Recommendation on Operating Accessories for New Layout

My first question would be are you looking for fun and not true realism / toy trains or cut and dry got to look real. Makes all the difference in what to pick. I split it up some because it is fun value for us.

I went with the  K-Line Operating Sawmill with smoke and saw # K-42450. I just thought it looks better but it does not have the same level of play value as the Lionel sawmill. You may like this. With your kids, hook as many accessories to push buttons as you can so they can make it work. What I do for the stuff I have placed for the three year old grand-kid. They are only small once. You can get realistic later.

Play value is more important.  I don't want loud or primary colors though.  I can always modify and paint accessories to make them look more realistic, but it doesn't have to be dead set real looking.  

Play value for my grandchildren ages 4-7:

-cow loading car

-coal stuff, primarily the 397

- lumber, such as the 364 and 464

-finally they love the drum loader.

These get the most consistent attention.

culvert loader and unloader

How about a Gantry Crane with the magnet?

-Dave

Operating Forklift (to go along with the sawmill), Barrel Loader and Operating Barrel Car to match, and above all: the MILK CAR !!

I have not been too much into accessories since the fifties. But since I started a second layout in the basement I decided to get one. I really liked the new command control gantry crane because I thought it would make for some nice action in a scrap yard. But that is the only accessory that peeked my interest..........Paul

Thanks for the recommendations.  So far I really like the idea of the Operating fork lift and the Gantry crane.  I could incorporate the gantry crane in my harbor scene and the forklift in a factory.  

The operating milk car is a big hit with kids and the platform has a very small footprint.

Pete

Anything Lionel Postwar!!!!

The biggest hit on mine is the MTH operating firehouse. Easy for small hands to push the button I have on the frame of the layout. I also have the operating milk car, but it requires some dexterity to put the milk cans back in the top of the car.  I added several lemax operating scenes in the winter section. Enjoy!!

I'm in the process of laying track with respect to my industries, scenery, and accessories to support.  I have a 397 coal loader and one of the long log loaders.  The log loader takes up a lot of straight track so I'm hoping to use it as a barrel loader and log loader.  Basically anything that needs loaded.  I'm looking for a lot of bang from an accessory.  I definitely want the sawmill.  The milk car looks fun and you have to have a farm.  The crane is last on my list.  

My kids are about the same age as your kids.  Our layout is on the carpet and I have a bunch of accessories that we swap out periodically.  It's been nice in that I got to test out a bunch of things and see what works for them.  At these ages they like to be hands on - and that can be rough.  

The Oil Drum Loader is a favorite and all they have to do is put the barrels back in the slot.  Dump them in to a gondola or a post war metal dump car and you shouldn't have to worry about things getting broken. The kids will play with this one all day. My kids don't put much in their mouth but oil drums are small enough to be a choking hazard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb5CvKdXNcQ

Forklift platform - doesn't have much they can mess up.  Like the Oil Drum loader, it is easy enough for the kids to put the boards back on the train car without knocking the car off the track.  Hours of fun.  I have an extra and would sell one.  If you are interested my email is in my profile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATidAXcWv0U

Piggy Back loader - My 5 and 3 year olds can do this, and will, all day.  It doesn't get more hands on than this. The hollow trailer sides can be a little fragile if say the 1 year old is trying to remove it from the 4 year old's hand... but these are easy to put a piece of foam in to help stiffen them up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVBEZJ8nGLg

Lionel 164 style log loaders.  These are great fun, hands off, and all the kids like working the buttons or levers depending on the version you have.  The buttons are more kid proof.  The levers on the newer versions are a little weak.  It would be nice if the spokes came back up after dumping the logs in a car. It is possible to leave the spokes out across the tracks.

The kids love the Lionel saw mill action but removing the logs from the saw mill and refilling the boards is best left to adults. Particularly if you end up with a "I'm putting the boards in - no I'm putting the boards back in" situation you will end up with something broken. Not that that ever happens here.  My kids are all yes sir, yes ma'am and ok you put the boards in I'll take a turn some other time...

Ice station - they love it!  It also causes all kinds of problems when the station worker stuffs the ice car with more than 5 ice cubes, when the kids are constantly removing the ice car to retrieve the ice cubes, when the tracks are shorted from kids trying to put the ice car back on after retrieving the ice cubes.  Keep this one on your list for a few years down the road!  My 5 year old is great with it as long as he is the only one by it.  The 3 and 1 year old are great a loading it. Unloading is for adults. My kids don't put much in their mouth but ice cubes are a choking hazard.

Anything coal is a big mess.  Period. It's on the track, the floor, the train cars, in the kids ears...  Of course the kids love a big mess.  We tried things instead of coal, larger plastic beads were ok - still everywhere.  Cleaning everything well and experimenting with Nerds candy was their favorite. Fun for once in a while, super popular at family parties. Nerds all over.  A hand crank coaling tower was made briefly but I've never found one.  If I do, I'd probably buy it despite the mess just because it is manual and kids love that. 

Culvert loader and unloader - I was lucky enough to find the old hand crank version of the culvert unloader.  It is very hands on. The kids love it. There isn't much they can break other than the fence on the back is thin and culverts do not always load or unload straight which puts small hands on the fence.  We have the automated culvert loader to compliment it. The kids much prefer hand cranking to pushing a button. 

