whats a good age for o gauge?

It kinda depends on what parameters you are looking at. My 2.5 year old grand daughter LOVES my O trains...and I have a cheap Lionel loco painted pink for her. We set up a floor layout and play for hours. But I would not leave her alone with it. For alone play she has Brio trains. I got a Lionel set at age 4 and never looked back. 3 is old enough for O trains WITH adult help.

My four year old granddaughter and 12 year old daughter have designed several areas of my layout. I should post some pictures. One area is wedding outside that they put together. Next to it is a very detailed coal area I build. People love seeing their touches here and there right down to their own hand painted control panel area. I love when they help. 

Personally, I have waited until the Christmas after each of my grandsons' 4th birthdays to gift them with Lionels.  And that will be with supervision, of course.  (The 6-year old would run them as NASCAR cars if it were up to him.)

I received my first when about 5, I think.  I remember doing things with it that I wouldn't do 5 or 6 years later. 

You seem to be a bit focused on their being old enough to not damage stuff.  Maybe getting them cars and all that won't cause you heartburn if they get trashed could be a starting point, and as they grow and acquire more responsibility, you can get them better stuff. 

I don't remember how I was when I got my first train, but I was a lot older than your kids, but then we did not have the money for toys that we did not make ourselves.

I got my first Lionel set for Christmas, 1951.  I was three.  I still have all the components of that set, all in top condition and all still running even better than new.

Maybe I was just a less-destructive kid than most; I don't know.  My point is, it all depends on the kid.

Mwb seems to have the right idea -- get him something low-end and see how he is with it.  Then proceed from there.

Depends on the kid as many are saying.  My 2-year-old son LOVES the Pennsylvania Flyer set that I bought used on Amazon.  We have a lot of cars and things he can do, buttons to press, etc.  But it is always supervised.  He runs it very respectfully and loves to see "'moke" come out of the engine, as he calls it.

However, he likes the Thomas wooden trains for floor play and the downstairs Lionel train is a special treat that we use to spend time together, as well as the Thomas trains.

But, there's also nothing in my collection much older than 2000 and nothing that would be priceless if he broke it.  Not that he would, but just in case.

He can probably run it now. The issue is when can he do it with minimal supervision. I'd say go ahead and guide him in the operation and see how he does. I think you'll know the right time to give him his own train set and when he can run it on his own.

In the mean time, for play alone, the wooden trains are a safe bet.

I was 7 when I received my first train set. But prior and around that time, we were running a Lionel Hudson into and through obstacles on the track. Considering the building codes that allowed cloth wires, unprotected plugs (I was forever sticking two fingers in there.... consider that...) and slow acting fuses

Well, we are still here.

You have something rather special. I hope that you will think on allowing the child to grow into his own train someday. And possibly follow in your footsteps as well.

Got my train when I was 5. Only at Christmas. For those 2 months I ran it to death. Never had any children of my own but did have some nephews. They each got a train when their parients requested it. All went fine as long as the trains were put up for Christmas and then taken down with the tree. One year my Brother in Law decided that it was time to allow the trains to be up all year. By the next Christmas they were all broken and forgotten and never set up again. The children were 10 and 12 years old.

I guess what I am saying is that as long as the trains are something special they will be treated as such, Christmas only, Grandpaw's trains, or Daddy's trains. When they become the child's toys they loose intrest and become normal play toys. Children can be hard on play toys, it is in their investigatory nature. So what is a good age? For "O" gauge I would say 5 to 8 depending on whether the child can put the cars on the track or not. (If you can't put the cars on the track maybe you are not old enought!) At what age can they be allow to run them unsupervised? I like to think they will tell you, I know some older gentlemen that still can't.

Al

What I have observed is that younger children seem to enjoy pushing locomotives on the track. An inexpensive dummy locomotive and a few train show cars would be a great starting point. Similar to the Brio trains, only on the O Gauge track.

Just my $0.02.

Gilly

At three, I recommend wooden trains, such as Brio.

Previous posters have given the reasons.

