Williams 22115 for my Son's Christmas loop?

For a starter loco for your son, the Wbb locos are hard to beat. Simple, reliable, and pretty robust. If I had a son looking for his first loco, I would get him one.

You don't say how old your son is, which would be a huge factor in answering your question.  But I'll go out on a limb and say that the LV GE 44-ton locomotive would be an excellent entry-level choice.

 

And don't forget some freight cars for it to pull.

 

Thanks folks,

      I should be clear he's already got the non-Lionchief "The Scout" set and some freight cars. He's 4 now and his Grandparents got it for him when he was born and give him a car each year.  

 

How much benefit is their in one motor (as in the 44) vs two (in the FP-45)

 

How does the quality for the Low-end Lionel and Williams engines compare?

Williams and WbB Trains are low-tech, reliable and powerful. I prefer dual motors for maximum pulling power and performance. I like WbB Norfolk Southern Heritage Units. They have new True Blast Plus sound systems that have prime mover, bell, and horn sounds. So do Williams GP30 and GP38.

 

Older True Blast sound systems have a bell and a horn that blows only crossing signals (long, long, short, long).

 

One option is to get an older Williams diesel and install a True Blast Plus sound system in it.

Doesn't your scout set have O-27 track. The FP-45 is minimum O-31.

I would buy the Williams engine with the dual motors, only $10.00 more but it will look better with many freight cars behind. Might even run better then the engine with one motor.

 

Lee Fritz

Good to know about the dual motors, sounds like that would be the way to go.

 

As for the track, the scout has the 0-36 fastrack, so I'm thinking either of these should be fine size wise.