RMweb Gold traction Posted May 11, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2015 Can anybody tell me if there is a difference between the items in the trains sets as opposed to buying them individually? For instance, if you buy a Hornby Train set most of the rolling stock is from the Rail Road range so much less detail, than if you were to buy the engine, coaches or wagons individually. I have bought a few Graham Farish train sets and I have to say the detail is stunning, it doesn't look like there is any difference between the train set items and buying individually. Why do I ask? I don't have a little steam engine to run round and when looking about saw the Sea Side Excursion train set I can buy this train set for anywhere between £110 to £120 To buy the loco on it's own a Class 4F is about £94 The coaches are about £20+ each if you can find them in stock! So there is a decent saving to be made buying the train set, it basically means I can add the DCC decoder in and effectively it will be free than if I were to buy the items individually. I know the easiest thing to do is buy the train set and stuff the box out of the way, it just seems such a waste to me as the track and controller won't be used. Which is why I ask the question is there a difference in the detail to justify it? Thanks Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted May 11, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 11, 2015 Graham Farish produces one range with one fairly consistent quality. Hornby produces two ranges namely their mainstream and their Railroad ranges of which the latter is usually less refined and both looks "cheaper" (though respectable) and costs less. Train sets have traditionally been packaged and priced attractively as a deal to offer perhaps young starters or those who crave a train set but whose parents are expected to pay for it. We need to bring young blood into the hobby so full marks to the manufacturers fro continuing to offer such sets in harder times. If you feel you can make a saving by purchasing the set over the individual items you can always offer the track and controller for sale through RMweb Buy & Sell or elsewhere. It's not by any means unknown for retailers to break sets and sell items individually either - often at a discount because they are then either also unboxed or in a cut up foam mould but no outer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
csiedmo Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Hello Ian, The rolling stock that you get the Farish sets is exactly the same as can be bought individually. Its just a case of sets being cheaper to tempt people into the hobby. (And a bit of a nightmare for private shops who have to sell them at a loss to compete with the big guys.) Lots of folks do as you suggest and put the unwanted bits on eBay. If you see lots of circles of Farish track and semi-boxed wagons (plastic part but no cardboard part) on eBay then that's why. Cheers, Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold traction Posted May 11, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2015 Thanks guys, I thought as much. I just wanted to clarify it, I really hate so much waste, but if there's a chance to save some money it has to be done. The detail and quality of the Bachmann train sets, be it Bachmann or Graham Farish do seem to have much higher detail rolling stock. Looks like I will just buy the train set, much easier and cheaper. Now to wait until pay day!!! Cheers Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Sometimes you will get a loco in a colour scheme that isn't available separately; e.g. the plain green Class 42 Warship in the 'Cornish Riviera Express' set. I think the Class 08 in pristine green with wasp stripes and the SDJR Jinty were also only available as part of a set. But the coaches and wagons are identical to the items sold separately as far as I can tell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawyermodels Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 The 08, Jinty and class 42 are indeed only available as part of a set but you can find them sold separately sometimes. Sets are an ideal way to get into model railways as you get everything you need to get started and if you price the contents of a set up you will find that the set works out considerably cheaper than buying as stand alone items. In the past I have bought a set because I wanted the loco then ended up selling the rest of the set off or finding some use for it on my layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Crepello Posted May 11, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 11, 2015 I bought the Seaside Excursion set to get 44044 rather than the regular 4F; apart from that, the 2 Mark 1s were handy to expand my fleet; the controller powers my signals and I used some of the straight pieces of track to experiment with the Dapol magnetic couplers. The set came out in time for the Christmas market whereas the regular 4F arrived about February. If only I could justify that Warship! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold traction Posted May 11, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2015 I've bought the Cornish Riviera set as a starting point for a layout:- You can read more in this thread:- http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/98047-so-youre-going-to-buy-a-train-set/?p=1847556 As I don't have many coaches or a small steam engine thought the ones from the set would be ideal. So that's what it will be, there should still be some around at the end of the month after pay day! If you go for the Cornish Riviera set you will easy get a chunk of money back when selling the EZ-Command! Cheers Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frobisher Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 But the coaches and wagons are identical to the items sold separately as far as I can tell. They're normally different running numbers to those in the main range which is useful Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 The Cumbrian Mountain Express train pack at £131 includes the Duchess of Hamilton