I would also suggest that the temptation to fasten things down and make a layout be avoided.

For my kids, a lot of the fun came from arranging and rearranging the track and scenery. They could play with the trains by themselves, but I was often there with them, helping under their direction (As opposed to leading, and having them help me).

We had a 12 by 15 rug on the floor to define their play area. They often set up the trains on the floor. I also built a low table, at about knee height, for them to use.

All three of my boys received Lionel trains for their first Christmases.  After the middle son was born, I built a 4 foot X 4 foot table on casters.  The table top was set into the frame about 2 inches deep and painted green for grass, blue for water and brown for roads.  The boys could set up their Brio trains on this and pretty much play unsupervised.  I also built a 4 foot X 4 foot insert on a 2 X 2 frame that had Lionel 0-27 track mounted on it.  When the boys wanted to run their Lionel trains, we'd put the Brio away and I'd insert the 0-27 table top right on top of the Brio tabletop.  All I needed to do then was hook wires to the lock ons and the boys were good to go.  My wife or I would keep an eye on them while they were running the electric trains.  When they tired of that, I'd put the Lionel table top away and they could rebuild their Brio empire.  by the age of 7, each of them was careful enough to run electric trains with minimal supervision.

Curt

I started letting my great niece run a train when she was 5. Never had any problems.

Several of the young ones like to play at the layout (which is very rough and unfinished). Mostly they play with the people, cars and animals. as often as not they move buildings around too. They do like loading up animals to ride the train. Gondolas are your best bet for kids. Oh And a CRANE !

They all love the cranes.

I got my first set, a Lionel NYC Flyer with a 4-4-2 steamer, when I was 3 years old.  My dad had to put a mark on my power pack so I wouldn't go too fast since that locomotive rolls easily at high speeds on tight curves.  Still have the set and it still runs great.  The wheels will also turn freely on that locomotive if you push it with your hand.  If he's responsible enough, under supervision it shouldn't be a problem.  I also had a big box of wooden trains to play with, but the Lionel was definitely my favorite to run.

He has a wooden set, and he plays with it, and I gave him a HO dummy engine and he was thrilled.  He runs trains on my HO layout and he and his siblings play with the cars and people.  I disconnected the power to it so that is all they can do.  the 7 year old is starting to show promise as he has been working with the scenery to make it look better.  SInce one said to see if he can put cars on the track, I had him try it tonight in an area that was hard for me to reach anyway.  The first try he had a hard time, the second try he got it right away.  He was proud of himself for it.  He really likes me to run multiple trains at once.  My wife got a free battery op smoking thomas and came home with it.  I know he will strip the gears.  He seems to know the difference between electric and not, just not between battery and push.  I will let her give the free one to him at his brithday in a few days, and see how he does, and either this Christmas or next.  I saw a video that showed how to put casters on a board and slide the layout under the bed.  I really like all the replies.  they were all helpful

You say this like it's a bad thing!

Jerry

I believe that the more recent starter sets from Lionel are designed so that they will not leave the rails at maximum speed (Using a CW-80 anyway).  I have tested this claim, and it appears to hold true. It is quite terrifying to watch the loco clinging onto the rails for dear life as it hurtles around an O-36 oval though! 

I echo the above sentiments that your son is old enough to run trains with your supervision, and that you should probably run stuff that you don't mind getting banged up during the course of play.

I got my first electric train at 6, and I still remember my father using the occasion to teach me about electricity and the dangers of reckless behavior around it.  I think I was 7 before I was allowed to operate the trains by myself.  I think the trick is to observe him until you are confident that he understands how to play with them in a safe and responsible way.

Andy

Gomez was on The Addams Family but I can understand the mix-up.

For youngsters under 7 I would recommend a 3-rail 'O' train with a loco that has a spur gear drive, such as the current Lionel 'The Scout' set. That way they can still push the train around the track when the power has been removed because supervision will not be available. Worm gear drives don't allow that.

