Bachmann Trains - North Pole Express Ready To Run Electric Train Set - HO Scale,Black Cyan

Pros: - Beautifully sculpted Locomotive, tender and passenger cars. - The details are fantastic and all rolling items have a good weight to them. - easy to setup and run, had mine running in less than 5 minutes and I have had zero prior experience with Bachmann's ez-track layouts. (I also haven't touched a model train set since the 90's) - Bachmann DC controller is foolproof, ridiculously easy to setup and use. plug and run, no tools. - Locomotive has Light and smoke unit! very cool in a set at this price point - Bachmann's EZ-Track is great for carpet, dinner tables, or any other locations where a permanent setup is not viable. (that said, I still hate "pre ballasted" tracks). Cons: - I. Hate. Ez-Track. In my opinion, it doesn't look good, it (to me) amplifies the sound of the engine going around the track. sometimes no matter how perfect you line it up, the metal rail joiners just won't line up unless you twist or otherwise angle the track in a way it wasn't meant to be. When the time comes to build my layout, I will not be using any form EZ-Track or other "pre ballasted" tracks. (Although it's worth mentioning, I will be using this for my son's layout). - The smoke/steam unit in the locomotive seems kind of weak, even after 20 minutes of running the train at 60% speed, I could really only see the smoke when I brought the locomotive to almost a crawl. So... with such an expansive list of reasons I hate EZ-Track, why am I still giving this 5 stars? Because I knew that going into it. I purchased this knowing I would likely be replacing the track, this was an experiment to inexpensively see if I could re-kindle my love for this hobby and, see if my kiddo would be captures by it, too. (He now has two Thomas and Friends HO locomotives, so that answered that question). Buy with confidence, this is an awesome set and works great out of the box. If you've experienced traditional track layouts or are otherwise more experienced, the value is still there for the engine and rolling stock. Just plan on ignoring the EZ track.

It's my first HO scale set, my first choice is O scale set. I had to adjust to the difficulty of putting the cars on the track other than that it's a decent starter set. The engine is the only thing that lights up, other than that is great Christmas theme set.

This is just OK as a starter set. It functions, but the quality is mediocre. I worry about long-term durability of the train, especially the couplers. They just don't make them like they used to...

My family rode on the North Pole Express out of Owosso and this was a perfect little train to run around our tree. I added the extra car with the trees on it. The engine is very strong so you can add extra cars if you wish. The heavy passenger cars are very well constructed with nice steel wheels. I was able to light the cars for an extra touch. We ran the train for several hours a day. Note: You will need longer couplers if you do any type of "S" curves as the passenger cars will bump.

Complete garbage just got a set.. tacks keep slipping and the car connectors are all thin and crumbling and would not connect any cars to the engine.. disappointment is an understatement

I wanted a HO scale Christmas Train Set. When the first set arrived, the shell of the locomotive separated from the working part as it was missing a screw. Contacted Amazon and they sent a replacement and all seemed well. Fast forward a month later, the wheels in both passenger and observation cars either will not turn or won't stay in the trucks. Contacted Amazon again and unfortunately no replacement could be sent and the customer service associate made a referral to Bachmann Trains. I was told Bachmann would contact me within 24-48 hours but I have heard nothing from them. Now the wheels are slipping on the locomotive. This train set is not even 2 months old and it has been nothing but problems, a complete waste of my money.

I purchased this set for a discount on a discount on a discount (long story) and it came to $60. I don't think I'd have payed list price but I honestly couldn't find anything wrong with the set. I can see why its being a knock-off Polar Express might bother some customers, but it functions well and looks pretty, so I actually like it.

The cars would not stay coupled so returned it.