Life-Like Trains.?

Question

Does anyone know where to get some of the cheaper Life-Like Trains anymore? I think the company was bought out by Athearn or Walther's or some other model railroad company, but they were great at producing the less expensive sets for people just dabbling or starting out in the hobby. I think only their Prototype Series are available commercially anymore, which are wayyyy more upscale and expensive than their other stuff, but I'd like to add some of their cheaper entry-level stuff to my collection.

Answer 1

You're right, Life-Like was purchased by Walthers, which has continued the excellent Proto 1000 and 2000 lines, but dropped the toy store level equipment, which is not a bad thing. You could still pick these up via eBay, but they are so crudely built and unreliable that I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. They had weak slot car style motors that were noisy and burned up easily.



You'll have much better luck with basic level Bachmann http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/ , which have been repowered with reliable can motors. There is also Athearn RTR http://www.athearn.com/Products/HO/Default.aspx , still one of the best values in the hobby. Then there is IHC, which offers some very reliable basic steam engines http://www.ihc-hobby.com/cgi-bin/bsc.cgi?sn=766M513937819808068I65I0UC57T1 .



There is also Mantua Classics, now owned by model power, that are improved versions of some of the oldest and most reliable HO models in the industry.



All of these are available at significant discounts with a little bit of searching on the net. One of the best online dealers is Trainworld http://www.trainworld.com/ . I hope this info helps.



Nelson

Answer 2

You could try eBay. A search for "life like trains" just brought up a whole bunch of items for me. Some are full kits, if that's what you want, others are single pieces.

Answer 3

My son wants to answer. Here he is:

You should go to Slot and Wing hobby in Champaign IL. they have good stuff at agood price.