My son last Christmas - he was 5 turning 6 in February .... https://ogrforum.com/d...ent/2415514336751778

For youngsters under 7 I would recommend a 3-rail 'O' train with a loco that has a spur gear drive, such as the current Lionel 'The Scout' set. That way they can still push the train around the track when the power has been removed because supervision will not be available. Worm gear drives don't allow that.

That is excellent advice. 

went to the local train store today to get more wire etc and to take my 3 year old who turns 3 this weekend.  Thought he'd enjoy it with just me.  looked for the type engine you speak.  The clerk told me I should get a Marx train and not one of the lionel he had in stock.  They have a Lionel 4-4-0 coke loco and caboose for 99.  On sale for 79.  I thought that'd be alright considering I plan on letting him have a powered MTH Penn freight set when he is older.  He talked me out of it so I plan on going back when the owner is there to see if he has anything cheaper.  He wanted me to just buy a broken Marx that has no hope of running again for 10.  I want an electric one he can run like his dad.  I think giving him a broken manual only engine would send the wrong message for that size train and teach him he can do all of them that way.  It also would disappoint him when it did not run and no sound or smoke. 

I bought my Son a starter set on his first Christmas.  It was a low cost one and I suggest that as the way to go even if you have other trains.  Why?  Because it is almost certain to break!  They're little and want to get their hands on stuff, which inevitably means that it will get dropped, that's how we lost the front coupler...

What you don't want is to get in a situation where the trains are more valuable than the time with your child.  If you are stressed out that they will be broken, you and your son are being set up for failure.

Now my little guy is 5 and we just got a PW 145 gateman.  I intended to hide it for Christmas but he found it before I could.  Even though it was inexpensive, I found my stomach getting tight as he took off the roof, pulled the door open, caught the man to hold him out and took off the RR xing sign.  They explore, that's what they are wired to do and it's important for them to do it.  It's a chance to learn to be careful, but accidents can and do happen.  Worse than losing that front coupler would have been getting upset with him that it broke.  

I mean, we teach our kids to drink out of a glass, but we save the Waterford Crystal until their older

Go with a starter set.  Pushing the train was never an issue for my Son because they aren't really coordinated enough to keep them on the track at that age.  Once it is off the track, they just aren't coordinated enough to get it back on.  Definitely get sound and smoke.  One day we sat with the engine in neutral and just refilled the smoke over and over.  More sound the better.  It doesn't even have to come from the loco, it could be one of those sound units (by MRC?) as long as he can push the buttons to control it.  A Railsounds Boxcar would be awesome.

Phil

I have 9 grandkids, ages 2-16. Any kid can run a train in conventional if a "stop point" is put on the transformer handle. It's "warp speed" you want to avoid. This way, 1 or 2 years old is fine, with supervision. Postwar trains are great because they can be pushed. Kids up to 5 or so love to do this as well.

Any age that they show interest.  There are plenty of low priced sets that they can play with and if they bang them up, break off a step so be it.  My first set was a prewar high end set that I got 4 months before I was born.  The marker lights went as I raced the engine around 0-31 curves.  I was playing with them by age three, basically unsupervised.  What fun!.  Many times I would play with the trains without using electric.  My 2817 caboose served as the engine as I pushed the "train" around the track.  Trains are toys.  Children break toys.  It is OK

I think 47 is a good age for someone getting into this hobby!

When my son was around three years old he had a love of trains also, but he loved to build floor layouts with his wooden trains.

Evertime we would take him to Lancaster, Loco Louie's, or Nicholas Smith he wonted more of the wooden track. He loved the stuff because it was so easy to go together. Mike would spend hours putting his little layout together, then about five minutes pushing the train and he would be done.

Of course as he grew a little older, about four or five we bought him some Lionel and MTH but to this day he still will not let us get rid of his wooden stuff. He never plays with it any longer, they are full of wonderful memories for him.

His first electric train was the Lionel 2-4-4 as Jake mentions above. I made him a small floor layout and he use to love to push it around by hand.

I guess it all depends on the kid. How old is old enough? I don't know, how about when they start asking for them.