Power Trains

Has anybody ever played around with these trains made by Jakks Pacific?

http://powertrainstoys.com/

Any opinions / comparisons with plarail? They seem to be about the same size as the plarail advance .

Not tried them Super, they are a bit of an oddity, they're bigger than Advance, but not quite HO and based on the track in the packs I don't think they would run on Tomy track.

One set that did catch my eye recently is one made by Marklin - a big name in serious train models if you not heard of them (German so always serious )

They produce true HO battery trains that can run on the plastic track (similar to trackmaster) provided in the starter sets or on genuine HO gauge track.

They look pretty cool, trains are typically 5 cars, connect using magnet couplings, have both lights and sound and are remote control!

Best part is they are priced pretty keenly, a complete set including a 5 car bullet type train, oval of track, remote, even the batteries, sells for about £45-50 depending on the train you pick.

The one I went for to see if they run well on Tomy track as well was this one; Belgian Thalys Train

It is due for delivery in 3-4 days, I'll let you know what its like when it arrives

[Super]

I actually have a collection. They can't run on the tomy/track master tracks. They are pretty cheap. You can get the expansion packs relatively easily.

Does anybody prefer these or the Marklin trains to the Tomy sets?

BTW, sorry for initially sticking the thread in the wrong section ... lack of attention on my end.

In my opinion although the Power Trains are reasonably 'realistic' in terms of proportions etc... they are not of high quality and I doubt they will be very durable - not that I've got any so I can't confirm that

I do like the Tomy trains/track as they are extremely well made and quite detailed, even if the proportions of the Plarail (~HO gauge) are not quite as realistic as they should be (i.e. too short). But they do run incredibly well too and very tollerant of track generally. If you want realism you should check out the Tomy 'Advance' range, these are nearer to 'N gauge' and run on a single rail of the Tomy track, so you can in fact run two side-by-side on the one track which is quite handy. They also are very realistic and detailed, the only issue is that you do need different points etc... as they have issues with the generic Tomy points. But its a small price to pay when you can still use the rest of the generic track etc...

As for Marklin, well until I get my first set I really can't judge, although in the videos I've watched on youtube they look great and incredible value for money. Assuming too many corners have not been cut to keep the price down they should be very high quality also as Marklin is renowned as a premium brand in HO/N gauge electric railways for their quality. My hope is that these will also run on the Tomy track as then they can be integrated into my existing collection, but this I'll find out in a few days

The only concern I have with power train is the couplings. You have to apply a bit of force to couple the train. It is just a matter of time before the couplings breaks.

Hey Nigels,

Did you get your Marklin trains yet? Any thoughts thus far?

As it happens mate yes I did get the Marklin set, I've just not had chance to really do a lot with it yet - lots going on in the 'real world' lol!

However initial thoughts are that it is incredibly well made (as you'd expect from a german train maker), however at the same time the model is not highly detailed, but I figure this is because it is aimed squarely at the younger train interest.

But having said that they haven't cut corners, the track which looked like the trackmaster type track (i.e. all plastic with moulded bed/sleepers etc...) is in fact real HO track. It does have the plastic moulding for the bed/sleepers, but the rails are real metal rails and I suspect totally compatible with the normal Marklin HO sets. All it would take is an additional piece of track with appropriate connections that could be electrified and you could run a standard electric HO loco on it.

Going back to the train itself, the wheel spacing is accurately HO gauge, so it would not run well on Tomy track, but again it would allow the train to run on a real HO gauge layout, so again a 'growth path'.

As I probably mentioned before the train is a 5 car unit and although battery powered it takes 4 x batteries so should offer good performance. The coupling between the carriages is magnetic, so no fiddling about and you get quite close/realistic coupling. The other nice addition is that it is out of the box remote controlled, with a remote that gives you multiple speeds both forward and backward, with an emergency 'stop' button. You also get 3 buttons for sound effects and a fourth button to turn on the train headlights.

All in all I think it is a stunning bargain for only ~ £40 brand new, it even includes a set of batteries for both the train and the remote

I was going to make a thread about it, but then I found this. I'm glad you made one.