I have purchased sever of Bachmann's RTR sets. They are just the thing for the beginner and make great gifts. The DeWitt Clinton was built in 1831 and is the first passenger train on what is now the NYC RR. I don't know anyone who models the early 19th century, but this little train is as cute as it can be. I don't think that it would make a good Christmas tree train because it is so tiny--except for the gauge, it looks like an N scale model. It would have been better in my opinion to sell this little curiosity without the track and transformer for model railroaders to run on their existing layouts as a lark.