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 Posted - December 05 2006 : 12:16:02 AM
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First of all, I would like to say Hello, as I am new to this forum. When I was a kid, (I'm 35 yoa now.) The coolest toy I ever got was a Tyco Silver Streak train, or a "Alco Century 430 diesel" is where I found it on the site. Anyway, I loved it as a child. While I was off in college, we had a ton of rain one year which flooded my Mom's house, and destroyed all my stuff, which was stored in the basement. So no more train.
That was 15 years ago, and I haven't thought of that old train in a long time. Now however, I am the father of two boys, and my little one who just turned two is crazy about trains. We bought him a Thomas wood train set for his birthday, and he never puts it down. We play trains all the time, which has now sparked an intrest in my older boy, who is 4.
I got to thinking about buying My older boy a train set for Christmas. But I think he is a little big for the Thomas stuff, and would enjoy a more advanced set more. I then got to thinking about my old Silver Streak. So finally to my question.
I see they have a Silver streak train or two on ebay. Were these trains actually any good? or have I in my fond childhood memories,just forgotten the train never worked right? Will that train work with current tracks and sets ect? I know next to nothing about this stuff anymore, so please feel free to talk to me like I'm an idiot. I'm sure it would be way easier to just pick up a new train, but if I could get a set that worked with my old train, I think it would be kind of cool. I also think it could turn into a fun hobby for my boys and I to share time together.
Sorry for the long post, any help would be great. Eric
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Posted - December 05 2006 : 01:04:09 AM
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Hi Eric,
Funny how it all comes back to where things started, eh? Glad to hear you're rekindling the train bug in your boys. Who knows where to from here?
Now, first things first: Your Silver Streak (indeed, all of them) was powered by Tyco's infamous "PowerTorque" drive, so you are wise to question its reliabilty. You CAN get them to run and they can and do run reasonably well - but they were the definitive grimy bottom of the vintage RTR (ready-to-run) barrel. Still, I have a few myself that can handle a handful of cars respectably. But given that they're all pushing 15-30 years old, any that you find today will be a crapshoot - Maybe it'll run, maybe it won't... it won't matter if it's new or old, and a dozen of them alike won't even run the same way.
Fortunately, they are relatively cheap and plentiful on ebay, so you should be able to find parts and frankenstein a good one without too much effort. Any diesel made after 1975 is a candidate - Tony Cook's site will give you a list to look for. Check the Maintenance and repair forum here for more info, we've discussed powertorques at length [:D]
Now, as for compatability: The Silver Streak (and all Tyco) is HO scale. It's compatible with ALL HO-scale track, and pretty much most all other cars and locos and other bits made for HO scale.
The one thing to watch for, however, is in the past few years there has been a change in coupler styles: most newer sets will have realistic kuckle-style couplers, while anything made in quantity say before 2000 or so (and even a few sets today) would have the horn-hook style coupler. They are not compatible with each other, but are easy to change over.
If you are looking to start your kids in the hobby, I would be on the lookout for any of the newer Bachmann sets you might find out of the woodwork at stores this time of year - they are greatly improved in quality from years past and are an excellent value when discounted at WalMart, Target, etc. Failing that, visit your local hobby/train shop and ask about an Athearn starter set - they are a little more expensive than Bachmann but gerenally better quality with durable motors and also an excellent value. Be sure your set comes with roadbed track (most all of them do) - you won't regret it.
Stay away from Model Power and Life-Like ("non proto series") branded sets - they haven't changed a bit from the 80's and are very shoddy in comparison; the extra $20-40 for a Bachmann or Athean is money VERY well spent.
Tyco hasn't made trains in almost 15 years. But there's millions of 'em out there - you can get your boys started on a nice newer quality set, and round up and fix the pieces you remember from your childhood on the side. Once you get a running Silver Streak, just swap the couplers and your're in business!
Hope that helps.... if you need anything else just ask around. [:)]
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Posted - December 05 2006 : 11:06:48 AM
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Eric,
Tony L. aka Going In Circles nailed it on the head with respect to operating TYCO today.
My best suggest, similar to Tony L.'s, is to do both...buy an inexpense new set from Athearn or Bachmann...and pick up a few choice relics from TYCO on eBay or at a local train swap meet.
