Bachmann Trains - Santa Fe Flyer Ready To Run Electric Train Set - HO Scale 19.50 x 3.00 x 13.25 Inches

This is a good beginner train set. The quality is good enough to run for a long time. There are better train sets but they cost at least double the price.

I am very pleased with this train set. It is well built and works flawlessly. It was very easy to setup and it runs quite smoothly. The engine feels very solid and I am confident that it will last for some time. A very good starter kit. The track included is simply a small circle, so I highly recommend buying Bachmann's starter track kit. Overall this is a great kit and my kids love it as much as I do. Edit: After 2 years of ownership! I still LOVE this little train set. I truly do not understand the other negative reviews. I have NEVER had the wheels fall off when I wasn't doing something stupid (like accidentally knocking the car off the table), and then when I actually do have to put the wheels back on, it takes less than a second (literally). The track is super easy to assemble and the connection stays strong. I think the quality of this set is great, especially for the price. The engine may be a little loud for some people's taste, but for a starter kit, what do you expect? It's NOT going to sound the same as the engines that cost a few hundred dollars. I still recommend getting the extra Bachmann track set. It's not too expensive and it allows you to really enjoy this train instead of just driving in a small circle. It also solves the problem that people are having with getting the train on the tracks. The extra track set includes 2 "re-railer" pieces that are designed to get the wheels aligned up and on the tracks. All you have to do is set the train down on the track, regardless of where the wheels line up, and run it back and forth with your hand a few times over the "re-railer" piece and, voila! The wheels are perfectly aligned and it is ready to roll! Takes 5 seconds to accomplish. So, after 2 years of ownership, would I still recommend this set? Absolutely. I'm loving it, my kids are loving it, everyone that gets a chance to play with it loves it. As we speak, the freight car is loaded with my kids' lego figures driving them through the Christmas village! Good times.

very pleased with this product well made and packaged well.very low priced

While Bachmann HO trains are regarded more as "toys" in the professional HO model railroad community (rather than authentic models of actual prototype railroads), there must always be an entry point for those new to the hobby. Bachmann faithfully fulfills entry-level, "new hobbyist" interest quite well and quite inexpensively. This set comes with a locomotive (Santa Fe RR EMD FT Diesel with all-wheel drive and operating headlight); 2 rolling stock cars (an open quad hopper car and a gondola), and a "generic" caboose in Santa Fe livery - all that any kid / person needs as an entry to the hobby. As usual with complete, inexpensive train sets, this set also comes with a 36-inch circle of curved "Snap-Fit E-Z track" (18-inch radius, black roadbed). The "Snap-Fit E-Z track" system is designed especially for young people to easily align and push the tracks together and they snap into place making it immediately usable on floors, carpets or wood platforms without much hassle. For a more realistic look, the tracks are Nickel-Silver and don't rust or get tarnished as much as the old brass rails did. The cars couple together with the Bachmann "E-Z Mate" knuckle couplers (somewhat compatible with HO professional modelers standard "Kaydee" style knuckle couplers). Finally, the set includes a generic DC power pack (speed controller) with wiring, power indicator light and direction switch. One of the curved tracks holds the plug-in terminal "re-railer" to power the train. (A "re-railer" is a piece of track that is designed with embedded guides between and outside the track rails. One simply sets the car or locomotive down on it, rolls the unit back and forth a few times and the track easily aligns the wheels of the unit inside the rails so the trains roll on the tracks. No eyestrain or careful adjusting of the wheel trucks necessary.) The set says ages 14+, but I got started with trains at age 7-8, so use your own judgement about who the set is intended for. The set is R-T-R (Ready-to-Run - meaning no extensive assembly of anything) and with the purchase of some extra 9-inch straight tracks and a pair of turn-outs (commonly and IMPROPERLY called "switches"), one can begin to make all kinds of track layouts. I also strongly suggest getting the Bachmann E-Z Track Expander Set, which comes with both left and right powered turnouts; 9-inch straight track (4-pieces); 18-inch radius curved track (4-pieces) and 2 Hayes bumpers (to put at the end of short stub tracks or sidings off the main line. Get a couple of books on HO model railroading, some buildings, some figures and a 4x8 foot piece of plywood and join MILLIONS of us relaxing and watching the trains go in and out of tunnels, rolling down the mainline, changing tracks and "delivering goods" in your own miniaturized world! Similar to ANY hobby, your pocketbook will be the limit, but your imagination will take you past that.