Gantry crane / track side crane.  The kids love it.  Like the coal, it is a big mess. We use plastic coated paper clips to help prevent shorting the track.  At this age the kids are focused on whatever is in their head, not what is actually going on.  Moving the magnet out of the path of the trains is not something they keep in mind, especially if one kid is running the train and another one is running the crane.  There will be stuffs left on the track at most times.  Most versions of the cranes wind the magnet up or down as the cab is rotated, this concept is lost on the children. If you have the magnet all the way up and turn the cab you either lock it up, or break the string.  Running the cab in circles is fun, always circling. The magnet can get HOT.  Older versions had a light to show when the magnet is on. This is most helpful for the children. The light in the cab can get hot - hot enough to melt the cab. I replaced mine with an LED.  I have an extra 182 track side magnetic crane with red led in the cab that I would sell.  When I find good deals I tend to buy as I can always sell it, or let more than one kid run a crane at the same time, etc. 

Milk car and platform - All the kids love it.  5 year old is fine.  The 3 and 1 year old can unload.  Putting the milk  cans back in is not for the little ones. My kids don't put much in their mouth but milk cans are definitely a choking hazard. Magnetic milk cans can work a hole through your child's insides and kill them if more than one were to be swallowed. Small magnets are generally a bad idea around kids. We lock up the cans when not actively playing with this one with adult supervision.

Cow / Horse corrals - the kids love to watch them. These items are finicky and often the animals do not want to get in/out of the cars, fall over, etc... It is only fun when it works. Kids love to just press the button and have the animals go around in the pen though - it is only problematic when you involve the stock car. Get a horse or cow sound car to run around the layout when you have the corral out and the kids lose their mind. 

 I have the barrel loader and unloading car but have not kid tested them yet.  I am guessing they will be a hit and there isn't much to go wrong with either piece. 

The barrel loader, log conveyor, saw mill and culvert loader / unloader take up a lot of straight track.  The other items mentioned have a decently small footprint.

My two most reliable never a problem, the Lionel AF barrel loader, and the MTH gas station. MTH dump cars are very good, slow operation,always work. I really like the MTH milk car, works smooth and slow, and frost comes out the open door. but if it jams up inside a real pain to take apart and unjam. The Lionel post war coal loader draws a lot of attention!! ,  but needs constant voltage adjustment and certain coal works better than others, coal all over the area, Lionel saw mill works good if you have the right logs,lumber, and adjusted correctly. MTH Oil derrick works flawlessly and smooth.   That as been my experience, That Lionel AF barrel loader is probably on top of list. All of these are still in operation on my layout, except the MTH milk car. As my interest changes the MTH gas station will be the last to go. You and your kids are more than welcome to come on down and operate the layout, to get first hand experience.

Clem 

Jim, I'm a little torn on this subject.

On the one hand, I always loved the Lionel accessories. As a kid I would just sit there with the operating manual that showed how to hook them up, and flip the pages and dream. Unfortunately, the date was the mid 60's, and Lionel was on the decline, so most of the stuff was unavailable. By the 80's Lionel had started to bring back some of the classics. I was all over that, call it pent up demand. By the early 90's I had located and bought all the things that I had dreamed of as a kid. These were put to good use when I had my train display at Mall of America, where I shared them with tens of thousands of kids.

On the other hand, maybe you don't need any. Perhaps just running the trains is play value enough. My current layout will have none. However, when presented properly, I have found that trains alone can hold a child's interest, no sugar coating required.

I understand that you have small ones, but maybe teaching them about how trains do their jobs, and move cars around will sufficiently hold their attention. It can be presented as a game, and provide quality family time.

These aren't my kids. I did a train show a number of years ago, where I set up a switching layout.

I let them throw the switches and run the trains, telling them where to place the cars.

The control panel. The blue buttons were uncouplers.

I was told by the show's promoters that mine was the most popular display at the show because it was so "hands on".

Realism-A couple of boxcars sitting on a siding 

Play value-Priceless!

American Flyer made a number of accessories that work great with Lionel.  The American Flyer oil drum loader has been mentioned many times.  Here are a few more to consider:

The 583 electromagnetic crane is great for the young. It has a single pushbutton and the crane automatically rotates, lowers the magnet, magnetically attracts whatever metal you have, crane rotates back into position while elevating the magnet and when it is over the bin or car the magnet discharges and drops its material.  Again, all done with a single button and fully automatic which is why I think it's good for the younger crowd.

The 583A crane has two buttons and eliminates the automatic reverse of the 583.

The 787 log loader is silky smooth and fun to watch.  Provided you have a log dumping car and the means to activate the 787 will automatically lift the log, travel it over a car and drop it in.  Single button operation.  MTH has remade this, too.  There is an earlier version of this loader, the 751, that's more toy-like in appearance and uses larger diameter logs but still the same concept.

The 752A seaboard coal loader is impressive to watch and has been remade by Lionel.  Clamshell bucket goes down, grabs some coal from the pile, goes up to drop it's load in the tower hopper. Another button press opens the chute to load a car.  The earlier 752 lacks the means to hold coal in the tower to selectively load a car. 

Again, these will work with O gauge though the coal loader chute may need to be raised a little to clear higher profile rail traffic.

Another vote for the versions of the magnetic gantry crane, milk cars and oil drum loader. Enjoy!