Jim,
G scale polar Express and Hogwarts sets have been sub par and the reviews aren't that great. The O scale versions are much nicer though. What I personally would recommend is looking at
trainworld.com for Bachmann starter sets. The Plainsman, for instance, is for sale for about 219 dollars on that site which is only about 30 bucks more than the Thomas set. Also, for a 10 year old, they start to actually want to run what looks like a real train.
So below are my recommendations based on what you might be looking for in a set. *none of these use DCC or RC right out of the box, but all can be modified to use those control methods* :
So if
you're looking for something that looks like a train, runs like a train, and is fairly straight forward, I'd go with the Plainsman from Bachmann. Bachmann 4-6-0's, to my knowledge, are generally good running engines that aren't loaded with fragile parts. Of course, nicks and dents will occur and smaller pieces will be lost, but the 4-6-0's are widely available and so if something does break, a junker on ebay can be purchased for parts.
If you want rugged and durable, LGB can't be beat. My Stainz locomotive, bought in 1996, still runs with no maintenance, although many of the detail parts have been lost. However, ever since LGB was bought out, I don't know if their reputation for durability has been broken or not.
Now if the
kids like diesel locomotives, or gas mechanical if they know what that is, Bachmann makes two starter sets using their Davenport Locomotive. One is a mining train that has manually operating dump cars and the other is a logging train. The Davenport is durable and has few breakable parts, plus I believe their Davenport has one of the better mechanisms in it. Trainworld has them for less than $190, which is pretty much on par with their Thomas sets.
If looking for a set that has nothing which can break, don't care about realism that much, and is on the cheap, Bachmann Lil Haulers are a great recommendation because everything about the sets are simple and fairly durable. This is based on LSOL.com's review of the set on Youtube. I would say that for a 10 year old, this set looks a little too much like a toy and not what they really want to run (the range these sets are looking like are for about 2-7 year old children).
I'm sure you already found this out, but the kids want to play with something that looks big and expensive such as your prized locomotives. So my ultimate recommendation is to get a set that looks big and expensive, but really isn't. And with my experiences with starter sets, Bachmann sets seem to fit that category well. If price isn't a terrible issue, LGB is perhaps the ultimate in starter sets. Both Bachmann and LGB can be fixed either through parts or though a locomotive bought on Ebay for parts.
Other sets for consideration:
Playmobil, for all their worth, are quite durable, but to me it doesn't really look like a train, it only rides on rails which happen to be 45mm apart. If I were to kitbash or change a locomotive, Playmobil would be a great candidate. That said, Hartland Locomotive works sells a great Mack Locomotive and a series of mini cars which can be bought and built cheaply. But to a 10 year old, the funky little Mack probably doesn't look like a train. Vsmith, if you've seen his layouts, uses a ton of HLW equipment so apparently the Mack Locomotive is easy to modify and seems to be fairly straight forward for DCC or even RC control. They are also cheap, being about 50 bucks apiece if bought from an online store. But as I said, to a child the Mack doesn't look like a train, there's no side rods, boiler, fire box, tender or cow catcher (unless you modify it to include those) Even to me, if I ever buy a Mack, I'm modifying it to fit a more generic diesel engine rather than the center cab, gasoline powered lightweight prototype.
That is just my two cents worth, their are plenty of options available, but different sets are built for different audiences. Thomas is for toddlers, Lil Haulers seem to be for kindergarten through about 3rd grade, regular Bachmann Sets are great for about 10 and older and LGB is great for all ages (I've seen both two year old's and 80 year old's run LGB trains like experienced operators)
Really, the
most important aspect of a train set is that it is simple to run, runs well, and is either durable or easy to fix (or hopefully both). That goes for all manufacturers and all train sets. If the set can't meet those requirements, it isn't worth buying... period.
Hope this gave you some ideas. I know I re-posted some sets which have been mentioned already, but these would be my recommendations depending on what you are looking for.
--James