pacific, 3 coaches and a Scalecraft Ais Gill signal box. The current Duchess locomotive alone costs £127, Question, THE CME train pack, dooes it have the latest high specification Duchess or is it simply an older inferior tooling? http://www.Bachmann.co.uk/image_box.php?image=images1/farish/370-500.jpg&cat_no=370-500&info=0&width=650&height=454 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhedron Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 It has the latest high spec version of the Duchess according to this review. http://www.mremag.com/news/article/cumbrian-mountain-express-train-pack-370-500/21188 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr chapman Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Bachmann have always done this with sets. The 4f was actually first available in the set before the main bulk arrived. A lot of people buy the sets, take what they want and sell the track on for a further discount. That's what I'd do Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk Rob Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I agree that these packs are tremendous value. I have the Landship train on it's way from Kernow. The pack has an RRP £5 less than the 4F on it's own before you even consider the 3 wagons with RRP at £24.95. With the discounted Kernow price it works out at less than half RRP on the individual items. I think it is a great move on Bachmann's part to offer these train packs that don't leave you with unwanted track etc as well as maintaining a varied selection of traditional train sets. Hopefully they will be a success and Bachmann will announce more. Personally I'd love to see the OO 37/4 and Highland coaches downsized to N. A scenecraft Highland Railway building of some type would be an additional, if unlikely bonus! Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 The only worry about splitting sets is that I seem to remember Bachmann saying that this invalidates the warranty. Probably not an issue if you are buying the set for the loco- just keep the receipt for the set, but more of an issue if you are buying a loco someone doesn't want from a set (or selling one?) Bachmann seem funny about warranties- hardwiring a sound chip into a tender invalidates the MECHANICAL warranty on the loco (according to Bachmann service) - which is why my sound WD has no valve gear on the side facing away from the punter.... All the best Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
napierlion Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Yes Bachmann do not like sets being split up, but it is still done. As long as the retailer pays Bachmann for the item, it shouldn't concern Bachmann as they have had the money for the item already. However, if the loco develops a fault you only send the loco back not the whole set, so they wouldn't know. You can always ask your retailer if they would write the receipt to say the set rather than just loco. Chances are they will do that anyway so if the loco does develop a fault you can send it back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The Cumbrian Mountain Express train pack at £131 includes the Duchess of Hamilton pacific, 3 coaches and a Scalecraft Ais Gill signal box. The current Duchess locomotive alone costs £127, Question, THE CME train pack, dooes it have the latest high specification Duchess or is it simply an older inferior tooling? http://www.Bachmann.co.uk/image_box.php?image=images1/farish/370-500.jpg&cat_no=370-500&info=0&width=650&height=454 Fir the benefit of the forum, and, In reply to my very own question, I purchased the set to-day. The CME trainpack does have the latest high specification DCC compatible Duchess locomotive., in effect you have the three coaches and a signal box for £5. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium acg5324 Posted May 21, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 21, 2015 Yodel have just delivered my Cumbrian Mountain Express set......looks great. Interestingly whilst the RMB Buffet car is the same running number as current stock M1838 the FO is M3105 and the BSK M35295 neither of which match any stock I have, all are fitted with Commonwealth bogies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
acourtrail Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 With the sets and train packs, It would appear that, Bachmann use up stocks of existing coaches (if available) and only do a special batch (with a different number) when they need to. Hence in the Seaside Excursion set they must have had a batch of their normal maroon 374-084 BCK (M21026), but they must have run out of the 374-012 maroon TSOs (M4929), so did a special batch (as M4870) for the set. The same must have happened with the Cumbrian Mountain Express pack, there must have been enough RMBs, but no more BSKs, so a new batch of BSKs would have been done. They would have had to have done a new run of FOs, because they have only done one batch of Blus & Grey FOs, and that was E3080. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted September 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2015 There have been suggestions around here before that Bachmann / Farish produces the same number of coaches in brake styles as in open and corridor styles. As only one or two brakes are needed in a train which might be as many as 12 coaches long (though typically on a model 4 - 7 coaches) they seem to have a surplus of brakes. This might be one reason for packaging them existing stock numbers into sets with new numbers for the other vehicles. It surely accounts for the glut of Mk2 brakes around when most other types have long since sold out or been re-run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 It's worth pointing out the DC controllers are pretty decent, and very useful for the workbench test track! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Adam1701D Posted September 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2015 The CME pack does indeed come with a fully-specced Dutchess and Mk1s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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