LGB 1:22.5 scale, Disney starter set

1:22.5 scale, gauge-1 starter set
LGB of America
6444 Nancy Ridge Drive
San Diego CA 92121
Check with your local dealer for prices and availability
Web site: www.lgb.com

Disney starter set (#72350); includes Forney locomotive (#23251) painted to resemble Disneyland Railroad Fred Gurley locomotive, two open excursion cars, power supply, speed controller, 12 curved track sections, four straights, four figures, necessary wiring, and instruction booklets
Pros: Set contains everything needed to get up and running; more prototypical locomotive and bigger cars than other starter sets; good finish; excellent running characteristics; attractive train
Cons: None

As starter sets go, this is a nice one. It is painted up for the Disneyland Railroad, with a (mostly) green locomotive and two red, white, and brown coaches. The locomotive is LGB’s standard Forney (a meter-gauge representation of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes 2′-gauge engine). The set is supplied with a separate instruction book for the engine. This locomotive has the usual LGB amenities, including power-control switches inside the cab, a decoder already installed for LGB’s Multi-Train System (MTS), directional lighting, power-takeoff outlet, smoke generator in the stack, and sound readiness. The engine is painted to resemble the Fred Gurley, a Forney engine named after Walt Disney’s friend, running on the railroad in Anaheim.

The coaches are similar to converted gondola cars used on many tourist lines. They have roofs and come with two different numbers, a nice touch. The paintwork is somewhat garish, but I suppose that’s to be expected.

Performance is all we’ve come to expect from LGB. The power pack is in two sections. The first is a transformer that puts out 1.4 amps at 20V DC. The second is a speed controller with a center-off dial-turn it one way for forward and the other for reverse. Hooking the system up is easy with LGB’s push-button wire terminals. The track supplied is just enough to get the train around the tree, but not much more. When all is assembled, the engine takes its train smoothly down the track.

This is an excellent starter set. The train is prototypical enough that it won’t sit on the shelf after its new owners become more advanced in the hobby. If you don’t like the loud paint job, it can easily be painted over and weathered to represent a more heavily worked train. -M. Horovitz