My wife bought me a Bachmann N scale train set with the venerable 4-4-0 and three old time passenger cars for Christmas one year. I still run it on my layout as an excursion train. If she only knew what she was starting...
My first N scale purchase was in January of last year. A Kato Super Chief A set and F7A. Stumbling across the Super Chief sets was what spurred me to make the HO to N jump. As a kid I'd seen a travel log film strip featuring the Warbonnet led Super Chief...from that time on, it was and still is my favorite train.
It was a Pennsy E-8. I couldn't believe what a good price I got...until I found out it wasn't HO! Now it leads a growing train that I run at the club when the HO tracks are all taken.
My first N scale was a Bachmann set with a 0-6-0 Plymouth diesel, 2 cars and a caboose. I was about 12 years old and found a $50 bill in the road, my dad drove me to the hobby shop.
In 1975 I got into helping a friend with his door layout. He was only into diesels and I was more interested in steam. So I bought an Atlas/Rivarossi Pacific to run on his layout. It was about $20 then.
An MRC (Rowa) 2-8-8-2, which I still have. $52.95 in 1972. If it weren't for that sweet running engine, I would not have stayed in N scale, because everything after it was poor for a long time.
I recall going to our local club member's shop when I lived in Manhattan, Ks. I had my 2 year old son in my arms when he kept pointing to an N scale box car on the shelf. (I was into HO at the time in 1981), My son put up such a fuss about that car that I bought it for him. He held tight to the box all the way home. It was an Atlas Soo Line 50' box car that I still have today. That car made me switch to N scale!
A gift, in the late '70s, of a Bachmann Highballer set, Item No. 50-4300, consisting of: ATSF F7A, red/silver warbonnet, #215 Lehigh Valley 40' box car, white/green ends, #41003 Southern gondola, silver/red letters, coal load, #1228 ATSF caboose, red/yellow cupola, #999628 1 circle of EZTrack 1 power pack This little bugger has run on the coffee table at Christmas ever since. In 2002 I went to my first train show and augmented this fleet with my first purchase: a LifeLike 0-6-0 saddle tank switcher - $15.00. With an oval of Unitrack and a few more pieces of rolling stock, it still gets the coffee table at Christmas. The F7A and the 0-6-0 take turns lugging a 6 car train around.
First purchased item was a Con Cor ATSF Alco C 600 series, Soon after my grandfather gave me a Lima Pennsy F unit that I still have.
My son bought a LL E8 and a Model Power Fed Ex container car. That started us off. They may be the least expensive bits we have, but when the E8 decided to obey the laws of gravity when it recently left a table top, I had the best time putting it all back together with my son. Runs like a charm. If only, I could find the B unit.....
My son bought me the Bachmann “McKinley Explorer Set N Scale Train Set” in 2004, because I was planning a trip to Mt. McKinley in Alaska when some medical stuff came up and I had to cancel. I’m still running that train, and contrary to what everybody thinks, that loco out runs every Atlas loco I got. The only problem is that I can’t run it in DCC and I did have to replace a lot of couplers. The passenger cars are another story, my layout is too small with tight radius to run passenger cars. My grandson runs the hell out of the locos with box cars though and it’s not so finicky about the track being dirty. I was fooling around with O scale before that and I just didn’t have the room needed to do what I wanted to do.
My first piece of N scale was an Atlas RS3 painted for the N&W. Still have it and it still runs pretty well.
I can't remember if it was THE 1st,but it's close,the B-mann Metroliner set in PC. I still have & run them today as NJT cabcars.
My first set was also an Aurora postage stamp trainset. My Grandpa got it for me when I was 4 or 5. 1968 or '69. I still have the F-7 a box car and caboose. Wow if they only knew what they had started!
My very first experience with N scale was in the late 90's with a Bachmann "Highballer" set. Something I just bought on a whim. That was yard saled a year later after collecting dust. It was a grade above junk I'd say. It would be 10 years before I'd return and this time started with better stuff. It made all the difference. still, I'd like to have it now for experimental purposes. LOL
I think this is all of my 'first' stuff. Custom Milwaukee Rd U36B w/ matching caboose on the first layout I did myself (I didn't do the painting). Jason
Bachmann Santa Fe starter set with an F9, LV box, SOU gondola and ATSF caboose. My Dad quickly built a 2' x 4' layout for me and gave me some of his old cars and a Bachmann GP40. I was about 4 years old. HO came along a while later, then, when I was about 12, I bought an N scale Espee Kato SD45, tore down my HO layout and the rest is history. Now, almost 15 years later I'm casting my own freight cars and detail parts...
Lifelike Freight King Train Set, Union Pacific, Ready To Run http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/Lifelike-Freight-King-Train-Set-Union-Pacific/item433-7523.html Since I ran HO in the 70's and had been out of the hobby till about a year or so ago. I came back to the hobby as an N Scaler...and happy I did ! :tb-cool::tb-cool:
