Life-Like Trains HO Scale Diesel Driver Electric Train Set

• Giant 65? x 47? Over & Under Double Oval Track Features Life-Like?s Exclusive Power-LocTrack System with Molded Roadbed for Fast 'N Easy Set-Up.
• Two Operating Accessories: Dual Crossing Gate ? arms lower and raise as train passes!Operating Log Dump Station with Dump Car
• Scenic Accessories Include:Realistic Trees, Cars, Truck, Figures, Mountain Paper, Utility Poles with Transformers and Signs
• Three Small Building Kits Included
• Set Includes Power-LocTerminal Rerailer Power Track for Easy Alignment of Locomotive and Freight Car Wheels

This was a purchase for my 6 year old son to "upgrade" from thomas the train. He immediatly loved it from the start.

The track went togehter in seconds, the buildings needed some hobby cement, but they were easy to assemble. The switches were manual, but they were great. In a past version of this set I had bought for my nephew, the train would always derail, but the company has improved it so it wouldn't derail as much. The headlight had to be rewired when we got it, but it was nothing duct tape couldn't fix. It also came with a cool little guide on how to get started in model railroading as a hobby. Great tips on everything. Some things that could have been better, The switches could have been remote, the crossing would have operated a bit better, the power pack could have been a bit easier to set up. Trees came with the set, an operating log car, and a bunch of other goodies. We hope to buy more track so my son and I can build a table for him to play on.

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they need to improve on a few things, the power-lock track really is a pain to put together and take apart,had a one piece break before we even had the track put together, and the little metal connectors between the tracks will fall out and are really hard to find which also makes that part of the track useless. you can only run the train at slower speeds in certain areas of the track our it will derail and/or tip over. even with all the negatives my son still has fun with it and loves the look of the engine, although i think he would have more fun if things were improved.

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Good value for the money. Excellent detail on the railroad cars. The track was as easy to assemble as advertised. Many of the accessories are very small so this must be purchased with the age of the user in mind.

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This is pretty much Life-Like's older Life Like Railroad Empire HO Scale Train Set, but they changed the name to "Diesel Driver" and replaced the Santa Fe locomotive and caboose with Union Pacific-branded equivalents.

Even with the name and railroad change, it's still a great semi-elaborate starter set, with a relatively unique over/under double-oval track setup, the classic log dump and railroad crossing "action" accessories, trackside shanty building kits, and many scenic accessories (autos, figures, trees, tunnel, signs and utility poles.)

Though I am still a bit confused on why Life-Like still offers their sets with horn-hook couplers. Most of Life-Like's locomotives and rolling stock hasn't changed much since they came out in the 1970s. They still do perform well, but I'm surprised they haven't switched to knuckle couplers yet! Although horn-hooks are backwards compatible with knuckle couplers, this is just a friendly heads-up.

The Power-Loc track is great for starting out with, but you may eventually want to upgrade to a more semi-professional track, like Atlas's Code-83 snap track (it uses nickel silver instead of steel rails!)

Besides that, if you set up this train set on a piece of plywood with some kind of "grass" material on it (either green ground cover or a grass mat), and add more building kits and track and other accessories, you would pretty much have a real "Railroad Empire!" (It still lives up to its original name!)

(The name change could be likely so it isn't too similar to another similar "top of the line" train set Life-Like has offered since the 1990s, Life-Like HO Scale Train Set Freightline USA, which still retains the Santa Fe road name on the locomotive and caboose!)

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I'll start by saying that my seven year old son and I really love this train....now. Assembly was a pain and there was one vital piece of track (the switch track) which was missing from the box and was hugely disappointing. All set to return it to Amazon when I was able to find the piece at a local hobby shop. The power-loc track is not as easy to snap together as they describe it. Did I mention it was a pain? Although the track "snaps" together it is still a bit delicate because the small metal connectors can easily bend if mishandled. I'm baffled that the manufacturer says you can hang the track on the wall for storage because I think it would break after the first or second time. We have it laid out on plywood and it is a perfect sturdy base. All in all it's a great starter train and if you treat it with TLC I think you could really really enjoy it. I am looking forward to working with my son to build a nice town and landscape around it.

In terms of age...I would not recommend it for anyone under 7. The wheels on the train are very small and you have to use the re-railer piece quite often but once you master that it's no problem at all. I can see where a younger child could be very frustrated and honestly it's much more of a starter hobby train than a "play and put it away" train. That said, I like this set because it has a double oval track with an elevated bridge much cooler than just a single oval. The working railroad crossing signals are awesome. It's a great little set and a heck of a lot less expensive than the $250 Polar Express! All in all I recommend it and a little dose of patience goes a long way.