are not a lot of starter train sets out there that come with a DCC controller and even fewer that come with steam.

Before I chose to go a slightly different route and buy an Athearn set that came with a DCC "ready" locomotive, I gave Bachmann's Echo Valley Express set a really serious look.

Here are a couple of product video's :












This place had about the best price that I could find on this set (and most things bachmann) :

http://www.thefavoritespot.com/p-51...sound-equipped-echo-valley-express-00825.aspx

I liked the locomotive that came in this set so much that I actually purchased one of them (lucky craigslist find) by itself.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Well, Rock, I cringe at the term starter set, and many more here may agree. You end up with stuff you don't need and it will be of lesser quality. You have the track and the rolling stock so you need a controller and an engine. Steam can be a little finicky depending on your radii and number of wheel pickups. Do you want sound? My choice would be a NCE PowerCab and a Diesel(non-sound), which would set you back less than 200. Just a thought for you to ponder.


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## 3.8TransAM (Jan 13, 2016)

Do not neglect to check out Kato Unitrack.

There are deals to be had and it comes out comparable to Bachmann EZ Track.

I've played with both now and Kato wins hands down, only edge EZ track has is more options at this time.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I join Bwells as we cringe together at the thought of a
starter train set. To me, they are 'a toy' for around the
Christmas tree.

Among my reasons for rejecting the idea of a packaged
train are the rails on roadbed track that usually comes
with it. You are limited to using only track products
including turnouts and crossings that are made by
that company. They are not readily compatible with
tracks and accessories of others. They also limit
your freedom in creating your own layout design.

You would do yourself a favor by shopping for a
DCC controller. There are different features
among the makes but they are all basically
standard and work with all decoders regardless
of make. Then look for the steamer or other
loco that you like. If it's not DCC, you can add the
decoder for under 20.00. Most locos made in the
last 15 or 20 years are of very good quality so
if you like it, you'll be fairy safe in buying it.

Select the cars for your trains. Don't avoid used
ones. They just don't wear out. Look to see that the
ones you like have not lost any pieces and have
Knuckle couplers. Used, of this type usually sell for
5 to 10.00 while new ones are priced over 20.00.
You'll probably end up with better quality than comes
in the train set.

And finally, design your layout using nickle/silver
flex track and good quality turnouts such as Peco or Shinohara.

What i have outlined is how many of us have
built our layouts. We hope you have the same
good luck we have.

Don


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## Rock022 (Jan 2, 2017)

That is probably why I could not find a good starter set. They seemed limited to me, mainly in the DCC controller. 

Thank you guys.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Yep. You're looking for a unicorn.

The reason starter sets are so inexpensive is that they cut corners somewhere. Often this is the DCC controller. Many of these are fine for what they do, but full featured systems they are not.

My advice to beginners is to decide what you want and need, then get it a la carte. A little more expensive, a little more effort, a little more time consuming, but much better overall results.


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## busguy (Jan 5, 2017)

CTValleyRR said:


> My advice to beginners is to decide what you want and need, then get it a la carte.


This is exactly the problem though. As beginners we really don't know what we "want" or more importantly "need" till we actually have enough "experience" to know. 

I've probably changed directions with what I think we want our first layout to look like (and what and how to run things on it) 20 times in the last couple of months. Forums like this are an amazing resource of experience and information but with too much information and opinions they can also cause newbies to suffer from "paralysis of analysis". It certainly did for me. In an effort to make the "perfect" decisions I ended up making no decisions. 

The first thing our local hobby store owner told us when we started our research was to "get the best quality starter set you can afford and start running some trains". I scoffed at his advice because I kept thinking about all the limitations of a starter set. 

We'll for us he was totally right. It didn't click with me until someone (or a couple of people) on this forum said the same thing. "Get some trains and start running them". They don't have to be perfect. They don't have to be on your layout 5 years from now, but get some trains and start running them so you can actually gain some first hand experience to help you decide what you actually "want" and "need".

