Bachmann Trains - Empire Builder Ready To Run 68 Piece Electric Train Set - N Scale

The media could not be loaded. This is a great N scale set for those who want a large steam locomotive. The packaging was great, the whole thing held together well during shipping. The included EZ-Track was fairly simple to assemble, a few miss alignments but that's going to happen with any track. The rolling stock looks decent and rolls well. The locomotive itself is difficult to get on the track, but that's expected given that it's a 4-8-4. Once it was set up and rolling, it ran smooth and without issue.Everything is detailed, but not crazy detailed. That's the thing with Bachmann, most of the sets are good and everything works, but you're not going to lose yourself in the details. I think with a little weathering the locomotive and tender will look much more "real", along with the rolling stock.I think a lot of the issues people experience are from poor setup and tracking issues. If the front axle is not on the track (which is hard to tell as it's mostly hidden), it will derail a lot. If the rear isn't on the track (again, hard to see), it will derail. If the tender isn't on the track, it will derail. There's a lot of alignment needed to get the locomotive on the track and running right, but once that's done it runs great.Overall it's a solid set, and for the price you can't really beat it.

Train cars are nice but the engine is GARBAGE!.. Powerful but the design sucks and comes off the tracks on curves... Buy something else.

An excellent train set, very well detailed and at a reasonable price. Have had it about a month and have already put a few miles on it. Assembling the E-Z track is a little tricky, but it's very stable, doesn't come apart and looks good. When everything is in place, the locomotive is smooth running. I've added the N scale track pack and currently have two concentric ovals connected by the four switches from the track pack. So the 4-8-4 locomotive has to run over the swiches. Overall, a nice train, but a few problems, one pretty serious.The locomotive front four wheel pilot truck assembly is very loose and floppy and doesn't stay on track very well, especially thru the switches. The two axles have far too much play. Seems like the whole assembly needs some reengineering.Another problem is the couplers. The instructions state: "To couple the cars, gently push them together,.. The couplers will engage automatically." Not true, they don't engage. You must pinch them together with a long tweezers or pliers. And they come apart very easily. The supplied rapido couplers aren't much, if any, better.Another problem is the poor quality of the wire connectors and plugs. They are difficult to keep in place and difficult to make a good electrical contact. And they should be marked or color coded to show polarity. I've painted a white dot on each plug to keep the switches and trains going in the right direction.Overall, this is a very nice train. If you have only a straight oval with no switches, the pilot truck assembly problem shouldn't be much trouble. This is my first set and it's a great starter set.

The media could not be loaded. I recently got back into model trains after I got summer off from college. I use N scale because it’s small enough for limited space in small rooms. I chose this set because it has a relatively big locomotive and a lot of cars for a good value. The track was very easy to put together. The 4-8-4 Northern locomotive included in this set can haul a lot of cars. The train is quite detailed for being little. I am having fun with it so far. I know the set has some critical complaints for derails and herky-jerky movement of the train, but those instances are likely due to the track being set up incorrectly. Before you run the locomotive, make sure that all the ends of the tracks are lined up correctly. Once you do that, the train runs very smoothly. Love this set, I’m going to have a lot of fun with it.

Bachmann has been making model trains since 1952 (The company was founded in 1833 but didn't make trains back then). I've owned this particular train set for about 4 months now and by now I can draw a conclusion.The Bachmann "Empire Builder" train set comes in a windowed cardboard box with a white Styrofoam slotted insert that firmly holds the locomotive, cars, track and power pack. It's just like the ones I got in the late 60's or early 70's when I was a kid. Oh the memories!However, there are some differences. First, the power pack is now 2 pieces...a small gray plastic box with the throttle knob connected to a "wall wart" (Those humongous black transformers that take up all the other outlets on your powerstrip) which I find really annoying. Second is the "E-Z Track" which has the track and roadbed integrated in one piece. The sections interlock with each other, avoiding the tracks from pulling apart during operation. I was skeptical of the new style track at first, but it really works great! There are a lot less derailments and a lot more fun.The centerpiece of the set, the Santa Fe 4-8-4 Northern locomotive, has a couple of issues. The detailing is not up today's "model grade" standards...it looks like a 70's train set loco, with all of the piping and valves are just part of the shell, no separately applied detail parts. The electrical pickup is not that good either. If the track and wheels are not kept perfectly clean, it will run erratically. I have Kato, Life-Like and Model Power locos that still run silky smooth on slightly dirty track. There is also a small copper metal contact between the pilot truck (the 4 front small wheels) and the body. If this metal contact comes loose and/or dirty the loco will run very herky-jerky. I actually had to bend the tab on the contact slightly downward to restore performance.I recently found out that this is not the latest generation Bachmann Northern 4-8-4. The newer ones have added electric pickup via the tender and a few other refinements to make it run smoother. The new Santa Fe's can be identified with the road number "3783" on the tender, while mine is "3780". Unfortunately, it still looks like it was made in the 70's. Will Bachmann start supplying the newer model Northern in this set? Your guess is as good as mine. My recommendation would be to purchase a spare locomotive in case something goes wrong.The cars are very good quality. Couplers are the knuckle style, which mate well with Atlas, Micro-Train and Kato couplers.If you want to buy a nice train set for you and/or your child on Christmas and run it once a year around the tree, then this is a very good set for the money. Add another star to my review if Bachmann starts shipping the Empire Builder with the newer locos!