I was looking at this Bachmann set over the weekend at a toy and hobby shop in St. Joseph, Missouri...
It's Bachmann's The Comet (#00671) and they had it for $59; retail is $79; and I've seen 'em on eBay in the $40's. This will provide you with a very solid running loco and a nice group of freight cars, plus a good power pack and the E-Z lock roadbed train track that works well.
Be on the lookout at Wal-Mart for Athearn train sets. Wal-Mart stores in my area, Kansas City, have all had the John Deere decorated set in stock. They're in the area with model cars and die-cast autos. The set is $74.98 right now, which isn't a bad deal...but traditionally they get discounted after the holidays. Believe Tony L. was lucky enough to find some at $25 in his area in recent years after Christmas. The Athearn sets also feature a good power pack, roadbed snap together track and great running loco and rolling stock.
Here's this year's Athearn John Deere set...
/tyco/forum/uploaded/Tony Cook/24_12.JPG
Then you can search around eBay and start your TYCO collection. As Tony L. said the older TYCO models will have "horn hook" or X2F-type couplers. The newer models have knuckle couplers. But this is an easy fix, just swap out a knuckle from one car and put the X2F in its place from another car and boom you've got a pair transition-coupler cars.
[:)]
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
Edited by - Tony Cook on December 05 2006 11:10:42 AM
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Posted - December 05 2006 : 11:01:12 PM
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Thanks so much for the info, I think you both have the perfect idea. I do have just a couple more questions.
First, are all Bachmann and Athearn trains in the HO-scale?
Second, I totally understand what you are saying about a train that is as old as the ol' Silver Streak I am looking for. With that in mind am I better off buying a train that "Runs great" as opposed to one that is "New in box" from ebay?
Lastly, might be a dumb question, but do I need to also buy a Tyco transformer to run the older trains? Like this one:
http://i12.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/7b/8a/0fbd_1.JPG
or will the trains run fine on whatever power system comes with the track. Thanks again for all the help, it is strange how having kids lets you see things like new all over again. Should be a fun Christmas.
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Posted - December 05 2006 : 11:24:08 PM
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No problem, those are all fair questions!
1) Athearn is exclusively HO scale. Bachmann has offerings in N and G, but odds are any set you find at a mass-merchandiser will be HO. The other scales will be immediately obvious in comparison to your silver streak; there really aren't any that are "close". So it's either HO... or it's N (half the size), or O/ O27/ Lionel (twice as big). (The model RR hobby goes way beyond those, but you needn't worry at this point) [:P]
2) Hmm. No real good answer there. If you consider an open, used engine, remember that "runs great!" is a subjective claim, depending on whom you're dealing with. So it's caveat emptor. Now my ebay experience is generally favorable, but then I've begged to differ with sellers on occasion as well. If you search around you can find lots of multople engines that break out to $5 or so each... at that price you couldn;t go wrong either way.
As for buying new: if it's old-stock, "vintage" stuff - most of the time it should run, but it won't be as good as what's out there now.
At the risk of sounding glib, trying to weed out the details and nuances could go on for days! You best bet would be to get a brand-new set as mentioned above, and WATCH ebay for a while to get a sense of the market on other/older stuff so you can make an informed decision before buying there.
3) The power pack in whatever new set you buy will be MUCH better than your old Tyco packs! Any old HO / N scale pack will still work, too - but newer is better for certain newer locomotives, should you pursue them.
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Posted - December 06 2006 : 08:40:37 AM
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One good thing is you're looking for the Silver Streak loco...it's very common. I see 'em all the time on eBay and I would be surprised if you had to pay more than $10 to obtain one.
There is also a red-and-chrome Silver Streak Caboose from TYCO too. Again, common and easy to locate.
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
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Posted - December 06 2006 : 11:14:43 PM
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| Thanks again for all the input. I think I got all the answers I needed. Now if one of you two could just cancel your Christmas plans, so I have some one around Christmas morning when I can't get the damn thing set up. I'll be in business. Should be fun, I'll let you know how it turns out.
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Posted - December 07 2006 : 10:59:24 AM
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Well, we can't physically be there Christmas...but the TYCO Forum gets monitored closely so we're never far away. We can talk ya through any problems in setting up your system.
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
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