Menards: The Masters of Ultra Affordable O Gauge Trains

Menards: The Masters of Ultra Affordable O Gauge Trains

[blackrocks]

'Relax, calm fun'. respectfully, I wish this was more common in the hobby.

[garfield]

I wish Menards did preorders.
I love that paint job but it sold out before I could order a set.
Sadly they avoid doing reissues.
It is frustrating when they advertise "Buy it now or pay much more on eBay later!"

Oh well.
Maybe someday they will get tired of eBay scalpers making the money and reissue the Blue Bonnets, the Sinclair tanker and other items that sold out really fast.

Menards is pretty much the only new stuff I buy anymore.

I wish they would run in conventional but for the price I can accept remote only operation.

BTW I have had great customer service with Menards trains.
I ordered one of the Santa Fe box trucks.
When I unpacked it I found out it had no rear axle.
I sent them a message and some pics via email.
A few days later a package showed up at my house.
It was a box truck with the rear axle.

I was impressed.
I would have gladly picked it up at the store.
I liked that they let me keep the defective one.
I may rig up an axle and tires / wheels or may kit bash it into something.

[mattognr]

My brother and sister in law work at the home office of Menards and supposedly Jon menard, the owner has a huge o scale layout in his office

[doubleutubefan]

This just proves to me that Lionel could do a LOT more sound sequences. It's so easy to just add sounds files to a micro hard drive.

[BearCreekWoodworking]

I’m thankful that Menard’s is making it easier for people to get into O Gauge. Awesome Video Eric! 🚂

[charlesballard]

I have to say it seemed to pull with GUSTO!!!! In the red war-bonnet paint it would be nice for running around a christmas tree. Or in a custom paint scheme of red/white/green. Yes, you get what you pay for. This isn't a $1K+ train. This isn't for a collector. This is for the collectors 5-year old who wants a train of his own. I kick back and put on train content vids to just chill. I chilled with this video, a tall glass of water, and a few handfuls of peanut M&M's. Thank you.

[greggarner]

One of my first childhood memories is my Grandfather's lionel figure 8 setup under his Christmas tree. I am now 48 and have 4 grown kids of my own. The train hobby is very close to my heart and I have a devoted train room. I own all scales, but mostly O. Most of those are Lionel and Williams. I have alot of Menards and I love them! I have rolling stock and vehicles of theirs. They are a very very good company and have very good models. No, they may not be perfect BUT... Where does our hobby start? In the imagine of us as children. Menards makes it possible for a parent who is raising 4 kids (as myself) to bring the magic of model trains I remember as a child to my kids on Christmas day. This is the magic that keeps this wonderful hobby alive! My kids and I love and appreciate Menards very much! My youngest is 18 now.and graduates this year. 3 boys and a girl love model trains now and alot of that has to do with me being able to afford Menards trains while raising them to keep the hobby alive. This is just real talk, from a real Dad who love the hobby as much as his children. Thank you ❤

[johnbeck]

Menards has filled a niche in the hobby market in the hobby business. By making “affordable “ halfway decent models younger enthusiasts can afford to pursue their interest in the hobby without the massive outlay other manufacturers require.

[martinhall]

HELLO from the UK. What a great layout. I just love o gauge and I find American railroads amazing. Well done., 🙂👍🚂

[GP_Foamer]

I personally think that this locomotive is really great for getting started in the O gauge hobby. It’s cheap and honestly looks really good with those chrome trucks in my opinion. My only suggestion would be to change the almost blue lights to a warm white light.

[frankmarkovcijr]

Trainworld in Brooklyn had a great sale on Williams locomotives a few years back. Powered units for $99. Double a cab sets for $200 plus a free dummy b unit. You cannot beat free

[C]

The paint reminds me of the Delaware and Huson. I love it!

[gandalfthegrey]

Hands down best review I've seen of an A set. You hit the nail on the head when you made the statement "Calm down, have fun". I can't exactly afford Lionel products but i can afford Menards and thanks to them i can actually enjoy the hobby and afford it. One day ill have some Lionel locomotives but for now I'll enjoy what i can afford from Menards.

[angeloavanti]

Chill and have fun. Best advise. Probably will always have to grease those gears before the next run. All good.

[chiconian]

I'm a postwar/prewar operator. The closest item I have to the items you are demonstrating are my Lionel AA 204's from 1957. Much to my surprise, these units really caught my eye. If I had a pair of them, I would be running them now. The horn could be improved, and the chrome trucks would look better in silver. I would suggest applying some white lithium grease to the plastic gears and they should be fine. I'm blown away by the crew talk. It sounds great. Good upload Erick.

[BusProductions-lx]

7:19 kinda funny how the ~$1000 (when it was in stores) ge vision line es44 hybrid is clearly in the background.

[levidarling]

I love your good hearted attitude for this hobby Eric.

[nstooge]

Just found your video. Your trains brought me back to my childhood and made me smile. Thank you…

[chrisgwynn]

Hi Eric. I too got a set. I loved it right out of the box. My budget does not allow me to be able to get the high end trains from Lionel or Atlas or MTH. I rely on the older trains I’ve been getting at train shows. I bought the Red F3 Menards train too from a vendor at the Allentown show and picked up the dummy in red colors directly from Menards. The Blue set right out of the box worked great. But the dummy squeaked so bad. Tried lube but just sound horrible. The blue engine ran great for about 15 minutes then stopped dead on the track. Sounds worked and motors seemed to run but engine was seized up. No forward or backwards. Red set had its problems too. I sent back the blue set to Menards on February 28, 2023. I got a notification it was received but nothing since from Menards Train Room since. Not sure if I will every get it back ?? The red set I tweaked and fixed myself. Had to fix trucks as the train kept on jumping the tracks. The trucks were too wide and needed to be pressed together on the axel more. That was an easy fix. Also lubed the gears. And also going to add weight like you have done. Thanks for the review. Just hope I get the blue set back some day. Guess I should have just fixed myself. Not sure what kind of repairs it needed. I was so sure I would void the warranty if I took apart myself. But, guess I should have just went for it.

[zacharyspinks]

These do look Amazing!, the Blue and Yellow Color are Incredible👍👍.