I purchased the Santa Fe Flyer set about a month ago to test my interest in the hobby of model trains. Up front, I’ll say I’ve had no issues with wheels coming off and while it took a bit to initially set the engine and get it to run (it needs to be on the rails correctly), it’s been great since that point. HO Scale: It’s a nice mix of not being so big that it takes up your entire room without being small enough to lose the details. The approximate size of the engine (in inches) is 7 long by about 2 high and maybe 1 wide. Other cars are of similar dimensions or a little shorter in length or height. Rolling Stock: The set came just as described with the engine and three cars as well as track pieces sufficient to build a circle. While setting the engine on the rails was initially challenging (the diesel engine design makes it tough to see the wheels and if they are on the rails), the re-railer does help some (I believe there is also an inexpensive item that sets cars on the rails pretty easily: EZ Railer I think). The other cars are not difficult since the wheels are relatively exposed (again, the rerailer helps set the wheels onto the track properly). The couplings work easily and hold well. While the engine has a weighty, solid feel, the other cars are very light-weight plastic so treat them appropriately. Some find that a problem, but the weighting is necessary if you want the engine to be able to pull them around the track with any speed or if you plan to add more cars later. The details on the cars are very nice giving some feel of realism. Once seated on the track, the transformer makes running the train an easy process as the train glides smoothly along the rails. Tracking: The EZ track does connect and disassemble pretty easily as long as you line it up well. The initial circle quickly becomes tiresome, so if you like model trains or gain interest with them, I’d suggest getting extra curved and straight track to make more interesting designs. Also, having some straight track makes it easier to set the cars on the rails. Keep in mind that the HO scale train track is set up to make a three-foot circle so you need some space if you want a figure eight or an oval or what have you (probably at least 6 by 4 foot area depending on your available space). On the upside, the track can go directly on carpet or flooring so as long as you don’t have youngsters or pets that will trouble it, the train doesn’t have to be on a table. Derailing: Some have suggested that this train easily derails. While I can’t speak for their specific situations, I would suggest that they check their tracks. I have personally had this engine running forward and reverse at top speed with no cars attached and with all cars attached along as steep a curve as Bachmann appears to provide (the 3 foot circle curve) and have only had any derailments when the track was not connected properly. If you find the wheels easily unseating: slow the train down, see if it derails in the same spot(s), turn OFF the power to the train, and run your finger along the rails. If it’s not smooth (either gaps or a raised spot) you need to separate and recombine those track pieces. Once it’s all smooth, you shouldn’t have any more problems. Bottom Line: For the price, this has been a great starter train set. I enjoy the details and the size of this scale model. There is plenty of room to expand the set in rolling stock, track, and other features. If you are an enthusiast and have an interest in model trains for you or your children, this is a nice item to buy.

Despite reading some negative reviews here on Bachmann trains, I took a chance and ordered the Santa Fe Flyer kit. I don't know what some of these reviewers are doing wrong or what they expected, but my experience with the train is nothing but positive. Well, almost (more on that later). Opening the box I was impressed at how well packaged the whole kit is. Nothing loose to bang around or do damage. Within 15 minutes I had it all together and running without once looking at the instruction sheet. This stuff is pretty straightforward for anyone with a modicum of common sense and technical ability. None of the wheels on the cars came off and once I figured out that the EZ-track has to go together smoothly (do not force it or the rails will be uneven causing derailing) I was good to go. I had also bought a handful of other Santa Fe line cars and some more track, which brings me to my one and only gripe about this set. The two freight cars included (a gondola and a coal car) are from different freight lines. Why put together a kit called the Santa Fe Flyer and then not include matching cars from the Santa Fe line? Makes absolutely no sense. Thankfully, the caboose has the Santa Fe logo on it. Other than that I am more than pleased with the quality, detail and operation of this train set. It will be circling the Christmas tree for years to come and is a viable replacement for the original Lionel train we had when I was a kid growing up in the '60s.

I was disappointed in this set because the cars kept decoupling randomly. I wanted to love it because my old sets didn't have this issue but I needed an engine, 40+ year old engines just don't work that well anymore. Of course the couplers are all different 40 years later, so I hoped a whole set would be ideal. Instead, I had to return, I'm now looking for individual cars and paying a little more for quality instead of a cheap starter set.

What can I say? It’s a train set. An identical Santa Fe train set like I had 50 years ago as a young child.