I don't mean to sound like a broken record but don't buy them. Spend £100 on a single modern loco. Go to your local model shop and buy a second hand loco from them. You will get more fun from it, because it will work. You are new to the hobby and you are buying broken stock off FB Marketplace. If its got split gears its not a good runner, its broken, it needs repairs, you can't just run stock around with split gears, you'll do more and more damage to your loco.
Thanks for the tip; still finding the time to visit another model shop, that's why I've been scouring online marketplaces for cheaper 'deals' to compensate for not being able to find a convenient time to travel to an actual shop. Visited Arcadia in Shaw & Crompton a few weeks back which is my local one (had a good N-Gauge selection but didn't buy anything at the time) as well as Harburn Hobbies while I was up in Edinburgh for a meeting (not satisfied as they were mostly focused on OO-Gauge, but I bought the Peco Setrack N-Gauge Planbook cos this was after you gave me advice); I'm definitely considering visiting The Locoshed in Whitefield (another one close to home) as they seem to have a sizeable amount of used stock as well as new in N-Gauge and they even sell layouts. It appears they also have a full layout to test drive trains on rather than just a short bit of straight track like Arcadia or Harburn, the latter doesn't even let customers drive it. I briefly visited the ones in Lincoln and Hereford while I was doing daytrips prior to this, but this was before I considered actually getting into the hobby myself and I wanted to spend more time exploring the cities back then. Definitely need to visit the Locoshed and revisit Arcadia, as the latter actually had a good selection of Kato Unitrack (first time I saw it).
@TheEdge UPDATE: Just been to the Locoshed to pick up some bits and bobs such as coaches, track and power; they didn't have the radii I wanted (either too big R316 or too small R216, I want R282) nor any S62 track to close a loop with, so I decided to settle for a long straight point-to-point for now using eight S248 pieces (2 packs) which is good enough to get started. I actually did manage the get a Gaugemaster Combi working with Kato Unitrack (guy in the shop told me how) so that saves me £20. The loco I have actually runs alright along the track, able to haul the two coaches (coupling is easier than I expected) I bought, although it does sometimes need a slight push to get going if it gets stuck on lower voltages, but that's not an issue cos I can always avoid idling on low voltages too long (power straight from 6V to 0V). Got a pretty good run out of that Merchant Navy for the money if you ask me! After a couple of back-and-forth runs however, I decided to give it a rest as I started smelling some slight burning coming out of the loco, although I didn't feel any heat coming from it nor was there any visible signs of issues. Is the motor supposed to smell like that after running a fair bit? EDIT: Turns out the metal the loco body is made of just happens to smell like that.
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UPDATE 2: My starter loop layout is finally a reality. Ended up with a spare S248 track pack (bought 4 packs [16 pieces] when I was supposed to have 3 [12 pieces]), which is actually convenient for future expansion since I just need to buy one turnout (probably a buffer piece too) and I'll have everything I'll need for a siding or branchline.
Done a couple of circuits round the loop and found 30-40% was the sweet spot for a continuous running speed. Anything higher than 50% feels a tad too unrealistic and the loco doesn't really run that well under 30% power, but that's to be expected from an old school model. Put the shorter Mk2 at the front of the rake as the longer Mk3 at the front derailed the carriages (locomotive itself doesn't derail though) on the curve. Occasionally the locomotive may have a tendency to detach from the tender but no derailment results from it and I got the hang of reattaching it.
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I also added some of the spare S62 track pieces in the middle of each curve to make the turn a tad bit smoother.
Done a couple of runs round the loop for about an hour and it was quite fun. Now I just need to buy a couple more locos and carriages so I can switch up the rolling stock whenever I please; might get some better runners out of the diesel locos I wanna buy. Maybe I'll make some platforms and buildings out of cardboard so I can get some more fun out of the layout.
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