In today’s video… I show you a bargain-priced $37 John Deere toy train set I found on Amazon.com
I’ll show you exactly what $37 buys you in the model train world these days.
And give you my opinion on whether this is worth buying or not.
I set it up on my dining room table for a little test run…
And then later, try it out on the island in my kitchen…
And answer the question… is it G scale, O scale, HO scale, or none of the above?
It is a wintery, snowy day in Southeastern Washington.
A great day to stay inside and play with model trains.
And I’m here in the room of our new house that we call the YouTube room, because…
Here I keep all the equipment that I need to make YouTube videos, like…
Camera gear, and lenses, and audio equipment, and lighting… things like that…
And there’s also some fun things in this room…
My model cruise ship, and a few trophies from cruises I’ve been on.
And then, this is my favorite.
This is a steam train whistle.
I like to blow this when my wife is least expecting it.
(train whistle sound) (wife screams from other room)
Ha ha ha ha ha!
(Sheldon Cooper's voice) BAZINGA!
So, today’s video is about a new model train that I found on Amazon.com
I was looking on Amazon just to see if they had any cheap Lionel ready-to-play model train sets.
And sure as heck they did! They had one for $40.
And it’s a John Deere model train set.
Which is great for me because one of the reason’s I moved up here to Washington is...
To be closer to my sister and her husband and their family…
And they have a gigantic farm about a half hour north of my house.
And they have a ton of John Deere equipment in their farm.
Now this time of year it’s mostly sitting in a row, waiting for Spring to come.
It’s not getting a lot of use, but anyway…
John Deere stuff is near and dear to my heart…
So, when I saw a John Deere model train set...
I figure wow, that was perfect. I’ve gotta have that!
We’ll do a review of that little train set on YouTube!
Now “little” is the key word in that last sentence, because...
I saw that it was Lionel, and I just kind of assumed it was going to be an O scale train set.
When it arrived, boy it was a lot smaller than I expected!
So, let’s take it to my dining room.
We’ll set it up on top of the table…
And see what it’s got in the set, and what it can do.
My first clue that this was not O scale or G scale...
Was when I saw how small of a box it came in!
The box is only 21 inches wide.
I’ve reviewed a few Lionel “ready to play” sets before… This was WAY smaller than all the others.
That locomotive there is only 10 inches long, and only a little more than two inches high.
So, this is definitely not G scale or O scale.
Maybe it’s HO scale. We’ll determine that very definitively, in just a moment.
So, you can see that it comes with three rail cars, plus the locomotive.
And then if you open the other end of the box, you’ll find the track that comes with it.
Here’s a closer look at all three rail cars and the locomotive…
And then there’s all the track in the background.
16 straight pieces and 8 curved pieces.
The track snaps together just like this.
Of all the inexpensive sets I’ve reviewed, this is the best track I’ve seen.
It’s easy to put together, and it stays together.
Let’s compare a piece of this track to a piece of HO scale track.
You can see very clearly that this is not HO scale. This is a little bit bigger.
Here’s the John Deere locomotive next to a HO scale caboose.
You can see it’s bigger than HO, but it’s much smaller than O scale.
Lionel just made something completely different here.
Not compatible with any of the standard track sizes typically used in the model train world.
By the way, if true HO scale trains are what you’re interested in…
Let me just suggest the YouTube channel of an old college friend of mine, Paul Patterson.
He’s got an amazing HO layout with realistic buildings and scenery.
I’m putting a link up in the corner of the screen in case you want to check out some of Paul's videos.
Now, through the magic of 4 times video playback…
I’m going to very rapidly snap all these track pieces together…
So that we have a tabletop layout to run the trains on.
And because of the size of this table…
I’m not going to use four of the straight track pieces that come with the set…
So that this will fit on this particular table.
Before we get the train running…
I should point out that the locomotive is powered by two double-A batteries.
To insert the batteries, flip the locomotive over and use a Phillips screwdriver…
To open the battery compartment, and insert the batteries.
Once the batteries have been installed…
Just find the slider switch on top of the locomotive which will turn it on.
The first switch position makes it run with sound…
And slide the switch just a little farther if you want to run it with the sound effects turned off.
So, finally, we’re off and running.
And for right now, we’re running it with the train’s built-in sound effects turned OFF.
So, this is the noise that the motor of the train makes.
It’s not very loud.
It’s not obnoxious.
It’s not going to drive parents crazy.
And it’s a pretty good looking train.
Really, if your kid likes tractors… likes John Deere…
He or she will get a kick out of this very inexpensive train set.
When I got mine it was $37.
You know, Amazon prices can go up and down over time.
So, maybe it won’t be 37 if you go and look it up today, but...
Really, even if this was $50… it’s seems to me like you’re getting a lot of bang for the buck.
I certainly wouldn’t pay seventy or eighty dollars for this, but…
The $37 I did pay seemed like a very good deal to me.
And since it’s Amazon…
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, shipping is free.
I’ve bought a lot of trains from various online train stores.
The shipping charges can be nasty sometimes.
This set for anywhere in the vicinity of $50, with free shipping…
Seems to me like a no-brainer for anyone with a kid that likes model trains.
Now, let’s run it with the built-in sound effects turned on.
And one thing that strikes me right away is that the locomotive’s built in sound effects are not particularly loud.
Definitely less loud than other similar train sets I’ve reviewed.
That’s NOT a negative, in my mind.
That’s a positive… at least for parents.
It’s loud enough the kid can enjoy it, but not so loud that if you close the kid’s door…
You’re still going to hear it in the other room.
One negative thing I will say about the sound effects is that they’re on a 40 second loop.
So, every 40 seconds it just repeats the exact same 40 second sequence of sound.
If you have to listen to this for very long, that might drive you a little crazy after a while.
But, of course, you can always just run it with the sound effects turned off.
OK, we’re going to pause for just a second right here And when we come back…
I’ll move the trains over to our somewhat larger kitchen island…
So that we can use all 24 pieces of track that come with the set.
Don’t click away… we’ll be right back!
Now, I’ve moved the layout over to the kitchen island..
Which is quite a bit larger than the dining room table…
So, I’m able to use all of the track pieces that are included with the set.
This way you can see the largest oval that you can make with the track that is included.
I’ve got the train’s built-in sound effects turned on…
And I’ll just let you listen as it goes around the layout a time or two.
While I did generally like this train set for the low price I paid for it…
I want to just be clear and say that...
This is a toy train, not a model train… and there is a difference.
Don’t give this to a ten year old kid… a 10 year old is going to want something much better.
But if you’ve got a 3 year old, or a five year old, and you’re working with a limited budget…
A budget that simply would not allow you to spend hundreds of dollars for a high-quality model train set…
This is a train set you should definitely consider.
I do want to warn you about one thing, though.
A lot of Lionel ready-to-play train sets come with a remote control.
And someone at Amazon really screwed up…
Because in the description of this product it very clearly states that it comes with a remote.
But that is a mistake.
It does NOT come with a remote.
And if you read some of the reviews on Amazon, a lot of them point that out!
And I am here to confirm, that this set does NOT come with a remote.
So, keep that in mind.
Before I wrap this up, let me just mention that if you liked this video…
You’d be helping me out if you hit the thumbs-up button right now.
That tells YouTube it’s a good video that they should recommend to other people.
If you like model train videos, subscribe to my channel… Because I make a lot of them!
The next couple of videos on my channel after this probably won’t be model train related…
I’m going to do a couple of travel videos…
But I will definitely get back to model trains soon…
I bought a brand-new steam train for Christmas…
And I’m looking forward to showing it off to you in a future video.
I’m Jim Zim. Thanks for watching!