In an effort to "get some trains and run them" we ordered the best quality DC train set (plug & play DCC ready) we could find. I was blown away at the quality of the set. The rolling stock all has knuckle couplers and metal wheel sets. The loco purrs and is so nice I've thought about ordering another one as they sell it as part of their RTR line. 

To supplement the train set we've been craigslist hunters of late and have picked up some amazing pieces of rolling stock for $3-6 (most with Kadee's and metal wheel sets) and some ridiculously good engines (Kato's, Proto 2000's and Atlas) for $10-20 from estate sales. The coolest thing about these older loco's is that I've had no trepidation at all about opening them up and exploring how they work (which I absolutely would have with a new $100-250 loco) and fixing things like soldering and replacing a burnt out rear light.

We also got amazingly lucky and found someone giving away a 4x8 layout all wired up and with attached track. It isn't perfect and we won't be keeping it long term but it sure has been nice to run some trains on while we gain some experience and figure out what we "want" and "need".

All of this happened for us because we decided to "run some trains". Had we done things as I first envisioned and only bought items that I figured we would want long term we would have easily been $600-1000 into things before we were actually able to get some trains up and running . . .


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

busguy said:


> This is exactly the problem though. As beginners we really don't know what we "want" or more importantly "need" till we actually have enough "experience" to know.
> 
> I've probably changed directions with what I think we want our first layout to look like (and what and how to run things on it) 20 times in the last couple of months. Forums like this are an amazing resource of experience and information but with too much information and opinions they can also cause newbies to suffer from "paralysis of analysis". It certainly did for me. In an effort to make the "perfect" decisions I ended up making no decisions.
> 
> ...


Definitely getting something up and running fast has it's attractions, and for most people, it's usually worth doing.

The common misconception among beginners, though, is that your layout is going to be "once and done". If all you really want out of the hobby is a basic oval of track, maybe with a couple of sidings or a passjng loop (or even the bane of a beginner's existence, the over and under set), then perhaps a train set isn't a bad idea. But even then, it really isn't that hard to figure out which track pieces you need. 

There are so many resources available, from layout plannjng software, to periodicals, to the internet, to local clubs, that there really isn't an excuse for "just settling", unless you're really sure that's what you want.

The process of reaearching and making a few preliminary decisions isn't hard, and doesn't have to be time consuming. But it may pay huge dividends later if it helps you avoid the "huge box of junk i don't really want but can't bear to throw away." And you'll probably end up with a better track plan and better stuff, which may spare you frustration and boredom down the road.


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## Schwinn68 (Dec 22, 2016)

I went the route of buying a starter set. I bought the bachmann dcc with the diesels and a bachmann dc set. My reasoning was that I wanted to get the feel for dcc and have quick connect track for modifying my layout as it evolved. 

I have a three year old son who is absolutely train crazy so the plan was to have something simple that he can run too. He has his own track just like dad now and his own set of locos and rolling stock. I'm using this basic set to teach him how to handle the cars and change the track around. 

My eventual plan is to build benchwork for us and start laying flex track but for now we get the enjoyment out of being together running our trains. Ive also started collecting my permanant locos and rolling stock for the future layout.


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## santafealltheway (Nov 27, 2012)

Bwells said:


> Well, Rock, I cringe at the term starter set, and many more here may agree.


Gotta disagree... The cars and loco I got with my starter set years ago still run almost every day. 

That'd be the Bachmann Redrock Express kit.

and that oval is nice to have while you build the real layout lol


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## busguy (Jan 5, 2017)

santafealltheway said:


> The cars and loco I got with my starter set years ago still run almost every day.


That's been the case around our house so far. 

We've had our starter set for a couple of weeks now. With all the extra rolling stock and a fair few loco's (including a couple of sweet running Kato SD40's) that we've picked up on craigslist of late, my 11 year old chooses to run the following (he's doing the filming) most of the time on our "free interim layout" (Hint the loco and the last 4 cars are from his starter set) :


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