Bachmann Trains - Digital Commander DCC Equipped Ready To Run Electric Train Set - HO Scale

The instructions were slightly lacking with expansion pack operation, but with the DC controller I figured out that turning to channel 10 then applying increased power is what will actually drive the track switches from the expansion track pack . I had to hook the switches in line before the main power connected to the track. Also make sure all your loops only allow travel in one direction. if you try to connect a loop so the track runs backwards onto itself it seems like it will short circuit out and the trains won't run. All the track pieces went together nice and smoothly, the trains both started on channel 3 correctly. It was super easy to switch them to channel 1 and 2. They ran at the same time flawlessly. There are lots of good youtube videos to help with ideas for layouts. I'd recommend this for kids 6-9 with adult assistance, and over 9 just show them how to be careful with the track connectors then let the kids work out the kinks. Overall a decent value for the quality and price.

Everything works nice

This set started my hobby, kind of pricey but I think it’s a good starter set

I have had this starter DCC set for about 2 mos and have given the locomotives frequent use. I bought the Bachman Track Pack and this track plan fills my 4x8 layout. I replaced the track packs 4 turn outs that are wired with DCC powered turn outs. I have used 6 of the 10 EZ Commander DCC addresses with the 2 locos and 4 switches. Great fun. I am usually hard to please yet thus far I am pleased and this set introduced me to DCC HO gauge model railroading. All thee accolades noted would I repeat the purchase? I would not and this is not from dissatisfaction with the set. It is from expanded knowledge of the hobby and realization that I would not want to expand the 4x8 layout with the Bachman all in one EZ Track. It is not as realistic as sectional track with separate roadbed. You can put your own DCC layout together even if you are s beginner. Read and study. For about the same cost you could go with a bit higher end set up buying the components separately. Many options but this could be one: Atlas HO sectional track with more than enough to fill a 4x8. Amazon has Atlas starter track packs. Maybe the Digitrax DCC starter components. A couple of the lower priced Bachman DCC on board locks like the ones that come with the Digital Commander will complete your start in model railroading. If you want to be thrifty and know you wont eventually yearn for a room filling railroad empire go w-the Bachman Commander and have fun! I plan to continue building my 4x8 layout and may even mate the EZ Track to higher end sectionssl track with my next adjacent table. That's a little funky but I think it can be done with some thought and study. Hope my sharing here may be useful to some of you. Forgive the typos!

Good for the price. However, did not come with sound [air horn or engine noise]. Pursuit to this led to numerous websites/individuals/back and forth. Finally locating a new PC board for one of the two engines and a speaker [$120.00], I set about installation. Speaker equipped with 2 drivers and 2 miniature connectors, but no receiving connectors on the PC board! There is also no schematic for the speaker connection. Phone calls Bachmann [the manufacture, though probably China/Vietnam et al], netted more confusion, ditto the board supplier! Wires on speaker are very small and too short to connect to singular +/- terminals on board. After 4 wire chance selection I managed to get sound which happens to be very good. The hobby part is dealing with suppliers who have no idea of their product or customer satisfaction?!

I'm new to ho railroads. A senior reliving his childhood after reading and watching some videos l chose the dcc comand. The locomotives are very nice design and detail are good. They run smooth i enjoy watching them. The rolling stock is also nice detail is good i like the track also. As a unit it performs well stays on track responds to the controller well. I'm very happy with this set plan on expanding it. My next purchase will be a locomotive with sound.

I don't know why there would be so much positive feedback on this product. It really makes me wonder about the integrity of the reviews. Out of the box you can see immediately that these are all cheaply made plastic toys, and they start to fall apart almost immediately. Some of the tracks were warped and didn't connect well. Some of the connectors on the trains fell off. When we set them up and tried to run them we discovered that they would derail constantly for various reasons. It's possible to have some fun with these if you are very patient and you don't expect them to last very long. But I would recommend spending more money on a higher quality product.

Once upon a time, I bought this train set as a introduction into DCC. That it did and it provided me with a year of so of enjoyment until I overloaded it. One way or another this set is a decent entry level train set into DCC. Just beware of some possible manufacturing or storage errors. First off the set came packaged well, and despite a reckless UPS man it arived at my front door with no damage. Upon setting the train set up on the floor, and running the trains for a few hours everything seemed well. So I packed it up again and took it to my layout, which was under construction. There are the DCC system as well as the track used in the set, were heavily used. Unfortunately this is where the problem started. The F3, (red and silver locomotive) somehow manage to bend an axle. Sadly I didn't know about the warranty program, and piched it. A week or so later after a visit to a train show, my brand new 2-8-0 steam locomotive developed a valve gear problem. All the metal pieces that connect the wheels together got tangled up, and the train seized up and ground to a halt. After a little work I managed to get the valve gear back the way it was supposed to be, only the find out the inner axles had twisted and broken. The culprit turned out to be the manual switch used in this set. The frog of the switch, the piece that rerails the train after it crosses over the points themselves, was warped just slightly and made itself a hint too narrow. This caused certain locomotives to bend their axles slightly, eventually leading into total failure. After replacing that switch, not a single locomotive hashe had a problem on my layout. I was lucky that only two engines suffered this fate, however this being said, I doubt it was Bachmann fault. These train sets are designed to be sold at Hobby Stores, where there is climate control and AC, not the massive Amazon warehouses. Now, I'm not saying Amazon is totally at fault, but I am saying every train set I've bought from a local hobby store has been flawless, Bachmann or otherwise. And upon browsing the other train sets on amazon.com, I've noticed similar complaints. Trains not staying on the track, tracks not going together, derailment all the time, small pieces breaking off when taking out of the box, warped track, so on and so forth. Now my second trains that I bought from Amazon has been flawless, I bought the Echo Valley Express as a replacement and its been a bundle of fun. So I have a feeling that buying train sets from amazon.com can end up being a mixed bag. I recommend checking your local hobby shops first and then compare prices. Amazon is normally lower, so it's upto you weather the risk ia worth the reward. As for the set itself, the blue and yellow diesel continues to be a hard worker on my layout. As I said I accidentally fried the first EZ command trying get to run a DC Loco that was nearly 40 years old. All the other track minus the switch is still in use. And the Rolling Stock is also perfectly adequate. Personally if you want to see all the advantages of dcc I would pick this set-up as long as you accept the fact in could be faulty. The Value for money is well worth the risk, as long as you are sightfull. Check your rolling stock after i would say 5 laps, check for extreme bumpiness when going over the switch, and listen to your models. Any buzzing, grinding, or any other noise out of the ordinary needs to be addressed. And should something go wrong remember about them has a lifetime warranty on all their equipment. Don't be a fool like me and throw some trains out. Also one last word of advice. The EZ command is designed for small layouts. It only has enough power to run 3 trains at once despite having the ability to program 10. If you're buying this to upgrade an existing layout be aware of this. Bachman does offer a 5 amp power booster, and this would provide more than enough power to run any locomotive you want.